Four monks from the Gyuto Tantric University, one of the most revered institutions in Tibetan Buddhism, are in residence at Crystal Castle & Shambhala Gardens from now to 30 August 2026.

The daily program runs from 10:30am to 4:30pm and includes meditation, multiphonic chanting, Buddhist talks, tantric art classes and empowerment ceremonies, all included with general admission.

The Gyuto Monks are masters of overtone chanting, with each Monk sounding three notes simultaneously, a practice drawn from a 600-year-old tradition found almost nowhere else on earth.

Led by senior Monk Lama Phurba, on his first visit to Australia, the Monks will create three sacred sand mandalas over nearly three months, the Tantric Trilogy of Guhyasamaja, Yamantaka and Chakrasamvara.

Each is built grain by grain over weeks, then ceremonially dissolved, with the sand returned to flowing water as a teaching on impermanence. They are not appearing anywhere else in Australia.

On 6 July, the Monks will perform a Milestone Ceremony and Long Life Guru Puja at Crystal Castle to mark His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 91st birthday, inside the globally observed Year of Compassion.

Three evening Chants of Compassion concerts will be held, with the first on 14 July. $108 per ticket, maximum 108 per night, with 100% of profits going directly to the Gyuto Monastery in Dharamsala, India, home to approximately 500 monks living in exile. The October 2025 concert sold out within days.

Crystal Castle, now in its 40th anniversary year, is home to the Kalachakra Stupa for World Peace, blessed by the Dalai Lama and the only Buddhist stupa of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The Monks’ relationship with Australian communities spans over three decades.

“The Gyuto Monks’ visits are some of the most special things we do,” said Toby King, General Manager. “When they’re here, the whole place shifts, guests feel it the moment they walk in. To have them in residence for nearly three months, creating three sacred mandalas, is something truly wonderful.”

“Our friendship with the Gyuto Monks has been part of the evolution of Crystal Castle for many years,” says Naren King, Founder of Crystal Castle.

“Their presence, wisdom and chanting have helped shape some of the most meaningful moments in our history, including the creation and opening of the Kalachakra World Peace Stupa.