Sunday Meditation
2024-03-17 17:30 - 18:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria, 3054, Australia
All are welcome to join this 1-hour drop-in meditation session. Sit quietly with others and rest your mind before the week starts again.
Simple instructions provided.
Suggest donation $10 or $5 if concession.
Enquiries: melbourne@rigpa.org.au

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind | Melbourne
2024-03-18 18:30 - 20:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria, 3054, Australia
Join us as we take you 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.
You 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.

The wealth of our innate wakefulness
2024-06-08 09:30 - 16:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
A weekend teaching on buddha nature
With Jan van der Breggen
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 their 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 alwayschanging, 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. Thirty 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, is a Senior teacher, and, in 2017, he was selected to participate in the Milinda program, a 10-year, international Buddhist teacher training program under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.
Jan grew up in the Netherlands and has lived in Brisbane, Australia, since 1998, where he obtained a postgraduate degree in information technology. He makes a living as a data and analytics professional for a large financial service provider. Jan was instrumental in founding Rigpa Brisbane in 1999, where he has served as a Dharma instructor for over 20 years.

This retreat is suitable for: Beginners and experienced meditators alike
When: Saturday 8 – Sunday 9 June 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM each day
Location:
Rigpa’s National Centre, 158 Australia St, Newtown, NSW and Online via Zoom

Being Bodhi
2024-06-23 19:00 - 23:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Online via Zoom, Australia
Explore what awakening looks like in today’s world.
At BEING BODHI, our highly experienced meditation teachers will guide us through an exploration of mindfulness and awareness through a series of talks and interactive workshops on…
🌺 Love & Compassion
🌺 Mind & Awareness
🌺 Death & Impermanence
🌺 Connection & Interdependence
🌺 Meditation & Inner Wisdom
This event is for you if…
✨you are interested in mindfulness and meditation but aren’t sure where to start
✨you practice meditation, but want to connect with other people who meditate
✨you want to connect with new and interesting people from all walks of life
✨you want to connect to the present moment
BEING BODHI is FREE to join live
🗓️ Sunday 23 June
⏰7.00pm AEST, 11.00am CEST

Module 5 | Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind | Melbourne
2024-07-08 18:30 - 20:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria, 3054, Australia
Module 5: Rebirth, Karma and This Life
Join us as we take you 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.
You 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.

Experiencing the Awakened Mind and Unconditional Love
2024-07-23 19:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
We all have a limitless resource of love, compassion and wisdom within us.
This five-week course presents :

penetrating Buddhist analysis of the impermanence and interdependence of our lives, to give us a clear-eyed view of ourselves and the world around us
a deep understanding that to act compassionately is to act in accord with the truth of how the world is, and
how Buddhist practices, that remind us of these truths, open the path to our own long-lasting happiness and the benefit of all beings

Held over five Tuesday evenings from 7 – 9pm, from 23 July to 20 August, 2024.
Melbourne: 803 Nicholson St, Carlton North
Sydney: 158 Australia St, Newtown
Online via Zoom
Note – this course is also known as Module 3A of the Wisdom of Compassion full year course. New students are welcome to join this module.
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 each student the opportunity to explore the teachings and practices in an open supportive environment and to connect with a community of practitioners

Free for Rigpa members/subscribers using a discount code. Please email sydney@rigpa.org.au for the code.

