The Four Thoughts that Turn our Mind from Samsara
2025-09-20 17:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria, 3054, Australia
We are pleased to announce that the Fifth Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche has offered to teach in our Melbourne Centre on the evenings of September 19 and 20 and for the day on Sunday September 21. He is a Kempo who studied at Larang Gar under Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche.

Saturday September 20 from 5pm till 7pm $25/$15
The Four Thoughts That Turn Our Minds From Samsara

About Rinpoche
The Fifth Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche was born in 1970, amid many auspicious signs, and was soon recognised as the reincarnation of the Fourth Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche of Ju Mohor Monastery.
Even as a young boy, he was unlike his peers. He had a particularly loving and compassionate nature that was noted and appreciated by all who met him. Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche showed exceptional intelligence in all his studies and attained perfect understanding in all he was taught.
With the guidance of his spiritual teachers, he undertook all the traditional training of his lineage. This included accumulating the 500,000 ngondro practices, and training in the Rigdzin lineage tradition including the essential Dzogchen instructions of kadak trekchö and lhundrop tögal during which time he gained extraordinary insights and experiences from his meditation practice. This training culminated in a three year retreat at Yachen Orgyen Samten Choeling, under the regular guidance of HH Lama Achuk Rinpoche.
At the age of 18 years he was formally enthroned as the Fifth Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche and abbot of Ju Monastery.
His education continued at the great university centre of Larang Gar at Serthar. He studied the different schools of Buddhist philosophy and the sutra and tantra under a number of teachers, particularly the founder of Larang Gar, HH Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche. He graduated from Larang Gar as a Khenpo at the age of 25.
Later, Rinpoche returned to Ju Mohor Monastery to give teachings, to the great benefit of the monastic community there. During this time, Rinpoche also received many empowerments, oral transmissions and pith instructions of the secret Nyingmapa kama and terma traditions from a number of scholars and practitioners including HH Drupwang Pema Norbu, Khenpo Pema Tsewang, Venerable Gyangkhang Tulku, Venerable Khenpo Choekyap, Venerable Trulshig Rinpoche and Venerable Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche and several teachings on Secret Mantrayana from Venerable Ngorlu Ding Khenchen.
Rinpoche is now heading the groundbreaking Vista Project, based in Sershul, the town closest to Ju Mohor Monastery. The aim of the Vista Project is to revitalise the economic and cultural lives of the Tibetan people. Although the Chinese economy is growing rapidly, the nomadic peoples of Eastern Tibet are often unable to take advantage of the opportunities available. The Vista Project aims to provide basic education and vocational training to enable local nomads to survive and prosper in the modern economic climate and also to preserve and cultivate the ancient culture of Tibet.

Meditation, Compassion & Wisdom in Everyday Life
2025-09-21 10:00 - 16:00 | Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria, 3054, Australia
We are pleased to announce that the Fifth Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche has offered to teach in our Melbourne Centre on the evenings of September 19 and 20 and for the day on Sunday September 21. He is a Kempo who studied at Larang Gar under Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche.

Sunday September 21 from 10am till 4pm
Meditation, Compassion & Wisdom in Everyday Life”

About Rinpoche
The Fifth Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche was born in 1970, amid many auspicious signs, and was soon recognised as the reincarnation of the Fourth Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche of Ju Mohor Monastery.

Even as a young boy, he was unlike his peers. He had a particularly loving and compassionate nature that was noted and appreciated by all who met him. Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche showed exceptional intelligence in all his studies and attained perfect understanding in all he was taught.

With the guidance of his spiritual teachers, he undertook all the traditional training of his lineage. This included accumulating the 500,000 ngondro practices, and training in the Rigdzin lineage tradition including the essential Dzogchen instructions of kadak trekchö and lhundrop tögal during which time he gained extraordinary insights and experiences from his meditation practice. This training culminated in a three year retreat at Yachen Orgyen Samten Choeling, under the regular guidance of HH Lama Achuk Rinpoche.

