Public Teaching with Rigdzin Shikpo and Path of Freedom Classes Starting Now!

We are very happy to announce a public teaching with Rigdzin Shikpo on October 1st as part of the Longchen Foundation’s Heart of Buddha programme.

For Heart of Buddha talks, Rigdzin Shikpo chooses a topic that is close to his heart and that he feels is important to talk about at this time, which makes these talks very special and powerful. These teachings present the Maha-Ati teachings of Buddhism in a way that is relevant and accessible to Western students.

You can purchase tickets for this event on Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heart-of-buddha-talk-and-live-stream-with-rigdzin-shikpo-2022-tickets-409273617407. We have early-bird pricing available at £15 until September 24th.

New Autumn Session for Path of Freedom Groups

All of our local groups have returned or will return soon for the Autumn session of teachings.

Oxford Path of Freedom Group

The Oxford Path of Freedom group returns Tuesday, September 20th for a series of classes on the Four Noble Truths, a vitally important teaching which encompasses the entirety of the Buddhist view and path. This course will use Rigdzin Shikpo’s book Never Turn Away as background reading, which itself is structured around this essential Buddhist teaching. This group meets online via Zoom, for more information and to receive the Zoom link, email oxford@longchenfoundation.org. Never Turn Away can be purchased from our bookshop by emailing media@longchenfoundation.org.

Longchen Open

Longchen Open will also return this Autumn, for a series of 8 classes beginning September 29th. Anyone looking to make or deepen a connection to the Longchen Foundation and the teachings of Rigdzin Shikpo can attend this online open meditation group.  This group meets on Zoom on Thursday evenings from 7pm to 8pm UK time.

Each hour begins with a Longchen Foundation instructor giving a simple teaching on the formless meditation practice, followed by roughly 20 to 30 minutes of sitting meditation.  The final 15 or 20 minutes are an opportunity for open discussion about meditation or other practice topics.

If you would like to attend, or have any questions, please email pof@longchenfoundation.org in order to receive the Zoom link.  We are excited by this opportunity to practice together with old and new friends alike, inspired by the Maha Ati (Dzogchen) Buddhist teachings.

Lewisham Path of Freedom Group

The Lewisham Path of Freedom group has begun their Autumn course of teachings and meet in-person in South London. They are currently teaching a four week introduction to meditation and will continue with further topics in the Path of Freedom curriculum. If you would like to attend in-person and for more information, please email southlondon@longchenfoundation.org.

Longchen Foundation Listening Post

We also would like to announce that the Longchen Foundation now has a small safeguarding team, called “The Listening Post”. For full details, please look at the website page: https://www.longchenfoundation.org/listening-post/. You can view all our safeguarding policies here: https://www.longchenfoundation.org/safeguarding/.

Monthly Dharma Quotation: The Way of Truth

We start with our fundamental questions, believing there is a truth to be discovered, and that human beings have the capacity to reveal it. As we go on, we realize that the qualities of openness and clarity are not only integral to the nature of truth, they are also the means we use to discover it. In this sense, the truth itself is the way.

It’s like a voyage of discovery, in which we work with our natural connection to truth, the sense of its nearness, and the compelling power it possesses. It is because this truth is already within our being that those basic questions arise in the first place.

The goal is to reveal that truth completely, and because the nature of reality and the truth are not separate, to discover the truth is to realize the nature of reality itself. The search for truth is not just about realizing the nature of the universe around us. It is also a journey to reveal what we truly are. It’s about discovering our awe-inspiring nature, which is hidden beneath the surface, like precious ore concealed in mountains. The coming together of the truth that seems to be internal and the truth that seems to be external is compassionate bodhichitta.

Bodhichitta is the absolute union of wisdom and compassion. It is the heart of awakening and the truth of the path. Through the practice of bodhichitta, we ourselves become the truth. We become the answer to all our questions and an expression of awakening in the world, for the sake of ourselves and others.

Rigdzin Shikpo

This quotation is from Never Turn Away, available in our bookshop. To order copies of this book, please email media@longchenfoundation.org.

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