Rigpa Australia

Practical Wisdom
2025-09-15 19:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Online via Zoom, Australia
Making the everyday your spiritual path
Investigating how we can we translate the presence and awareness we cultivate in the meditation into action. And, how we can use our everyday activities to deepen our understanding of reality.
Online
Monday evenings
Starts 15 September

How can we apply the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha’s teachings to our daily lives? How can we translate the presence and awareness which we cultivate on the meditation cushion into action? How can we use our everyday activities to strengthen and deepen our view and understanding of reality?
In this day and age, many of us find ourselves feeling busier and more stressed and it seems more difficult to find time for meditation practice. If we really wish to progress on the spiritual path, we need to bridge the separation between our study and practice and our everyday life. Based on the wisdom of the Buddhadharma, Sogyal Rinpoche’s Practical Wisdom teachings provide us with a rich array of advice and skilful tools to help us in our task of integrating the dharma into our lives in order to bring benefit to others.
The Practical Wisdom teachings show us how to dissolve the separation between our practice and our everyday life; how to use every opportunity in our day to progress on the spiritual path; and how to accomplish our everyday tasks more effortlessly. These teachings are practical, relevant, and even life changing.
Course participants will need basic understanding of the principles of Mahayana Buddhism, and some familiarity with meditation and compassion practices. The course is recommended for students who have completed a course or retreat with Rigpa.

Online
When: Monday evenings, 12 weeks
7:00-9:00pm AEDT (9:00am CET, 3:00am Mon US East)
Where: Online via Zoom
$240, concession $120, free for Rigpa subscribers
We are yet to finalise dates for when this course will be offered in 2025. If you are interested in attending this course, please register your interest by emailing rigpa.australia@rigpa.org.au.

Practical Wisdom: Wisdom & Compassion in Action
2025-09-15 19:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Online via Zoom, Australia
How can we apply the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha’s teachings to our daily lives? How can we translate the presence and awareness which we cultivate on the meditation cushion into action? How can we use our everyday activities to strengthen and deepen our view and understanding of reality?
In this day and age, many of us find ourselves feeling busier and more stressed and it seems more difficult to find time for meditation practice. If we really wish to progress on the spiritual path, we need to bridge the separation between our study and practice and our everyday life. Based on the wisdom of the Buddhadharma, Sogyal Rinpoche’s Practical Wisdom teachings provide us with a rich array of advice and skilful tools to help us in our task of integrating the dharma into our lives in order to bring benefit to others.
The Practical Wisdom teachings show us how to dissolve the separation between our practice and our everyday life; how to use every opportunity of our day to progress on the spiritual path; and how to accomplish our everyday tasks more effortlessly and efficiently by applying the principles of the Buddhist teachings to our actions. These teachings are practical, relevant, and even life changing.
Participants of the course will need basic understanding of the principles of Mahayana Buddhism, as well as some familiarity with meditation and compassion practices. It is recommended for student who have completed a course or retreat with Rigpa.
Led by Western meditation instructors with many years of experience, each session consists of:

Video teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche.
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.

This is a FREE event, however a donation would be gratefully received.

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 Wisdom of Compassion - The Six Paramitas
2025-09-23 19:00 - 2025-12-23 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Online via Zoom, Australia
Much as we may wish to be kind, caring and loving, often this may be difficult for us in practice. As we move from wishing to be more compassionate to grappling with how we put this into action, the Buddhist teachings include six tools in a how-to guide:
1. Generosity: cultivating the attitude of generosity.
2. Discipline: refraining from harm.
3. Patience: not being perturbed by anything.
4. Diligence: finding joy in what is virtuous, positive or wholesome.
5. Meditative concentration: not being distracted.
6. Wisdom: the perfect discrimination of all knowable things.
These are known as the Six Paramitas, or transcendent perfections and contain all the vital skills needed for us to transform our mind and open our heart.
This twelve-week course addresses each of the Six Paramitas in turn, offering a wealth of practical advice to help us put our best biggest heart into action everyday.