At the age of 18 years he was formally enthroned as the Fifth Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche and abbot of Ju Monastery.
His education continued at the great university centre of Larang Gar at Serthar. He studied the different schools of Buddhist philosophy and the sutra and tantra under a number of teachers, particularly the founder of Larang Gar, HH Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche. He graduated from Larang Gar as a Khenpo at the age of 25.

Later, Rinpoche returned to Ju Mohor Monastery to give teachings, to the great benefit of the monastic community there. During this time, Rinpoche also received many empowerments, oral transmissions and pith instructions of the secret Nyingmapa kama and terma traditions from a number of scholars and practitioners including HH Drupwang Pema Norbu, Khenpo Pema Tsewang, Venerable Gyangkhang Tulku, Venerable Khenpo Choekyap, Venerable Trulshig Rinpoche and Venerable Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche and several teachings on Secret Mantrayana from Venerable Ngorlu Ding Khenchen.

Rinpoche is now heading the groundbreaking Vista Project, based in Sershul, the town closest to Ju Mohor Monastery. The aim of the Vista Project is to revitalise the economic and cultural lives of the Tibetan people. Although the Chinese economy is growing rapidly, the nomadic peoples of Eastern Tibet are often unable to take advantage of the opportunities available. The Vista Project aims to provide basic education and vocational training to enable local nomads to survive and prosper in the modern economic climate and also to preserve and cultivate the ancient culture of Tibet.

The Wealth of Our Innate Wakefulness - Saturday 8 November 2025
2025-11-08 09:00 - 17:00 | Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria, 3054, Australia
Please note that the teachings in day 2 follow on from day 1 with a beginning, middle and end, and therefore it is advisable to register for both days. All effort will be made to help those unable to attend both days to catch up.
A weekend teaching on buddha nature
Out of all of Buddha’s teachings, those on buddha nature communicate most directly what lies at their heart: that we are fundamentally good, and our essential nature, our identity, is the same profound, peaceful, stainless, lucid, and unconditioned‍ essence that Buddha himself discovered as a result of following the spiritual path.
Confidence in buddha nature is deeply transformative in terms of our outlook on life; the way we view ourselves, the world around us, our values and priorities in life, our relationship to our spiritual path: all this is touched by the teachings on buddha nature.
This weekend teaching will bring together classic Indian and Tibetan Buddhist teachings on buddha nature, and contemporary teachings by Sogyal Rinpoche, which will give us the opportunity to discover our own buddha nature, and give expression to it in our thoughts and actions.
We will work together on building confidence in our buddha nature through the practice of contemplation — which will enable us to see its relevance to our own lives and experience — and more experientially, through the practice of meditation: learning to let go and relax in the clarity and awareness of our mind which is available to us all the time.
Together we will reflect on questions like:

What are we looking for in life? And why?
Who are we really? If our thoughts, emotions, our body, and our world are always changing, is there something in us that is really ‘us ’, which is constant and unchanging?
What is mind?
How can I know I have buddha nature?
If my mind’s nature is buddha nature, why am I suffering?
How to overcome fear?
How do we habitually relate to ourselves and others? And why?
What is wisdom? And what is compassion?
How can I come to fully actualise my buddha nature?

About Jan van der Breggen
Jan began his path of meditation at 17 years old, touched by the tenderness of the human experience and filled with questions about what reality was all about. Forty years later, Jan continues to be moved by the vast profundity of the Buddhist path and its vision of the inherent wisdom, loving kindness and strength that lies in the minds of each and every one of us.
Jan completed Rigpa’s three-year retreat under the guidance of Sogyal Rinpoche. He was entrusted as one of Rigpa’s Senior teachers by Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche and Mindroling Jetsun Khandro in 2022. Jan has been a participant in the Milinda program since 2017. Milinda is a 10-year, international Buddhist teacher training program under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, with a three month per year intensive and immersive in-person learning and reflection program.
Jan grew up in the Netherlands where he obtained a Masters Degree in Social and Historical Anthropology. He has lived in Brisbane, Australia, since 1998, and was instrumental in founding Rigpa Brisbane in 1999, where he has served as a Dharma instructor for over 20 years.
About Alessandra Pizzardello
Alessandra is a dedicated practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism with over 20 years of study and retreat experience, including at Rigpa Shedra East in Nepal.
Originally from Italy, she also lived in Sweden and Australia, where she started a successful business that has been running for over two decades before deciding to fully committing to the Dharma. Rooted in the Nyingma and Longchen Nyingtik traditions, Alessandra has been sharing the Buddhist teachings as a Dharma instructor in Australia for several years, with the heartfelt wish to support and inspire others on their own path of study and practice.

