Venerable Tenzin Chönyi

As Dr Diana Taylor, Ven Tenzin Chönyi was a psychologist at Monash University Counseling Service and later in private practice. She graduated with a B.Sc. from University of Melbourne, and received an M. Ed and Ph.D. in Psychology from Monash University. While working on her doctorate, she was also studying Buddhism and bringing up her three children. She ran workshops with Community Communication and Kagyu Evam Buddhist Institute on self-expression and self-awareness, and taught meditation at Tara institute, Melbourne.

After ordination by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, she became the resident nun at Atisha Centre and was active in the palliative care group and Karuna Hospice, Bendigo. She spent four years studying Buddhist philosophy and psychology at Chenrezig Nuns Community with Geshe Tashi Tsering, and was later appointed a "disciplinarian" at the Chenrezig Nuns Community.

In her three years at Vajrayana Institute, Sydney, she has taught Buddhism from simple to advanced levels. Ven Chönyi has also instituted workshops for the general public, taught at inter-faith conferences and run workshops for psychologists and health professionals for the Buddhist Library in Camperdown. She writes for Mandala, Dharma Vision and Sangha Magazine. Ven Chönyi is currently working on a book on addiction incorporating Western psychology and Buddhist psychology. She is particularly interested in explaining how the Buddhist teachings are relevant to people from all walks of life and from all spiritual paths.