Faith, Religion and Peace
2024-09-22 16:00 - 18:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
Do religions cause wars? Can faith bring peace to individuals and the world?
If faith can lead to inner peace, why are faith and religion often linked in our minds to war and conflict?
Leaders from local faith communities will speak, and Patricia Garcia AO from the Institute for Economics and Peace will present the results of their research into religion and war.
This event celebrates the United Nations International Day of Peace, and is part of the annual Raising Peace Festival

Navigating Life’s Journey | An evening with Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
2025-01-09 19:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Adelaide) | Rigpa Adelaide, 310 South Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
Young or old, rich or poor, we’re all looking to find lasting happiness, to live a life with purpose and meaning, and to unlock the secrets of a fulfilled life. Taking the example of the Buddha’s life as inspiration, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche will share practical advice on how to find your own inner peace and authentic heart.
🗓️ Thursday 9 January
⏰ 7:00pm – 9:00pm Australian Central Daylight Time
(7:30pm AEDT, 9:30am CET, 12:30am US West Coast)
📍Online & in person at 310 South Terrace, Adelaide
We regret to advise that in-person attendance at this public talk has sold out. We warmly invite you to the online streaming of Rinpoche’s talk. Please register here.

About Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche is extremely knowledgeable and, with his excellent command of the English language, he is able to transmit the most complicated teachings in a remarkably accessible way, infused with warmth and humour.
Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist Master of the Kagyu Order. He was trained in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism under many great masters including His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He took his formal education at Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok and Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, Varanasi, India and has served as Professor of Tibetology in Sikkim for 17 years. His doctoral thesis was on the Ecumenical Movement in Tibet.
Since 1990, he has been traveling and teaching Buddhism and meditation at more than 50 universities, institutes and Buddhist centres in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and Asia. He also participates in various interfaith dialogues. He authored several books on Buddhism, including the Lazy Lama series, as well as some children’s books both in Tibetan and European languages.
He founded Bodhicharya, an international organization that coordinates worldwide activities to preserve and transmit Buddhist teachings, to promote inter-cultural dialogues and educational and social projects. He also founded Rigul Trust which supports projects in his birthplace, Rigul, Tibet.
Rinpoche is the Official Representative of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa for Europe and the Founder of Karmapa Foundation Europe

What is karma really? | An evening with Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
2025-01-10 19:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Richmond Theatrette, 415 Church St, Richmond, Melbourne, Vic, 3121, Australia
Karma is often associated with fate or predestination, some sort of cosmic system of reward and punishment, or to quote Taylor Swift, ‘Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend.’
From the Buddhist point of view, karma means action. It is simply the natural law of cause and effect. As the Buddha said:
What you are is what you have been,
What you will be is what you do now.
Join us for an evening with Tibetan Buddhist master, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, as he explores what karma really is, the practical implications of an appreciation of karma for how we live our lives, and how this can help us find inner peace, good heartedness and humour in an uncertain busy modern world.

🗓️ 10 January 2025
⏰ 7:00-9:00pm
📍in person at the Richmond Theatrette & Online

About Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche is extremely knowledgeable and, with his excellent command of the English language, he is able to transmit the most complicated teachings in a remarkably accessible way, infused with warmth and humour.
Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist Master of the Kagyu Order. He was trained in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism under many great masters including His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He took his formal education at Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok and Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, Varanasi, India and has served as Professor of Tibetology in Sikkim for 17 years. His doctoral thesis was on the Ecumenical Movement in Tibet.
Since 1990, he has been traveling and teaching Buddhism and meditation at more than 50 universities, institutes and Buddhist centres in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and Asia. He also participates in various interfaith dialogues. He authored several books on Buddhism, including the Lazy Lama series, as well as some children’s books both in Tibetan and European languages.
He founded Bodhicharya, an international organization that coordinates worldwide activities to preserve and transmit Buddhist teachings, to promote inter-cultural dialogues and educational and social projects. He also founded Rigul Trust which supports projects in his birthplace, Rigul, Tibet.
Rinpoche is the Official Representative of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa for Europe and the Founder of Karmapa Foundation Europe

Daring Steps: the bold and gentle heart of compassion
2025-01-18 - 2025-01-26 | Tuncurry Memorial Hall, 7 Point Road, Tuncurry, NSW, 2428, Australia
Daring Steps: the bold and gentle heart of compassion
A retreat with Ringu Tulku
Have you ever considered the practical implications of caring more about others than about yourself?
A bodhisattva is someone who says, from the depth of their heart, ‘I long to attain a state of everlasting peace and happiness, in which all suffering has ceased, and I want to do so for myself and for all sentient beings.’ The classic Buddhist text, the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, offers a practical guide on just how to do this. It shows us how to work with our own hearts and minds, starting with how we are now, to unravel our small-minded preoccupations and discover our own vast potential for compassion, love, and wisdom.