Cost for each day :
Sangha and Concession: $30 per day
Full Price: $50 per day
Benefactor $75 per day
BYO lunch
Morning and Afternoon tea provided

Self Forgiveness in the Light of Compassion
2025-11-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Online via Zoom, Australia
A seminar with Christine Longaker
Discover how to live with a lighter, kinder heart. Many of us carry beliefs that we’re unworthy of love or beyond forgiveness, leaving us trapped in self-blame. But punishing ourselves only deepens our suffering. Through insight, compassion, and guided meditations, you’ll learn to soften your “inner critic,” release false beliefs, and understand why you can let yourself off the hook—all of which lightens your heart. As you cultivate forgiveness and compassion for yourself, you’ll naturally feel empathy and understanding for others— which brings more kindness and healing into your family and the entire world.
Seminar topics:
● Dismantling the barriers to self-forgiveness
● Understanding your life with kindness and acceptance
● Transforming your “inner critic”
● A few good reasons to let yourself off the hook
● Meditations that deepen authentic compassion and forgiveness for yourself and others

About Christine Longaker
Christine Longaker co-founded one of the first home care hospices in California in 1978, and helped establish the international Spiritual Care Program in 1993, in which she trained teams of caregivers who collectively brought the vision of compassionate care for the dying to over 30,000 people. Her book, Facing Death and Finding Hope: A Guide to the Emotional and Spiritual Care of the Dying, is published in eight languages. For forty years, Christine Longaker has become an internationally renowned teacher on meditation, compassion, and care for the dying. Her trainings inspired the founding of four hospices and two spiritual care centers.
Longaker was developer and faculty for the six-month “Contemplative End-of-Life Care” training that was accredited by Naropa University in Colorado. The long-term benefits of spiritual care training were demonstrated in research she co-authored that was published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine in 2005.
Because self-compassion is the most vital ingredient for inner healing, building resilience and the essential precursor to having compassion for others, Christine Longaker’s vision is to bring the skills and methods of self-compassion to many areas of endeavor. This, combined with her decades of spiritual training and skill in communicating with diverse audiences, bring unique insights and powerful methods to the work.

The Wealth of Our Innate Wakefulness - Sunday 9 November 2025
2025-11-09 09:00 - 15:30 | Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria, 3054, Australia

Expanding Our Heart: Love and Compassion in Everyday Life
2025-11-16 09:30 - 16:30 | nsw
An Experiential Workshop with Valerie Baker,
Newcastle in Person, Sunday 16th November, 9.30am – 4.30pm, Carrington Memorial Hall, 1A Hargraves St Carrington, NSW 2294.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
— His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Many people think of compassion as something we either have or don’t — in the Buddhist tradition, however, compassion is a quality we can consciously develop, just like mindfulness or concentration.
Rigpa Newcastle warmly invites you to a special workshop with Buddhist teacher Valerie Baker.
Valerie will guide us through profound yet practical methods from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, showing how compassion can grow our daily lives.
Together we will explore:

How compassion can transform the way we relate to ourselves and others.
What begins to unfold when we actively cultivate compassion.
The Four Immeasurables — loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity — timeless practices for opening the heart to others.
Simple guided exercises that bring ease, connection, and a sense of spaciousness.

