Harming others out of anger brings suffering, both to ourselves and others. Yet, so often, we don’t think of the consequences and instead find ourselves provoked and reacting impulsively, only to regret it later. On the other hand, if we just try to block or suppress anger when it arises, it is very difficult to […]
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 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 […]
All of us, at some stage of our life, experience loneliness one way or another. Loneliness does not discriminate, people across all genders and ages experience it — both wealthy and poor. So often in seeking for an answer to this we look for comfort outside of ourselves - we endlessly distract ourselves away from […]
We often have misleading ideas about what karma is. We confuse it with a destiny to which we are bound and cannot change. In fact, when we really understand what karma is, it gives us greater freedom and hope on our spiritual path.
Fear is one of the strongest emotions we may face, and anxiety can be utterly paralysing. The Buddhist teachings illuminate the deepest source of our fears, and offer a rich array of tools to help us pacify and ultimately conquer those fears. Invoking protection from small heartedness, we can access the courage to heal ourselves, […]
No matter who we are, we all share the same wish to be happy and free from suffering. But when we are immersed in the responsibilities of this life and in all our frenetic daily activity, it may seem impossible to achieve liberation, that is only for special beings. But nothing could be further from […]
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 relationship between a student and a living teacher is an integral part of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In this session we'll look at some important aspects of this element of the spiritual path.
When we meditate, calling upon three key principles of calm abiding (mindfulness, awareness and abiding spaciously) can transform our meditation practice to take us beyond being trapped in our ordinary conceptual mind, to a deep experience of what our mind is truly capable of. Applying mindfulness, awareness and abiding spaciously as we go about our […]
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 […]
The Buddhist practice of ‘equalizing self and others’ as expressed in giving with great love and taking with great compassion, known as tonglen, is one of the most useful and powerful of all Buddhist practices. Tonglen is a simple and straightforward practice, which is extremely effective at getting to the heart of our predicament: our excessively self-centred attitude. Tonglen […]
