TARA SHRINE AND GUEST HOUSE

A HOUSE IS NOT JUST A METAPHOR

Warmth is the remedy for cold. Rest is the antidote to exhaustion. And a person worn down by anxiety needs a quiet, welcoming place where they can sit down, gather themselves, breathe out in silence, and remember that life is not made only of fear and haste.

When Dharma is truly alive, and not just a pleasing word in a book, it needs a home: a roof, walls, warmth, water, cleanliness, and order. It needs a place where one does not have to struggle with basic living conditions in order to practice with dignity. That is why we are beginning the Tara Shrine and Guest House project at Gomde Ukraine: the restoration of an old neglected building that will become a guest house with a Tara shrine room at its heart.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT LUXURY, BUT ABOUT DIGNITY

We have long outgrown tent camps and the first volunteer house with its small rooms and bunk beds. What was enough at the beginning no longer corresponds to what this Ukrainian Gomde center has become, nor to what the people who come here now truly need.

Buddhist practice does not require luxury, but it does require dignity. To get through the day is not the same as to live well. And to survive is not the same as to practice. What we are speaking about is dignity in practice, in work, in rest, and in the way Dharma practitioners are received. It is also about the respect for oneself and for others that a place, its people, its buildings, and the order around them quietly radiate into the wider society and the local community.

If a space is careless, scattered, makeshift, and exhausting, then over time the practice within it becomes worn down in the same way. That is why Tara House is needed: so that Dharma practice in Ukraine may gradually take root in a place where one can live and practice with dignity.

WHY THE NEED IS URGENT

Someone may say: but there is a war. Would it not be wiser to wait?

This may sound reasonable, but it leads to a troubling conclusion: that a place for practice, restoration, and silence is needed only when life is already ordinary and relatively calm. But what if you are living in the midst of war and terror?

During Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, practice does not become less necessary. It becomes more necessary. Not because practice can instantly stop missiles or erase grief, but because without it the human mind itself can quickly become another field of ruin.

We are not waiting for victory in order to remember our inner life. We are not putting Dharma on pause until “better times.” We are not postponing calm, attention, and dignity as though these were luxuries for peacetime. The wheel of Dharma turns in war as well as in peace.

And if the wheel of Dharma is to keep turning in Ukraine not only in books or online, but in real life, then it needs a place to turn. Not a golden palace. Not a decorative temple façade. Simply a place where one can stay, practice, listen to teachings, regain composure, stand up again, and continue on the path.

THE SHAPE OF THE FUTURE TARA HOUSE

After renovation, Tara House will have two main parts: the Green Tara shrine room and the Tara guest rooms.

The Green Tara Shrine Room

This will be a large glass-enclosed practice space with underfloor heating, suitable for use in every season of the year. It will comfortably hold up to thirty people, and more if needed.

It will serve as a place for:

  • group meditation and practice,

  • teaching seminars,

  • body-based therapeutic sessions,

  • prayer, silent sitting, and retreat practice.

A shrine room is not needed because practice requires solemnity for its own sake. It is needed because living practice needs form. One can be mindful while cooking, cleaning, or working. But there is another dimension of the path as well: opening a text, practicing sadhana, doing ngöndro, sitting in silence, entering a shared session of practice. This is not secondary. It is one of the natural supports of the path. That is why a dedicated space is needed.

Tara Guest Rooms

There will be four rooms, each designed for two to five people. Each room will be associated with a particular manifestation and enlightened activity: Sarasvatī, Vasudhārā, Kurukullā, and Ekajaṭī.

Each room will offer light, simplicity, warmth, order, and space to breathe — what one might call honest comfort. There will be beds, wardrobes, a small kitchenette, a compact bathroom with a shower, and everything needed for simple, clean, dignified living and practice.

WHAT WILL CHANGE

Tara House will give the retreat center two things without which it can no longer grow further: four proper guest rooms and a dedicated shrine room for practice.