At a time when compassion is needed more than ever, this is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and discover that compassion is not just an ideal, but a practice that can be learned, deepened, and shared.
📍Carrington Memorial Hall, 1A Hargraves St Carrington, (Newcastle). It is a charming hall, is wheelchair accessible and has easy parking.
🗓️ Sunday 16th November
⏰ 9.30am – 4.30pm
with breaks for morning and afternoon tea (supplied) and lunch (not supplied).
About Valerie

Valerie grew up in Ireland and has been a student of Buddhism since the early 1990s and has completed several traditional closed retreats. For the last 20 years, Valerie has developed Buddhist courses and study programmes for Rigpa and has held teaching and practice events around the world.
She is known for her clarity, her sense of humour, kindness and humility. She currently lives and works at the Lerab Ling Retreat Centre in France.

Expanding Our Heart: Love and Compassion in Everyday Life
2025-11-16 09:30 - 16:30 | Online via Zoom, Australia
An Experiential Workshop with Valerie Baker
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
— His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Many people think of compassion as something we either have or don’t — in the Buddhist tradition, however, compassion is a quality we can consciously develop, just like mindfulness or concentration.
Valerie will guide us through profound yet practical methods from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, showing how compassion can grow our daily lives.
Together we will explore:

How compassion can transform the way we relate to ourselves and others.
What begins to unfold when we actively cultivate compassion.
The Four Immeasurables — loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity — timeless practices for opening the heart to others.
Simple guided exercises that bring ease, connection, and a sense of spaciousness.

At a time when compassion is needed more than ever, this is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and discover that compassion is not just an ideal, but a practice that can be learned, deepened, and shared.
📍Online
🗓️ Sunday 16th November
⏰ 9.30am – 4.30pm
with breaks for morning and afternoon tea (supplied) and lunch (not supplied).
This event is open to everyone in person – both beginners and those with experience in meditation and compassion practices.
However, online participation is limited to people who already have some experience with these practices.‘

Rigpa Australia Sangha members can choose the concession rate when registering.

About Valerie
Valerie grew up in Ireland and has been a student of Buddhism since the early 1990s and has completed several traditional closed retreats. For the last 20 years, Valerie has developed Buddhist courses and study programmes for Rigpa and has held teaching and practice events around the world.
She is known for her clarity, her sense of humour, kindness and humility. She currently lives and works at the Lerab Ling Retreat Centre in France.

Know your mind, transform your life
2026-01-22 - 2026-01-26 | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
This five-day retreat will take you to the heart of the revolutionary insight of Buddhism, that life and death are in the mind, and nowhere else. In Dzogchen—the most direct stream of wisdom within the teachings of Buddhism—the mind is revealed as the universal basis of experience: the creator of happiness and the creator of suffering.
Guided by the teachings of the Buddha, deep reflection, and our own personal meditative insight, we will investigate exactly how the mind is the root of our entire reality. This exploration leads to a profound certainty and confidence in our mind’s essence: the lucid, pure awareness that underlies the whole of life and death.
The foundation of trust in our inherently pure nature, allows us to investigate

how the mind’s unending display of thoughts and emotions are workable
the cognitive and emotional patterns of delusion that perpetuate samsara; and
the challenging, yet liberating notion, that ‘samsara is mind turned outwardly, lost in its projection, whereas nirvana is mind turned inwardly, recognising its nature.’

This paves the way to the profound method of leaving the mind unaltered in its true nature, finding a natural great peace, bliss and clarity.
The retreat will allow for reflection and meditation on the teachings tailored to each participants’ prior experience: from complete beginners to ngondro, and dzogchen practitioners.
Join us for a journey from our ordinary, everyday mind, to the true essence and nature of mind.

📍Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North;
📍Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown
📍& Online
(Those gathering at the Rigpa Melbourne Centre will view the live event from Sydney via Zoom. To attend the retreat at the Melbourne Centre, please select the online option when registering. You may register to attend part or all of the retreat. Our Melbourne team will then be in touch to confirm arrangements.)

This Life: The Buddha’s guide to inner transformation | Melbourne
2026-02-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria, 3054, Australia
The Buddhist spiritual path centres on our own mind’s vast potential for peace, compassion and wisdom. True lasting happiness does not depend on external factors but comes from looking inwards to better know our own mind and heart. This course presents key insights from the Buddha’s life and teachings to show how, through meditation and shifting our focus inwards, we can find true, unending contentment.