🗓️ 18 – 26 January 2025
📍 Tuncurry Memorial Hall, 7 Point Road, Tuncurry NSW

About Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche is extremely knowledgeable and, with his excellent command of the English language, he is able to transmit the most complicated teachings in a remarkably accessible way, infused with warmth and humour.
Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist Master of the Kagyu Order. He was trained in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism under many great masters including His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He took his formal education at Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok and Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, Varanasi, India and has served as Professor of Tibetology in Sikkim for 17 years. His doctoral thesis was on the Ecumenical Movement in Tibet.
Since 1990, he has been traveling and teaching Buddhism and meditation at more than 50 universities, institutes and Buddhist centres in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and Asia. He also participates in various interfaith dialogues. He authored several books on Buddhism, including the Lazy Lama series, as well as some children’s books both in Tibetan and European languages.
He founded Bodhicharya, an international organization that coordinates worldwide activities to preserve and transmit Buddhist teachings, to promote inter-cultural dialogues and educational and social projects. He also founded Rigul Trust which supports projects in his birthplace, Rigul, Tibet.
Rinpoche is the Official Representative of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa for Europe and the Founder of Karmapa Foundation Europe

Daring Steps: the bold and gentle heart of compassion - Online
2025-01-18 - 2025-01-26 | Online via Zoom, Australia
A retreat with Ringu Tulku
18-26 January 2025
Have you ever considered the practical implications of caring more about others than about yourself?
A bodhisattva is someone who says, from the depth of their heart, ‘I long to attain a state of everlasting peace and happiness, in which all suffering has ceased, and I want to do so for myself and for all sentient beings.’ The classic Buddhist text, the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, offers a practical guide on just how to do this. It shows us how to work with our own hearts and minds, starting with how we are now, to unravel our small-minded preoccupations and discover our own vast potential for compassion, love, and wisdom.

Calm and Spacious
2025-02-01 15:00 - 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
The gift of learning to meditate is the greatest gift you can give yourself in this life. Take the time to meet the voice in your head, relax, and experience the sky-like clarity of your mind.
This session of Peace and Joy Everyday will

introduce key meditation techniques
explore meditation practice in an open supportive environment
show how these techniques can be applied in our everyday life
offer you the space to ask questions, and
connect you with a community of practitioners

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind | Sydney & Online
2025-02-05 18:30 - 20:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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.

Sydney and Online
Wednesday evenings, all year, starting 5 February
6:30-8:30pm AEDT (8:30am CET, 2:30am Thurs US East)
Online via Zoom, Rigpa Sydney 158 Australia St, Newtown

Free to be Loved
2025-02-21 18:00 - 20:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
Rigpa Sydney warmly invites you to our interfaith evening of open discussion, stories, poetry and music, as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Amongst Mardi Gras’ vibrancy and partying, we are offering everyone a little time to gently reflect on the universal power of the love in our own hearts, and how can we find the courage to love and be loved in all its manifestations.
Our speakers will include:

Hugo Ditroia presenting a Catholic perspective
Ofra Ronen presenting a Jewish perspective
Nur Warsame presenting a Muslim perspective; and
Sim Walters presenting a Buddhist perspective.

We are also thrilled that the evening will include the world premiere of a new piece of music written especially for the evening by composer Paul Smith.
The evening will include space for quiet reflection and an opportunity to meet over a light meal.
Friday 21 February
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Free, but please RSVP so that we can cater.