For a guest or practitioner, this means a simple but decisive change: coming to Gomde will no longer be a test of endurance in basic living conditions. A person will have an autonomous place to sleep, wash, prepare simple food, be in silence, and not spend their strength overcoming unnecessary discomfort.

For practice itself, this matters even more. A living tradition does not stand on goodwill alone. Practice needs its own space. A shrine room is not an accessory. It is part of a living ecology of practice.

When Tara House begins to function, Gomde Ukraine will be able to receive people not temporarily and randomly, but in an orderly and dignified way. Practitioners, volunteers, and participants in programs will have proper conditions. The center will gain not merely a renovated building, but a real instrument for the growth of Dharma practice in Ukraine.

A GREAT DEAL OF WORK LIES AHEAD

When one looks at the building in its present state, it becomes clear that this is not a symbolic upgrade, but major work on a structure that has been falling into ruin since 2008. This is not a light cosmetic repair. The terrace roof and columns are almost gone, the walls are peeling, and the building has no windows, no doors, and no floor. Detailed Renovation Budget

What is needed is a full restoration together with all essential infrastructure: heating, underfloor heating, water supply, sewage, windows, doors, flooring, interior finishing, furnishing, and a solar power system.

The building does already have a sound foundation, walls, stairs, and part of the reinforced concrete structure. That is no small thing. But for Tara House to become a functioning guest house and shrine room, the following work must be completed:

  • installation of the structural reinforcing belt and roof,

  • new windows and doors,

  • new flooring,

  • heating and underfloor heating,

  • water supply,

  • sewage system,

  • solar power system,

  • interior finishing,

  • kitchenettes, bathrooms, and showers,

  • furniture, lighting, and all essential fittings.

This is why the project requires serious labor, materials, and funds. When we speak about sponsoring a room or supporting the project as a whole, it is important to understand that behind those figures stands a very real volume of work and material cost.

HOW THE WORK WILL BE ORGANIZED

We already have agreements with several work crews and plan to begin the renovation in the near future. Some of the work will be done by professional builders, and some — as far as strength and helping hands allow — we will do ourselves with the help of volunteers and friends of the center.

This matters not only because of the budget. A house like this should not arise as an outside contractor’s job untouched by the hands of the community it is meant to serve. If someone truly sees their future as connected with Gomde Ukraine and wants this place to live and serve for a long time, then it is only natural that they take part in its coming into being — through labor, time, funds, materials, or advice.

We do not hide the fact that a great deal of work lies ahead, and donations alone will not be enough. We need helping hands, clear heads, organization, and a shared sense that this house is not somebody else’s separate initiative, but a common undertaking to which one can contribute and make one’s own. That is how a place begins to live for real: when it is built not only out of money, but also out of shared responsibility.

WHY THIS PROJECT IS WORTH SUPPORTING

Without Tara House, Gomde Ukraine no longer has room to grow naturally and with dignity. We have long gone beyond the first volunteer house and the camp-like way of receiving people. If practice in the center is truly alive, if people come here for retreats, seminars, personal practice, volunteer work, and study, then sooner or later one simple requirement appears: a person needs decent conditions for living and genuine practice. Not luxury, but order.

Not a random shelter, but a place where one can wash, sleep, sit down to practice, open a text, complete a session, and not be drained by basic disorder.

In wartime, this need does not decrease; it becomes greater. We are not putting Dharma on pause until better times, and we are not postponing inner work until the day when everything around us finally quiets down. To support this project means helping to create the first proper guest house at Gomde Ukraine together with a full space for shared practice.

SPONSORS OF THE FOUR ROOMS OF TARA’S ENLIGHTENED MANIFESTATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

There will be four separate rooms in Tara House, and each of them will be associated with a particular manifestation of Tara and with the enlightened qualities and activity that this manifestation symbolizes in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions. 

Sarasvatī

Sarasvatī is the goddess of wisdom, learning, poetry, language, music, and clear awareness. In the Buddhist tradition she is linked with awakened understanding, good memory, eloquence, and the capacity to transmit the teachings accurately. In a lineage of transmission, her blessing is especially important wherever the teachings must not only be heard, but understood, translated, preserved, and passed on in a living language.