This course presents key Buddhist frameworks that guide our path, including:

The four noble truths (a clear-eyed view of our suffering, its causes, the potential for that suffering to be brought to an end, and how to attain that cessation of suffering).
The three vehicles of Buddhism, which progressively show how we can nurture our innate peace, compassion and wisdom.
The four seals, which encapsulate what is unique about the Buddha’s teachings and sets them apart from other religions and philosophies.

Including teachings from foremost Tibetan masters of our time, space for contemplation, reflection and discussion, and guided meditations, this course will give you practical tools to help you work with your mind and take charge of your spiritual path.

Details
Where: Attend in person at Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson Street Carlton North.
When: Monday evenings, for 8 weeks, starting 2 February 2026.
Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm AEDT.
Cost: 8-week module: Full $160, Concession $80.

FREE for Rigpa members who may email melbourne@rigpa.org.au to request the discount code.
If you are experiencing financial hardship please email us at melbourne@rigpa.org.au to request a further concession.
Certificates of Attendance are available on request and may be suitable for Ongoing Professional Development.
More information is available by emailing melbourne@rigpa.org.au

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind
2026-02-11 18:30 - 20:30 | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
Join us on an experiential journey through The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Discover a deep and universal wisdom explored in the major themes of the book, and learn about their practical implications for living well. Suitable for people of any religion or of none, this course encourages you to reflect on the Buddhist teachings, to see what makes sense to you and to experiment with applying these teachings in your daily life.
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is widely regarded as one of the most complete and authoritative presentations of Tibetan Buddhism. A manual for life and death and a source of sacred inspiration from the heart of the Tibetan tradition, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying provides a lucid and inspiring introduction to the practice of meditation, to the nature of mind, to karma and rebirth, and to the trials and rewards of the spiritual path. The teachings, meditation and contemplations from this authentic tradition reveal how each of us can live a more meaningful, connected and fulfilling life.
Participants in this course will learn:

How to meditate
How an acceptance of impermanence can help us understand death and change our attitude towards life
How meditation can transform our perception, increase our confidence and fully connect us to the world around us
That mind is much more than just thoughts and emotions
How understanding the interdependency of all things and the principle of karma (that every action has an effect) gives us a logical basis for ethics and personal responsibility

Led by Western meditation instructors with many years of experience, each session consists of:

Video teachings from Tibetan and Western Buddhist masters including Sogyal Rinpoche, Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, Pema Chödrön and Sharon Salzberg.
Meditation practice
Time for contemplation
Group discussions and Q&A, offering you the opportunity to explore the teachings and practices in an open supportive environment.

A year long course you can join at any time.
📍 Online and Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown.
🗓️ Wednesday evenings, for 5 weeks starting 11 February
⏰ 6.30pm – 8.30pm (AEST)

This Life: The Buddha's guide to inner transformation
2026-02-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
The Buddhist spiritual path centres on our own mind’s vast potential for peace, compassion and wisdom. True lasting happiness does not depend on external factors but comes from looking inwards to better know our own mind and heart. This course presents key insights from the Buddha’s life and teachings to show how, through meditation and shifting our focus inwards, we can find true, unending contentment.
This course presents key Buddhist frameworks that guide our path, including:– The four noble truths (a clear-eyed view of our suffering, its causes, the potential for that suffering to be brought to an end, and how to attain that cessation of suffering)– The three vehicles of Buddhism, which progressively show how we can nurture our innate peace, compassion and wisdom– The four seals, which encapsulate what is unique about the Buddha’s teachings and sets them apart from other religions and philosophies.
Including teachings from foremost Tibetan masters of our time, space for contemplation, reflection and discussion, and guided meditations, this course will give you practical tools to help you work with your mind and take charge of your spiritual path.
Online and Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown.