About Hugo Ditroia
Hugo is an active member of Acceptance Sydney a LGBTQIA+ Catholic community, based at St Joseph’s Parish in Newtown. In 2020, Hugo completed his Bachelor of Theology and Philosophy, with majors in New Testament and Spirituality. His passion for Church history, theology, scripture, and spirituality—particularly in the context of identity—drives his ongoing journey of study and exploration. Over the past few years, Hugo has focused his research on how scripture, theology, and spirituality intersect with the experiences of marginalized communities, in particular the LGBTQIA+ community.

About Ofra Ronen
Ofra Ronen is a proud Israeli Jewish Queer woman based in Sydney. With a diverse professional journey spanning hospitality, retail, sales, marketing, and management across Israel, China, and Australia, she now focuses on mental health. As a trauma & relationship Coach, Ofra aids diverse communities, including LGBTQI+, in their journey towards trauma recovery and healthier relationships. Her personal story of overcoming complex PTSD is a celebration of consciousness, self-love, courage, and hope. An advocate against hate and discrimination, Ofra co-founded the national group Jewish Israeli Pride Australia (JIPA). JIPA creates safe spaces for Queer Jews grappling with heightened fear and isolation amid the rising antisemitism in public spaces and on social media.

About Sim Walters
Sim first encountered the benefits of meditation while completing their undergraduate studies in music performance. Soon after, Sim met Sogyal Rinpoche and made an immediate and powerful connection with the wisdom tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. For the past fifteen years Sim has been a student of Rigpa, recently completing an intensive eight year home retreat program. When touring with orchestras, Sim lives in Nipaluna (Hobart) where they are part of a vibrant Queer community.

About Nur Warsame
Warsame was born in Somalia and moved to Australia as a high school student. In 2010 he came out as Australia’s first gay imam. He is a hafiz, ie one who has memorised the Quran. Since 2014 he has run an LGBT support group Marhava (which means welcome in Arabic).

About Paul Smith
Paul Smith is a senior lecturer in music at the University of New England where he teaches composition and music theory. He holds a Doctorate of Creative Arts from Western Sydney University where his research focused on music’s connection with visual art forms. Paul embraces humour, satire and bright sonorities in his works.
He specialises in composing opera and is the co-artistic director for Sydney-based group Blush Opera. Many of Paul’s compositions explore music’s potential connection with other art forms and as a result his pieces are often accompanied by other works of art, including animation, theatre or poetry. He has collaborated frequently with artist Todd Fuller providing scores for Fuller’s animated pieces, one of which was a finalist for the 2019 Sulman prize and exhibited at th Art Gallery of NSW.

Mind, matter and consciousness: a Buddhist exploration
2025-05-03 10:00 - 2025-05-04 16:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Richmond Theatrette, 415 Church St, Richmond, Melbourne, Vic, 3121, Australia
Mind, matter and consciousness: a Buddhist exploration
A weekend with Andy Karr and Lynn Friedman
Combining contemporary Western philosophical inquiries with classical Buddhist investigations into the nature of mind, Andy and Lynn invite you to spend a weekend on a personal, experiential journey to look deeply at mind and the nature of reality. Accessible and practical, these contemplative and meditative practices help us face our own experience with openness, spontaneity and compassion, liberate ourselves from the tyranny of our mental projections and access our own natural goodness.
Over the course of this weekend, you will:

Learn how to meditate
Build a deep appreciation for why we meditate
Unravel your ordinary concepts about mind and the world around you
Investigate the flaws of a materialistic world view
Get a taste of your mind’s vast capacity for wisdom and compassion

When: 3 & 4 May
Time: 10:00 – 4:00
Where: Melbourne & Online
Richmond Theatrette 415 Church St, Richmond

