The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa Facebook page.

As part of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition’s (FPMT) fiftieth anniversary celebration, we continue to gather stories from the pioneer students whose devotion and steady work helped build the organization we know today. Here, Ian Green shares an excerpt from his book  Monumental – The Story of the Stupa on the founding of The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia, which he read aloud at the 2025 CPMT summit at Kopan Monastery. He recalls meeting Lama Thubten Yeshe in 1979, receiving Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s guidance for the stupa’s design, and the nine-year world tour of the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace. 

A First Meeting in Melbourne

I first met Lama Yeshe in 1979, at a public talk in Melbourne. After the talk there was a chance to meet him, and the queue shuffled slowly along. As I was nearly at the front,  Ven. Konchog Donma, a nun who at the time was Director of Tara House in Melbourne, rushed up and introduced me to Lama Yeshe. He took my hands and looked at me, and as our eyes met I felt a little disconcerted by his direct, penetrating gaze. It felt as though Lama Yeshe saw me exactly as I was, with all my good and bad points — and that he accepted me completely, just as I was. Slowly I recognized a feeling I had experienced only once or twice before: it felt like falling in love. After meeting Lama Yeshe in Melbourne, I knew I had to go to Kopan.

Kopan and a Gift of Atisha

In November 1979, I attended the Kopan course. Right at the end of it, on the day I was leaving, Lama Yeshe called me over and spoke about a place where students could study and do retreat — a quieter, less stressful, good life in Victoria. He punctuated this serious discussion with bursts of laughter so loud I was sure they could be heard all over Kopan Hill. His eyes held such intensity of sweet kindness that I had no doubt he spoke from the heart. Without hesitation, I told him I would do my best to help Tara House in Melbourne become a suitable retreat place. As I rose to leave, Lama Yeshe signaled for me to wait. He reached into a bag and produced a small statue of Atisha as a gift to take back to Australia. Looking back, it seems that even then, Lama Yeshe had a vision for what I might be able to contribute.

The Land in Bendigo

Lama Yeshe in Bendigo, Australia, 1981. Photo by Ian Green. Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

My father offered some acres of land near Bendigo, and in August 1981 Lama Yeshe came to see it. During that visit, Garrey Foulkes and I walked with him over the fifty acres adjoining Sandhurst Town that my father had offered. Lama presented us with a masterplan for a great stupa, encircled by a meditation center, monastery, aged-care facility, and a wider community. He spoke at length of his vision for a small Buddhist city that would care for people throughout their lives.

Drawing a Stupa in the Dirt

Three-dimensional model of master plan for development at Great Stupa. Image courtesy of Ian Green via Twitter. 2013

Walking on a bush track near where the current Quan Yin statue stands in its pond today, Lama Yeshe picked up a nearby stick and began to draw the outline of a stupa in the dirt. Pointing to a nearby hill, he said: “There will be a big stupa with a big gompa and a library inside it.”

We pushed aside head-high bush and trees to reach the hilltop that Lama Yeshe had indicated would be the center of the stupa, then walked on to another, slightly higher hill about 600 meters away — the site of the present-day monastery. I had the distinct feeling that Lama Yeshe could see clearly the whole of what was unfolding there for Garrey and me, as though it already existed as a reality. To my knowledge, he had never set foot on this part of the property before, yet he walked from one place to the next with complete confidence.

From that day we knew then that we had to build a very big stupa — but what would it look like? We had no idea.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Blueprint

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ian Green, holding the blue print for the Great Stupa, Australia 2006. Photo of Ven. Roger

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche eventually solved this problem. Early in 1994, Alison Ribush — gave me a book called Photos of Tibet. Across a large double-page photograph of the Gyantse Kumbum, Rinpoche wrote: “This is my idea for the stupa in Bendigo.” I had never seen a picture of the stupa before, but I immediately felt it was the right choice. I could see that it was impressive in scale, yet still relatable on a human level.

The most important teaching I have received from Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, in regard to building the Great Stupa and creating the Jade Buddha, is that I should expect obstacles to arise. Rinpoche indicated that because building the Great Stupa and creating the Jade Buddha were such positive acts, it meant there would be some mighty obstacles to overcome.

The Jade Buddha’s Journey

Jade Buddha behind Lama Zopa Rinpoche, with Ian Green, Liam, and Ven. Gyatso, Australia, 2014. Photo by Thubten Kunsang (Henri Lopez).

Lama Zopa Rinpoche was enthusiastic about the idea of taking the Jade Buddha on tour: “If you take the Buddha around the world,” he told me, “it makes it so easy to believe in the blessings of the Jade Buddha.” And so it was: over nine years, the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace traveled to more than 120 cities around the world, and an estimated 12 million people came to see it.

An Inspiring Example of Interfaith harmony

Lumbini International Festival at the Great Stupa, May 9, 2026. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa Facebook page.

The Great Stupa is also a true champion of interfaith harmony, through the creation of a Peace Park where symbols of many of the world’s great spiritual traditions—Bahá’í, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Indigenous, Islamic, and Sikh—stand side by side in mutual respect. This profound gesture of unity is a message to the world: that peace is possible when hearts are open and traditions walk together.

Lama Zopa Rinpche infront The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, 2018. Photo Courtesy of Ian Green.

In fulfilling the aspirations of both Lama Thubten Yeshe and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Great Stupa has also established the Great Stupa Library, the only library of its kind in the world to focus on Buddhism, Interfaith, and Science—a testament to the harmony of wisdom, faith, and reason.

The shrines to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa

Ian Green during the visit of His Eminence Ling Rinpoche to the Great Stupa, August 2025. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa Facebook page.

The Great Stupa team are currently working on shrine rooms for both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

These will be located on level three of the Great Stupa and will feature statues of the two Lamas and some of their holy relics. We considered various locations fir these shrines until His Eminence Ling Rinpoche helped us choose this location.   

At the entrance to the shrine rooms will be a museum dedicated to the achievements of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

In conclusion, I want to say — these are the last words of my book — that even though Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche are no longer with us, I feel blessed and grateful for the inspiration and the guidance I received from them both. It is due to their kindness that I have been able to do things with my life that will be of lasting benefit to others. Rinpoche left us decades of work to complete his own stupa, and that is exactly what I have reaffirmed I will keep doing with the rest of my life.

Ian Green is the founder of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia, and the driving force behind the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace. We are grateful to him for sharing this story as part of FPMT’s fiftieth anniversary celebration, and we would love to hear from other pioneer students with memories of their own to share.

You can read more about Ian Green and the Universal Stupa in his book Monumental – The Story of the Stupa by Ian Green OAM. Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This unique memoir gives readers a personal account of Green’s journey – from the world of Australian Advertising in the 70s, travel stories from many countries, the creation and tour of the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace and culminating in the building of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. “It’s a story that vividly illustrates the importance of dedication to a positive goal—it shows that if you persevere and never give up there is no end to the good things that you can do.” —His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Please watch Ian reading an excerpt from his book, Monumental– The Story of the Stupa:

Discover more about The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion.

Are you an early student of FPMT who was there at the beginning? Do you have a story to share about how you met Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche or the impact they have had on your life? Have you personally achieved or actualized a request, advice, practice accomplishment, or project given to you by Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche? We want to hear from you!

Please explore all of the resources we have compiled related to FPMT history. We look forward to all of your creative ideas on how to bring this year-long celebration to your own local activities and personal practices! Please use the hashtag #50YearsFPMT in your social media posts so we can all be connected in this way. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.