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind: Understanding Death & Impermanence
2026-03-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
All of us are touched by death in one way or another. The Buddha said, “If you want to know the truth of life and death, you must reflect continuously on this: there is only one law in the universe that never changes—that all things change, and that all things are impermanent.”
In the Buddhist approach, life and death are seen as one whole. Death is a mirror in which the entire meaning of life is reflected. And we do not have to wait for the death of someone close to us to force us into looking at our lives. We can begin, here and now, to find meaning in our lives.
Come with us on a journey investigating death and impermanence, through deep reflection on change and interconnectedness, to arrive at an appreciation of the vast potential of our own mind that is revealed when we let go of grasping at surface appearances.
📍 Online and Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown.
🗓️ Wednesday evenings, starting 18 March
⏰ 6.30pm – 8.30pm (Australian Eastern Time)

Make Friends with Your Mind | Meditation and Wisdom to Transform Everyday Life | Melbourne
2026-03-21 14:00 - 16:30 | nsw
Make Friends with Your Mind | Meditation and Wisdom to Transform Everyday Life
March 21 @ 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
In person

Make Friends with Your Mind
Your mind can be your best friend or your worst nightmare. This session will introduce simple meditation practices that allow us to glimpse the pure mind that underlies all our emotions so that we can find lasting peace and sanity.
Spend time with your best self on a journey from sadness and anger to peace and joy. The timeless wisdom and meditative insights of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition offer many practical methods to help us heal and thrive as we face the everyday challenges of anxiety, depression, anger, physical pain, loneliness, and burnout.
This is a session in the Meditation and Wisdom to Transform Every Day Life series.
This series of Saturday afternoon sessions offer an introduction to meditation and practical advice from some of the foremost Tibetan Buddhist teachers of our age. Applying these teachings can help us meet the challenges of these difficult times, to heal ourselves, and to bring us to the core of our own peace, compassion and wisdom.
Led by Western meditation instructors with many years of experience, each session consists of:

Video teachings from Tibetan Buddhist masters including Sogyal Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Dungse Jampal Norbu and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
Meditation practice
Time for contemplation
Group discussions and Q&A, offering you the opportunity to explore the teachings and practices in an open supportive environment and to connect with a community of practitioners

Details of future sessions are yet to be confirmed. Please contact melbourne@rigpa.org.au for more information.

Details

Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Location: Melbourne, in person
Register: Book Now

Cost: Full $20 Concession (seniors/under 35’s/concession) $10

If you are experiencing financial hardship please email us at melbourne@rigpa.org.au to request a further concession.

Free for Rigpa Sangha members. Please email melbourne@rigpa.org.au to request the discount code.

A path to fearlessness | Meditation and Wisdom to Transform Everyday Life | Melbourne
2026-05-02 14:00 - 16:30 | nsw
A path to fearlessness | Meditation and Wisdom to Transform Everyday Life
May 02 @ 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
In person
The sense of fear is a useful tool for survival. Living in fear for fear’s sake, however, can be paralysing. This session will present a short teaching by Dungse Jampal Norbu as he explores the root causes of our fear, and how we can cultivate the antidote to them. From the Buddhist view, fear arises from three negative emotions: attachment, aversion, and ignorance. By investigating the source of our fears and confronting them with fierce compassion, Buddhism offers a path away from fear and anxiety towards courage.
A session in the Meditation and Wisdom to Transform Every Day Life series.
Spend time with your best self on a journey from sadness and anger to peace and joy. The timeless wisdom and meditative insights of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition offer many practical methods to help us heal and thrive as we face the everyday challenges of anxiety, depression, anger, physical pain, loneliness, and burnout.
This series of Saturday afternoon sessions offer an introduction to meditation and practical advice from some of the foremost Tibetan Buddhist teachers of our age. Applying these teachings can help us meet the challenges of these difficult times, to heal ourselves, and to bring us to the core of our own peace, compassion and wisdom.
Led by Western meditation instructors with many years of experience, each session consists of:

Video teachings from Tibetan Buddhist masters including Sogyal Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Dungse Jampal Norbu and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
Meditation practice
Time for contemplation
Group discussions and Q&A, offering you the opportunity to explore the teachings and practices in an open supportive environment and to connect with a community of practitioners