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind
2025-09-30 18:30 - 2025-10-28 20:30 (Australia/Adelaide) | Rigpa Adelaide, 310 South Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
Module 7 – Open Heart
5-week course
Tuesdays Beginning 30 September to 28 October – 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind presents an experiential journey through The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, its major themes and their practical implications. Suitable for people of any religion or none, the course encourages you to experiment with applying the Buddhist teachings in your daily life.
This module provides an introduction to the Tibetan Buddhist compassion practices with a particular focus on loving kindness practice. Meditating on loving kindness can help us restore our love and confidence and heal unresolved emotional wounds. It also puts us back in touch with the fundamental goodness of our core being, and once that has happened, we are able to love ourselves and others.
FREE for Rigpa subscribers.
Location
Rigpa Adelaide, 1st Floor Theosophical Society Building,
310 South Terrace, Adelaide
Event Fee(s)
5 weeks – full ($15 per session) A$75.00
5 weeks – concession ($10 per session) A$50.00
One session only (full) A$15.00
One session only (concession) A$10.00
Register here
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is available for purchase at our centre for $20. (Please bring cash – we do not have credit card facilities)
We hope that you can join us and we look forward to seeing you there.

How to Survive Your Mind
2025-10-04 09:30 - 12:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Adelaide, 310 South Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
How to be happy and find stability
Saturday 4 October | 9.30am – 12.00 noon

How to Survive Your Mind – mindfulness, awareness and compassion practices for yourself in everyday life.
A monthly program on the first Saturday of the month that introduces you to meditation and discusses a topic of general interest.
This month’s topic is How to be happy and find stability
Feel free to come along to any session that suit you. No need to register, just drop in.
Fee: Standard $15, Concession/Student $10
We do not have credit card facilities, please bring cash.
Cost negotiable depending on your financial circumstances.
Location: Rigpa Adelaide
The Theosophical Society Building
1st Floor, Upper Hall
310 South Terrace, Adelaide

Healing Low Self Esteem
2025-10-04 15:00 - 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
The Buddhist teachings are adamant that the core of our being is fundamentally good. It is our negative emotions and misunderstandings that oppress us and lead to low self-esteem, insecurity and feeling unloved. Join us to investigate how we can begin to heal ourselves by acknowledging and connecting with the fundamental goodness and unconditional love that we all have within us, which we call our buddha nature.
🗓️ Saturday 4 October
⏰ 3-5pm AEST (7.00am Paris, 1:00 am US East, 10:00pm Friday US West)
📍Online & Sydney

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind | Mind is Like the Sky - Sydney and Online
2025-10-15 18:30 - 2025-11-12 20:30 (Australia/Melbourne)
Mind is Like the Sky: Discover Inner Peace and Contentment in the True Nature of Your Mind
In this course, we will learn to:
· Sit with what is, cultivating a gentle curiosity toward our inner world.
· Explore the space between thoughts, discovering the innate clarity and peace that is always present.
· Work with energy and emotion not as enemies, but as natural expressions of a dynamic mind.
· Rest in awareness itself, moving from thinking about experience to directly knowing it.

This is a deeply experiential path. It is for those who feel a call to look inward, to move beyond concepts, and to touch the timeless wisdom that has illuminated hearts for centuries. No prior experience is necessary, only an open heart and a willingness to explore.

Join us. Let’s journey together from the turbulence of the surface to the profound stillness of the depths.

Enlightened Courage: the secret to training and transforming your mind with wisdom and compassion
2025-10-17 09:30 - 11:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | Online via Zoom, Australia
Featuring teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche, Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche and Patrick Gaffney, this weekly course presents the Mahayana Seven Points of Mind Training. These points lay out a path of formal meditation practice, along with guidelines for extending that practice into everyday life.
These teachings are precious and unique in presenting the entire depth and breadth of the Buddha’s Mahayana teachings succinctly and practically. Mahayana mind training offers an approach to life that is straightforward, grounded in sanity, kindness, and compassion. Yet it also offers a vision that completely transcends our ordinary way of viewing ourselves and others, with an all-encompassing vision of enlightenment.
At the heart of this vision of enlightenment is the view that our innate, fundamental identity is vast, luminous and utterly awake. The Mahayana teachings refer to this as our enlightened heart, or bodhicitta. Enlightenment is nothing other than who we really are. But for most of us, our true nature is like a hidden treasure, concealed behind layers of mental activity and preoccupation. Mahayana mind training helps us give expression to our enlightened heart in everything we think, say and do.
🗓️ Friday Mornings, 17 October – 12 December
⏰ 9.30am – 11.30am Australian Eastern Daylight Time
📍Online via Zoom