The Essence of Tibetan Buddhism: A Weekend with Jan van der Breggen
2025-06-07 09:30 - 2025-06-08 15:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
In this weekend of teachings, shared reflection, and meditation practice, Jan van der Breggen will guide participants through an exploration of key elements of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, with the aim to help anyone — whether new to Buddhism or with an already established practice path — establish a meaningful relationship with the vast and colourful world of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Buddhist path can be divided into three broad stages: the foundational path, emphasizing peace, the mahayana path, emphasizing compassion and wisdom, and the vajrayana path, emphasizing transforming our perception of ourselves and the world we live in.
During this weekend we will explore how this third approach — that of transforming our perception, forms a thread that runs throughout all three stages. It is founded on the view that the awakened state, enlightenment, is right here, in the present moment, and can be brought into every aspect of the spiritual path.
From this perspective, our world and our reality depend entirely on our own mind, and the way it perceives reality. And so, the unsatisfactory nature of our lives that Buddha’s teachings speak of, is not caused by an inherent problem with our world. Instead, it is a result of our limited, distorted perception.
Founded on this view, Tibetan Buddhism is marked by a rich array of skilful methods which it has nurtured and perfected over hundreds of years. This includes basic meditation practices to calm and stabilise the mind; contemplative methods to awaken in us deep wisdom and vast compassion; visualization practice, mantra recitation, and profound meditation to help us arrive swiftly at a direct realization of our true nature and the nature of reality itself.
During this workshop we will explore some of these methods, and how each of them is founded upon the view they are designed to help us bring into direct, personal experience.
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. Thirty 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, is a Senior teacher, and, in 2017, he was selected to participate in the Milinda program, a 10-year, international Buddhist teacher training program under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.
Jan grew up in the Netherlands and has lived in Brisbane, Australia, since 1998, where he obtained a postgraduate degree in information technology. He makes a living as a data and analytics professional for a large financial service provider. Jan was instrumental in founding Rigpa Brisbane in 1999, where he has served as a Dharma instructor for over 20 years.

An open heart in tumultuous times
2025-08-01 19:15 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
An open heart in tumultuous times
How the Buddhist approach to compassionate living can nourish us all.
His Eminence the 7th Yongzin Ling Rinpoche will teach on Bodhichitta and the Eight Verses of Training the Mind.
Give all profit and gain to others,
Take all loss and defeat on yourself.
These astounding words, so contrary to our conventional worldview, encapsulate the Buddhist teaching of training the mind in compassion.
The compassion teachings summarised in the Eight Verses challenge us to go beyond our usual fixed ideas and assumptions, revealing a much bigger, brighter, freer version of ourselves. By learning how to overcome a limited view of ourselves we can begin to relate to others, ourselves, and the world with more kindness, compassion, and understanding. We start to see through divisiveness and antagonism and experience a deep and liberating connection with others.
At a tumultuous time when our lives are getting fuller, faster and more stressful, the advice and practical training contained in the Eight Verses is invaluable in helping us to not only cope with the challenges of our life but to actually use them as the raw material for our awakening.
🗓️ Friday 1 August
⏰7:15pm
📍Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown & Online via Zoom
About Ling Rinpoche
Ling Choktrul Rinpoche (7th Kyabjé Yongzin Ling Rinpoche) is an important lama of the Gelugpa school, born in India and recognized at an early age by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of his Principal Teacher, His Holiness the 6th Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche.
Ling Rinpoche entered Drepung Monastic University in South India in 1990. He received his geshe degree in 2016 and completed his tantric studies in 2018.
Since the early 1990s he has given teachings and tantric initiations in many countries in Asia and Europe, North America and Australia. He has participated in the Mind and Life Institute dialogues between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and scientists on a variety of topics, such as physics, neuroplasticity and destructive emotions.

Love, Compassion, Joy & Equanimity
2025-09-19 19:00 - 21:00 (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.

Friday September 19 from 7pm till 9pm.
Love, Compassion, Joy & Equanimity – the motivation of the Four Immeasurables in our lives and practice

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 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 (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.

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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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)