Details of future sessions are:

13 June – Calming the Mind and Overcoming Anxiety
26 September – Where Can We Find Lasting Happiness?
21 November – Everything is Workable
12 December – Overcoming Depression

Details
Topic: A Path to Fearlessness

Date: Saturday, May 2nd
Time: 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Location: Melbourne, in person
Website: Register
Cost: Full $20 | Concession (seniors/under 35’s/concession) $10

If you are experiencing financial hardship please email us at melbourne@rigpa.org.au to request a further concession.
Free for Rigpa Sangha members. Please email melbourne@rigpa.org.au to request the discount code.

Calming the Mind and Overcoming Anxiety | Meditation and Wisdom for Every Day
2026-05-02 15:00 - 17:30 | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
Fear and anxiety disempower us. In this session we’ll present a short teaching by Sogyal Rinpoche that will help us look into the underlying source of our fears so that we can find a firm basis for confidence and contentment.

A session in the Meditation and Wisdom to Transform Every Day Life series.
Spend time with your best self on a journey from sadness and anger to peace and joy. The timeless wisdom and meditative insights of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition offer many practical methods to help us heal and thrive as we face the everyday challenges of anxiety, depression, anger, physical pain, loneliness, and burnout.
This series of Saturday afternoon sessions offer an introduction to meditation and practical advice from some of the foremost Tibetan Buddhist teachers of our age. Applying these teachings can help us meet the challenges of these difficult times, to heal ourselves, and to bring us to the core of our own peace, compassion and wisdom.
Led by Western meditation instructors with many years of experience, each session consists of:

Video teachings from Tibetan Buddhist masters including Sogyal Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Dungse Jampal Norbu and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
Meditation practice
Time for contemplation
Group discussions and Q&A, offering you the opportunity to explore the teachings and practices in an open supportive environment and to connect with a community of practitioners

Dates and Topics for 2026
4 April No session due to Easter retreat
2 May Calming the Mind and Overcoming Anxiety
6 June No session due to the Finding Inner Peace and Contentment retreat
4 July Where Can We Find Lasting Happiness?
1 August Everything is Workable
5 September Overcoming Depression
3 October Accentuate the Positive: How to Work with Negative Emotions
7 November Beating Burnout and Stress
5 December How to Remain Unshaken By Life’s Ups and Downs

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind: Impermanence, Reflection and Change | Sydney | Friday morning Class
2026-05-08 10:00 - 11:30 | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
Join us on an experiential journey through The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Discover a deep and universal wisdom explored in the major themes of the book, and learn about their practical implications for living well. Suitable for people of any religion or of none, this course encourages you to reflect on the Buddhist teachings, to see what makes sense to you and to experiment with applying these teachings in your daily life.
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is widely regarded as one of the most complete and authoritative presentations of Tibetan Buddhism. A manual for life and death and a source of sacred inspiration from the heart of the Tibetan tradition, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying provides a lucid and inspiring introduction to the practice of meditation, to the nature of mind, to karma and rebirth, and to the trials and rewards of the spiritual path. The teachings, meditation and contemplations from this authentic tradition reveal how each of us can live a more meaningful, connected and fulfilling life.
Participants in this course will learn:

How to meditate
How an acceptance of impermanence can help us understand death and change our attitude towards life
How meditation can transform our perception, increase our confidence and fully connect us to the world around us
That mind is much more than just thoughts and emotions
How understanding the interdependency of all things and the principle of karma (that every action has an effect) gives us a logical basis for ethics and personal responsibility

Led by Western meditation instructors with many years of experience, each session consists of:

Video teachings from Tibetan and Western Buddhist masters including Sogyal Rinpoche, Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, Pema Chödrön and Sharon Salzberg.
Meditation practice
Time for contemplation
Group discussions and Q&A, offering you the opportunity to explore the teachings and practices in an open supportive environment.