How to Survive Your Mind
2025-11-01 09:30 - 12:00 (Australia/Adelaide) | Rigpa Adelaide, 310 South Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
Finding the Natural Freedom of the Mind
Saturday 1 November | 9.30am – 12.00 noon
How to Survive Your Mind – mindfulness, awareness and compassion practices for yourself in everyday life.
A monthly program on the first Saturday of the month that introduces you to meditation and discusses a topic of general interest.
This month’s topic is Finding the Natural Freedom of the Mind
Feel free to come along to any session that suit you. No need to register, just drop in.
Fee: Standard $15, Concession/Student $10
We do not have credit card facilities, please bring cash.
Cost negotiable depending on your financial circumstances.
Location: Rigpa Adelaide
The Theosophical Society Building
1st Floor, Upper Hall
310 South Terrace, Adelaide

Basic Sanity
2025-11-01 15:00 - 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
Often our mind can seem like a wild monkey, jumping restlessly from thought
to emotion to thought. The good news is that we all have basic sanity. It is our
essential nature. But mostly we do not know that. We identify ourselves with
mad monkey mind and we suffer because we do not know who we really are.
In this session we’ll explore how meditation can begin to pacify monkey mind
and reconnect us with our innate, vibrant wisdom and peace.
🗓️ Saturday 1 November
⏰ 3-5pm AEDT (12 noon Perth, 2.30pm Adelaide, 5.00am CET, 12 midnight US East, 9:00pm Friday US West)
📍Online & Sydney

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind
2025-11-04 18:30 - 2025-12-02 20:30 (Australia/Adelaide) | Rigpa Adelaide, 310 South Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
Module 8 – Awakening Compassion
5-week course
Tuesdays Beginning 4 November to 2 December
6.30pm to 8.30pm

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind presents an experiential journey through The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, its major themes and their practical implications. Suitable for people of any religion or none, the course encourages you to experiment with applying the Buddhist teachings in your daily life.
This module explores the Buddhist approach to practicing compassion and how to apply it in all situations. The first step to compassion is to realize that other people are just like you. They too wish to be happy and free from suffering. Then, though the practice of Tonglen (giving and receiving), we begin to mentally take on the suffering of others with compassion and give your happiness and wellbeing with love. So that ultimately our every action can be an act of compassion.
FREE for Rigpa subscribers.
Location
Rigpa Adelaide, 1st Floor Theosophical Society Building,
310 South Terrace, Adelaide
Event Fee(s)
5 weeks – full ($15 per session) A$75.00
5 weeks – concession ($10 per session) A$50.00
One session only (full) A$15.00
One session only (concession) A$10.00
Register here.

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.

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart and Mind | Mind is Like the Sky - Nov/Dec - Sydney and Online
2025-11-19 18:30 - 2025-12-17 20:30 (Australia/Melbourne)

How to Survive Your Mind
2025-12-06 09:30 - 12:00 (Australia/Adelaide) | Rigpa Adelaide, 310 South Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
Awakening Love Within
Saturday 6 December | 9.30am – 12.00 noon

How to Survive Your Mind – mindfulness, awareness and compassion practices for yourself in everyday life.
A monthly program on the first Saturday of the month that introduces you to meditation and discusses a topic of general interest.
This month’s topic is Awakening Love Within
Feel free to come along to any session that suit you. No need to register, just drop in.
Fee: Standard $15, Concession/Student $10
We do not have credit card facilities, please bring cash.
Cost negotiable depending on your financial circumstances.
Location: Rigpa Adelaide
The Theosophical Society Building
1st Floor, Upper Hall
310 South Terrace, Adelaide

