Beyond Birth and Death – A Heart of the Buddha Public Talk at St. Margaret’s Institute and online stream with Francesca Fremantle.
Francesca Fremantle, author of Luminous Emptiness and co-author with Trungpa Rinpoche of The Tibetan Book of the Dead is a senior student of Rigdzin Shikpo Rinpoche. Rigdzin Shikpo, who passed away this April, was the director of the Longchen Foundation and the lineage holder of the Mahāyāna Mahā Ati tradition. Traditionally he has annually given Heart of the Buddha teachings, open to the public, in the autumn. With his passing, Francesca has kindly agreed to teach this October’s Heart of the Buddha teaching – the topic being Beyond Birth and Death.
The Heart of the Buddha is a series of public talks begun by Rigdzin Shikpo that present the Mahā Ati teachings of Tibetan Buddhism in a way that is relevant and accessible to Western students.
We will start the afternoon at 1pm with 30 minutes of meditation after which Francesca’s teaching will commence. There will be a tea break in the afternoon.
This event takes place in-person at St. Margaret’s Institute, 30 Polstead Rd., Oxford OX2 6TN, so this is a wonderful opportunity to meet other Longchen Foundation members as well as to practise and learn together. There is also an option to view the event via Zoom.
Registration is available through Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beyond-birth-and-death-a-heart-of-buddha-talk-by-francesca-fremantle-tickets-98762123169. If you have questions about this event please contact Tobi or Andrew at events@longchenfoundation.org.
This on the ground retreat is meant for all of us, who are inspired to keep the vision of Rigdzin Shikpo alive.
The only prerequisite is that you have completed Lion´s Roar Gate 3 at any time.
Rigdzin Shikpo came to Waldhaus for over twenty years and enjoyed staying there very much. This Buddhist retreat centre is wonderfully located and has a very good connection to Longchen.
The retreat schedule will include
- Silent periods every day until after lunch
- Formless meditation together with all participants first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening
- The opportunitiy to split up in smaller groups for practicing your current programme (Lion’s Roar, Endless Compassionate Vision or Longchen Heart Essence)
- Ganacakra at the end of the retreat
- Shared meals (full board included in the rate) and light housekeeping at the retreat center
- The opportunity do go for walks in the forest and to the vulcano lake
- The opportunity to visit the famous monastery Maria Laach at the lakeside
All equipment (meditation mats, cushions, benches, blankets, etc.) will be available at the Waldhouse. For more information and to register, see the event page here: https://www.longchenfoundation.org/event/longchen-retreat-waldhaus-germany/
Dharma Quotation: The Wisdom of Confusion
“If you think of delusion as not being able to see the truth of things then that can be compared to like a giant fog in which one cannot see anything very clearly. In that fog you look and it is as though there might be some kind of expanse but you cannot see anything in that expanse. There is nothing you can grasp hold of. But then this is also the essential characteristic of space itself.
“In the vastness of space, the vastness of the dharmadhātu, there is not anything solid that you can get hold of and nothing you can identify. In that sense it is just like the mist or fog of delusion. So it is said there is a basic wisdom in delusion which is the same as the basic wisdom of seeing the nature of reality itself. It is beyond concepts and beyond thought. In delusion you cannot see anything clearly and in true wisdom there is nothing to see because you have passed beyond concepts and thoughts.”
This teaching was given by Rigdzin Shikpo in June of 2022 in the Endless Compassionate Vision programme.