This is module two of a year-long course that students can join at any stage. Each module focuses on a different topic.
Details
Module Two – Impermanence, Reflection and Change
All of us are touched by death in one way or another. The Buddha said, “If you want to know the truth of life and death, you must reflect continuously on this: there is only one law in the universe that never changes—that all things change, and that all things are impermanent.”
In the Buddhist approach, life and death are seen as one whole. Death is a mirror in which the entire meaning of life is reflected. And we do not have to wait for the death of someone close to us to force us into looking at our lives. We can begin, here and now, to find meaning in our lives.
Come with us on a journey investigating death and impermanence, through deep reflection on change and interconnectedness, to arrive at an appreciation of the vast potential of our own mind that is revealed when we let go of grasping at surface appearances.
When: Friday mornings, in person at 158 Australia St, Newtown, starting 8th May.
Time: 10am – 11.30am
Who: All welcome
Cost: 10 session module: Full $100, Concession $50
FREE for Rigpa members/subscribers who may email newcastle@rigpa.org.au to request the discount code.
If you are experiencing financial hardship please email us at newcastle@rigpa.org.au to request a further concession.

Self-Forgiveness in the Light of Compassion
2026-06-20 18:00 - 20:30 | Online via Zoom, Australia
Discover how to live with a lighter, kinder heart. Many of us carry beliefs that we’re unworthy of love or beyond forgiveness, leaving us trapped in guilt and self-blame. But punishing ourselves only deepens our suffering and prevents us from realizing our natural state. Through insight, compassion, and guided meditations, you’ll learn to soften your “inner critic,” release false beliefs, and understand why you can let yourself off the hook—all of which frees your heart. As you cultivate forgiveness and compassion for yourself, you’ll naturally feel a genuine compassion and understanding for others—and the world.
Seminar topics:

The spiritual dimension of self-forgiveness
Dismantling the barriers to forgiving oneself
Understanding your life with compassion and insight
Transforming your ‘inner critic’
Really good reasons you can let yourself off the hook
Meditations that deepen compassion and forgiveness for yourself and others

Feedback from past participants
“It was helpful to be constantly reminded that no matter what, we are fundamentally good and our mistakes do not define us. They are only a very small part and we can always shift towards the centre of ourselves with love.”
“Forgiveness – of ourselves and others, frees us. The seminar is a rich and deep dive into self-forgiveness using experiential learning in a supportive, engaging and accessible format, and is inclusive to people of all and no faith traditions. The content and guided meditations draw on different sources and this, along with the kindness, clarity and skill of Christine act as an invitation to a more profound connection with our own basic goodness.”
“The seminar has brought profound understanding and healing. It was both liberating and extremely challenging with the emergence of once unacknowledged emotions. A moving and heartfelt experience.”
“The seminar was timely as I’ve had a few new challenges, while already living in a shut-down state. I’ve been able to offer my younger self love, compassion and forgiveness which in turn has softened my heart to others I’d been closed off to. Now, I feel more open and spacious.”

3 sessions:
20 June 6:00pm-8:30pm AEST
27 June 6:00pm-8:30pm AEST
4 July 6:00pm-8:30pm AEST
(6:00pm AEST = 4:00pm Hong Kong Time, 9:00am GMT, and 9:00am Central European Time)
Time and date converter
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20260620T080000&p1=31&p2=240&p3=196&p4=102&p5=136&p6=103&p7=176
If you need to miss one of these sessions, you’ll be able to catch up by viewing a recording.

About Christine
Christine Longaker is a pioneer of the hospice movement and author of Facing Death and Finding Hope , translated into 9 languages. She’s co-author of Are You Ready and of published research on the benefits of Spiritual Care Training. She founded Rigpa in the USA in 1981, the Spiritual Care Education Program in 1993, and co-produced an in-depth accredited Contemplative Palliative Care training at Naropa University. Christine has produced an album of meditations: “Joy, Ease and Self-Forgiveness”, guides self-compassion meditations online every Sunday and leads a yearly retreat in Sri Lanka. Christine infuses her seminars with heartfelt presence, humor, and clarity. Read more at www.christinelongaker.com.