Break Free from Self Obsession
2025-12-06 15:00 - 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
We invite you to join us to investigate how self-centredness stacks up against a
more compassionate view, look at some simple, practical things we can do to
soften our self-obsession, and introduce loving kindness practice, one of the
core entryways into the vast toolkit of the Buddhist compassion practices.
🗓️ Saturday 6 December
⏰ 3-5pm AEDT (12 noon Perth, 2.30pm Adelaide, 5.00am CET, 11 pm Friday US East, 8:00pm Friday US West)
📍Online & Sydney

Inspiring a Revolution in Your Heart & Mind
2025-12-31 08:00 - 2026-12-31 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | nsw
Reflect on the Buddhist teachings, see what makes sense to you, and apply these teachings in your daily life.
Newcastle, Sydney & Online
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
When: Wednesday evenings, all year, join any week, next module starts 22 July
6:30-8:30pm AEST (9:30am CET, 3:30am Thurs US East)
Where: Online via Zoom, Rigpa Sydney 158 Australia St, Newtown
Pricing: 5 week block: full $100, concession $50, free for Rigpa subscribers
Click here to view the Sydney and Online event.
Sydney In Person
When: Friday mornings, all year, join any week, next module starts 24 July
10:00-11:30am AEST
Where: Rigpa Sydney 158 Australia St, Newtown
Pricing: 10 week block: full $100, concession $50, or pay at the door, free for Rigpa subscribers
Find the Friday course here

Newcastle in Person – Module 4, Bringing the Mind Home.
When: Tuesday mornings, Three sessions, starting 21 July, 10:00am-12:00pm AEST
Click here to view the Newcastle morning event
When: Thursday evenings, Module 4 will begin in September. Dates to be advised.
Where: Rigpa Newcastle, 2/2 Smith St, Charlestown
Pricing: 3 week block: full $60, concession $30, free for Rigpa subscribers

The Wisdom of Compassion
2025-12-31 08:00 - 2026-12-31 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Adelaide, 310 South Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
Presenting the powerful Buddhist logic of compassion and practical methods for devoloping a more kind relationship with ourselves, those around us and ultimately all beings.
Adelaide

Presenting key Buddhist teachings on the powerful logic of compassion and practical methods for developing a more kind relationship with ourselves, those around us and ultimately all beings.
Our innate capacity for empathy is the source of the very best of human qualities: love, kindness, generosity, warm-heartedness, courage … compassion. Although we are born with a vast capacity to love, we may not know how to do so unconditionally, or how to express that love in practice.
When our heart and mind are filled with love, we find the greatest inner healing, tranquillity and well-being. Modern research shows that with empathy and compassion we can be more fully ourselves, connect more easily with others, improve self worth and reduce self-criticism, and lead healthier lives.

Adelaide
Tuesday evenings, all year
6:30-8:30pm ACDT
Rigpa Adelaide, 310 South Terrace, Adelaide
5 week block: full $75, concession $50, free for Rigpa subscribers
Email adelaide@rigpa.org.au for details

Enlightened Courage
2025-12-31 08:00 - 2026-12-31 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | nsw
Enlightened Courage: the secret to training and transforming your mind with wisdom and compassion
Presenting the Seven Points of Mind Training to lay out a path of formal meditation practice to help us express our enlightened heart in everything we think, say and do.
Online
Friday mornings
Featuring teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche, Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche and Patrick Gaffney, this weekly course presents the Mahayana Seven Points of Mind Training. These points lay out a path of formal meditation practice, along with guidelines for extending that practice into everyday life.
These teachings are precious and unique in presenting the entire depth and breadth of the Buddha’s Mahayana teachings succinctly and practically. Mahayana mind training offers an approach to life that is straightforward, grounded in sanity, kindness, and compassion. Yet it also offers a vision that completely transcends our ordinary way of viewing ourselves and others, with an all-encompassing vision of enlightenment.
At the heart of this vision of enlightenment is the view that our innate, fundamental identity is vast, luminous and utterly awake. The Mahayana teachings refer to this as our enlightened heart, or bodhicitta. Enlightenment is nothing other than who we really are. But for most of us, our true nature is like a hidden treasure, concealed behind layers of mental activity and preoccupation. Mahayana mind training helps us give expression to our enlightened heart in everything we think, say and do.
Founded on a practice lineage that has been actively practised for hundreds of years, these teachings are completely relevant to the challenges posed by our modern, globalised life.
Online – Term 6
When: Friday mornings, 11 sessions starting 24 April
9.30am – 11.30am AEST (11:30pm CET, 5.30pm Thu US East)
Where: Online via Zoom
Pricing: $220, concession $110, free for Rigpa subscribers
Book Now

The All Encompassing Path
2025-12-31 08:00 - 2026-12-31 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | nsw
Exploring compassion practices set within the context of the Vajrayana preliminaries, the ngöndro, in a fresh and meaningful way.
Online
Thursday evenings

The All-Encompassing Path to Enlightenment (AEPE) is the main study programme in Rigpa, for students of all levels: new, more advanced or in-between. This year, the AEPE will focus on compassion practices. These will be set within the context of the vajrayana preliminary practices, called Ngöndro in Tibetan.
Rigpa’s most experienced teachers will guide us through the key principles of the Ngöndro, helping us to explore these principles in a fresh, up-to-date, real life way, while preserving their authenticity. These practices are a complete path in themselves and also the foundation for Vajrayana and Dzogchen practice, encompassing all the elements needed to prepare us to fully receive the Great Perfection teachings of Dzogchen, the highest and most direct stream of wisdom within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. So no matter where we are on our path, the AEPE will support us in taking it to completion.

Online
When: Thursday evenings, all year
6:00-7:30pm AEDT (8:00am CET, 2:00am Mon US East)
Where: Online via Zoom
Pricing: free for Rigpa subscribers
Register

The Home Retreat
2025-12-31 08:00 - 2026-12-31 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | nsw
A weekly online study program
This seven-year program is a comprehensive, authentic program of study and practice embedded in the Longchen Nyingtik lineage and Sogyal Rinpoche’s Dzogchen teachings.

The Home Retreat is one of the most comprehensive and authentic Tibetan Buddhist teaching and practice programs offered anywhere in the world.
The Home Retreat is an on-line study and practice program intended for Rigpa students who wish to follow the vast and unique teachings of Sogyal Rinpoche. It incorporates all of the teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche’s 2006 Three-Year Retreat plus some additional topics.
The Home Retreat is embedded in the Longchen Nyingtik lineage and the teachings of the ‘Great Perfection’, Dzogpachenpo, a dynamic, unbroken, living lineage of wisdom and compassion that leads us on a journey through the three yanas.
In addition to the weekly on-line study program, the Home Retreat offers regular Zoom study sessions and monthly Zoom group gatherings. The Home Retreat does ask that you maintain a stable commitment to your study and practice each week.
(Completion of all Home Retreat modules, and 50 percent of the Ngöndro accumulations is a prerequisite for entry into Rigpa’s Dzogchen Mandala.)
This exciting and dynamic seven year program is open to all Rigpa Mandala students. It is anticipated that our next intake into the Home Retreat will occur in May 2027.
If you are a Rigpa mandala student who is interested in applying for the Home Retreat program, please email rigpa.australia@rigpa.org.au.

Guided Meditation on Saturdays in Sydney 9 - 10am
2026-01-03 09:00 - 10:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Rigpa Sydney, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, 2042, Australia
Join us in person at our National Center in Newtown on Saturday mornings for a guided meditation session 9-10 am.
Sessions are led by experienced meditation instructors for 1 hour, divided into several shorter sessions with stretch breaks.
All welcome at 158 Australia St, Newtown and there is no need to book.
Attendance is by donation.

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
