Claire first stumbled across the Dharma at fifteen. In 1997, she had a private audience with Venerable Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden, who advised her not to become too distracted by life and to stay on the Dharma path. So she did.
In 2005, Claire left Melbourne on her first Buddhist pilgrimage to India, beginning what would become regular visits to Dharamsala. During these journeys, she volunteered with charitable organisations including Tong-Len and TibTec, attended teachings by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and received Buddhist teachings and initiations.
She also had the extraordinary opportunity to participate in a five-day residential Highest Yoga Tantra retreat with His Holiness in the Blue Mountains. More recently, she completed The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, a two-year intensive course in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy taught by Geshe Tashi Tsering.
Claire brings a Western perspective to Lojong’s classes. Recognising that we can’t all abandon our day jobs, move into monasteries or live in caves, she works alongside her husband Tamkey, a former Tibetan Buddhist monk, to make complex Buddhist teachings accessible and relevant to everyday life.
Having worked across corporate Australia, education, IT and government, she understands that opportunities to practise mindfulness are everywhere — including the places we’d least expect them.
In 2024, Claire was diagnosed with recurrent Stage IV cervical cancer. Living with serious illness has deepened her appreciation for the practical application of Buddhist philosophy, particularly the teachings on impermanence, compassion and the nature of mind. She continues to teach meditation in Daylesford, bringing humour, honesty and lived experience to conversations about what it means to be human.
Inspired by the transformative and deeply grounding qualities of Lojong practice, Claire is passionate about helping others develop awareness, resilience and compassion — not by escaping the difficulties of life, but by learning how to meet them.
Claire is also a writer and poet. Her debut collection, Nothing Left Owing, will be published by Walleah Press in 2027. Exploring mortality, love, impermanence and the extraordinary beauty of ordinary life, her poetry draws on the same practice of attention that has shaped her Buddhist journey since 1997.
For more about Claire’s writing and forthcoming book, visit clairespencer.com.au.
Read mindfulness and meditation articles from Claire at Art of Dharma: