Dhargyey Buddhist Centre

Dhargyey Buddhist Centre
།ཐུབ་བསྟན་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་། །
Thuptän Shädrub Dhargyey Ling
 (Standard Tibetan)
Dhargyey Buddhist Centre in Royal Terrace, Dunedin
Alternative namesLinden
General information
Typeresidential
Architectural styleVictorian
LocationRoyal Terrace, Dunedin
Address22 Royal Terrace
Coordinates45°52′05″S 170°30′06″E / 45.86806°S 170.50167°E / -45.86806; 170.50167
Construction started1878
CompletedApril 1879
ClientJacob Isaac
Technical details
Structural systemtriple brick exterior walls, plastered. Double brick interior walls. Slate roof.
Design and construction
Architect(s)probably Nathaniel Wales
Architecture firmMason and Wales
Designated27 July 1988
Reference no.4768

Dhargyey Buddhist Centre is the headquarters of the Buddhist community in Dunedin, New Zealand, based at Linden, a Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga category 1 historic place.[1]

Linden

Linden, at 22 Royal Terrace, is a historic house in the city's Royal Terrace-Pitt Street-Heriot Row Residential Heritage Precinct which also includes Olveston.[2] It was built in 1879 for Jacob Isaac, a merchant associated with the New Zealand clothing company Hallensteins, and was built by architectural partmership Mason & Wales, probably to a design by Nathaniel Wales.[1]

The house was later owned by food manufacturer Richard Hudson, who established the city's chocolate factory. Hudson's widow Mary lived in the house until 1937,[1] after which it became a boarding house until 1976, when it was bought and restored by Eleanor and Richard Dowden as a family home.[3]

The Buddhist community replaced the roof with new slate in 2016, assisted by funding from New Zealand Lottery Grants Board, Otago Community Trust and the city council's heritage fund.[4]

The building is subject to damp from having had a nearby street backfilled against the basement wall.[5]

In 1988, Linden was listed as a Category 1 Historic Place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga). It is noted by the organisation for its historical significance due to its connection with Hudson, and architectural and townscape significance as a largely unmodified grand Victorian house within a precinct of similar notable structures.[1]

Buddhist centre

The Dhargyey Buddhist Centre was founded in 1984 as a Buddhist teaching centre for the Venerable Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey.[6]

The Buddhist community bought Linden house in 1986.[1]

The centre describes its main function as "to encourage harmony and unity through the sharing of Buddhist philosophy".[7]

The Dalai Lama visited the Dhargyey Buddhist Centre in 2013, and suggested it could convey Buddhist concepts of self-help and science of mind, to the wider community.[4]

The centre marked the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday in 2025.[8]

Stupa

A stupa commemorating Geshe Dhargyey, built and maintained by the Dhargyey Buddhist Centre, overlooks Portobello on Otago Peninsula near Dunedin.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Linden (Former)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  2. ^ "A2. Heritage Precinct Values" on Dunedin City Council website, retrieved 5 July 2025
  3. ^ Galer, Lois Houses and Homes, Allied Press, 1981
  4. ^ a b Gibb, John "Excitement over renovation, new teaching monk" Otago Daily Times 14 April 2016, retrieved 5 July 2025
  5. ^ Harwood, Brenda "Help on the way for Buddhist haven" The Star 2 March 2025, retrieved 5 July 2025
  6. ^ a b "About the centre" on Dhargyey Buddhist Centre website, retrieved 5 July 2025
  7. ^ Dhargyey Buddhist Centre website, retrieved 5 July 2025
  8. ^ Harwood, Brenda Celebrations mark Dalai Lama’s 90th The Star 3 July 2025 retrieved 5 July 2025