Vasudhārā

Vasudhārā means “stream of wealth” or “stream of treasures.” She is the female deity of abundance, prosperity, and favorable conditions. In Buddhist understanding, her blessings are not limited to material wealth. They include resources, health, support, stability, and the outer and inner conditions that allow Dharma to flourish and bear fruit in the minds of beings.

Kurukullā

Kurukullā is a red female form of enlightened activity associated with the Lotus family. In Vajrayana her activity is described as magnetizing: she gathers favorable conditions, draws beings toward Dharma, and helps the practitioner’s mind overcome obstacles on the path to awakening. Her power is the enlightened energy of compassion and wisdom drawing in what is beneficial for practice, service, and the liberation of beings.

Ekajaṭī

Ekajaṭī is a fierce protector of Vajrayana, especially associated with safeguarding Dzogchen teachings, secret mantra, essential instructions, and the purity of transmission. Her fierceness is not aggression. It is the fearless activity of enlightened protection guarding samaya, practitioners, terma teachings, and the living lineage itself. She cuts through obstacles, distraction, self-deception, and all that interferes with the path of liberation.

Together, these four figures express four dimensions of enlightened activity: Kurukullā draws beings and conditions toward Dharma, Vasudhārā increases resources and merit, Sarasvatī supports wisdom and transmission, and Ekajaṭī protects profound practice and the living lineage.

BECOME A ROOM SPONSOR

We are looking for people or families who would like to support the creation of one particular Tara room. Such sponsorship is not merely a one-time contribution toward renovation work. It is a way of linking one’s generosity with a concrete space of practice dedicated to a particular manifestation of Tara and to the qualities she represents. 

A room sponsor receives the lifelong right to stay free of charge in that room during visits to Gomde Ukraine and during seminars and retreats held there. It is enough simply to let us know in advance. When the sponsor is not present, the room serves other guests, volunteers, and practitioners.

If they wish, the sponsor may also take part in shaping the room’s interior — its color, furniture, atmosphere, and certain details — within the shared concept of Tara House. We would also be glad to acknowledge the sponsor’s name on the website, on the building, and in the room itself.

If you would like to become a room sponsor, this is an opportunity not only to support the arising of Tara House, but also to dedicate your contribution to a space that will serve practice, people, and the living connection with Tara and her enlightened activities. Room Sponsor Form

VOLUNTEERS

To begin this project, we need not only funds, but people. We are looking for volunteers ready to come to Gomde Ukraine and take part in the real bringing-into-being of this place.

Above all, we need volunteers with building experience, repair skills, physical stamina, and a responsible attitude toward work. At the same time, we are also open to those who are not skilled tradespeople but have good will, good health, and a readiness to work wherever help is needed.

You may come for one week, two weeks, one month, or longer by separate agreement. For volunteers we provide:

  • decent living conditions,

  • vegetarian meals,

  • tools and consumable materials.

There are two accommodation options for volunteers: a comfortable trailer with beds, kitchen, and electricity, or the volunteer house with comfortable bunk beds.

Volunteers need only bring their own clothes, medicines, and personal items.

We need help with preparing the building for work, organizing the interior, and doing simple building and household tasks. For us, this is not secondary help if convenient. If someone truly sees their future as connected with Gomde Ukraine and wants this place to live and serve for a long time, then it is natural that they contribute in some way — through labor, time, attention, materials, or funds. Places like this do not appear by themselves. They arise when someone stops standing aside. Volunteer Form

CONTACT

If you would like to:

please contact us:

Telegram: @serhiohiero
Viber / WhatsApp: +380675074168
Email: gomdeua@gmail.com

IN CLOSING

There is still a great deal of work ahead of us. But the vision has already matured, the form is already visible, and the first steps are already being taken.

Tara House is not a building for the sake of a building. It is a home where practice will have dignified conditions, and where people will have a space for living, silence, and restoration.