Rigpa US is pleased to offer an exciting series of online courses exploring “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” by Sogyal Rinpoche, the groundbreaking book that has helped millions of people find wellbeing in their lives and the possibility of ultimate freedom from suffering through their experience of the Buddhist tradition of wisdom and compassion.
You are warmly invited to join us this fall as we embark on a series of short courses, “The Heart of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.” The series of courses provides an overview of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings as presented in this acclaimed book.
In each of the courses, we will focus on one or two chapters of the book, immersing ourselves in their profound wisdom and practical advice. Participants will be able to take any one or all of the 4 or 5 week courses that will be offered throughout the year. This is an opportunity for deep study, contemplation, and meditation that will serve to guide you on a unique journey of personal transformation.
We will examine:
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
How compassion can be nurtured in our hearts in a way that profoundly changes our own minds and our relationships.
In each session we will provide space to connect with the profound teachings in the book through:
Brief Video teachings from Tibetan and Western Buddhist masters
Meditation
Time for contemplation
Ample space for Group discussions and Q&A, offering you the opportunity to explore the teachings and practices in an open supportive environment.
Audience
This course series, and each short course, is suitable for everyone. Each class is 1:45 minutes in length. Classes are offered via Zoom.
“In this book, I endeavored to share something of the wisdom of the tradition I grew up in. I sought to show the practical nature of its ancient teachings and how they can help us at every stage of living and dying. Many people, over the years, had urged me to write this book. They said that it would help relieve some of the intense sufferings that so many of us go through in the modern world.”
COURSE SERIES
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Starts Wednesday Sept 11, 2024
5 weeks4pm PT / 7 pm ET
In this introductory course, we provide a general overview of the themes we will be going into in depth throughout the year-long series of courses. We will watch video teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche and other Buddhist masters, and we will present a methodical introduction to calm abiding (Shamatha) meditation.
We will learn to work with the study tools that are emphasized in traditional Buddhist teachings that are designed to speak to the heart as well as the intellect. These methods are called the
3 wisdom tools, and we will learn how to rely on them to transform not only our understanding but our whole being. We will regularly use these tools as we journey through the entire series of courses.
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Starts Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
5 weeks4pm PT / 7 pm ET
This course takes us on a journey from an investigation of death and impermanence, through deep reflection on change and interdependence, to an introduction to basic Buddhist principles that support an appreciation of the immeasurable, indefinable potential of the true nature of our mind that is revealed beyond a mind that grasps at simple appearance.
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Starts Wednesday Nov 27, 2024 (4 weeks only)
4pm PT / 7 pm ET
We investigate two aspects of the mind: the appearance of the mind - our thoughts, emotions, all the stories, the ordinary mind; and the essence of mind – which is clear, cognizant and is totally free and unconfined in its infinite possibilities. We look more closely at how to make our meditation practice truly meaningful as we begin to understand how meditation can bring us beyond our ordinary minds to make friends with our minds’ true essence.
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Jan 2025 Dates TBD
In this course we learn a range of meditation techniques to enable us to access a rich variety of methods to transform our moods and emotions. This shows us how the whole purpose of meditation is to transcend our ordinary mind, to discover our fundamental nature, which we have lost touch with. The highest goal of meditation is to awaken in us the sky-like nature of mind and introduce to us who we really are: our unchanging pure awareness.
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2025 Dates TBD
This course explores the Buddhist reasoning for the acceptance of rebirth and reincarnation. We will use the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths as a framework to help us take stock of our lives, inspire a shift in the way we see ourselves and the way we relate to the world around us. Lastly, the course investigates karma, which is often misunderstood as fate or predestination. Karma, however, if understood well, presents us with an opportunity to be free from our suffering.
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2025 Dates TBD
The first declaration that the Buddha made at the time of his enlightenment was: “Profound peace, free of complexity, natural simplicity, uncompounded luminosity.” This course examines what is enlightenment and explores the practical training of the Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen Path in terms of View, Meditation, and Action. To see directly the absolute state, the Ground of our being, is the View; the way of stabilizing that View and making it an unbroken experience is Meditation; and integrating the View into our entire reality, and life, is what is meant by Action.
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Starts Wednesday April 16, 2025
This course provides an introduction to the central role of compassion in Tibetan Buddhist teachings. We will focus on how to practice compassion and be introduced to the “holy secret” of Tonglen. The course will especially emphasize meditating on Loving Kindness, which can help us restore our love and confidence, and heal unresolved emotional wounds. The practice of loving kindness also puts us back in touch with the fundamental goodness of our core being. When we are connected to our basic goodness, we are able to love ourselves and others unconditionally.
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May 21 - June 18 2025
This course 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, through the practice of Tonglen (giving and receiving), we begin to mentally take on the suffering of others with compassion, and give your happiness and well-being with love. So that ultimately our every action can be an act of compassion.
Class Size: Each module will be limited to 30 students.
Materials: Students will need to have a copy of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, available online in print and Kindle formats. An audio book version is also available, but students should have a copy of the text.
The course sessions are offered online, via Zoom. Course materials, suggested home study and discussions will be shared in an online forum.
Course materials will be made available a week before the start date.
Teaching Team
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Pat Best
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Linda Forrester
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Jeff Middelton
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Betty Lynn-Moulton
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Hanne Riegg-Luedge
THE TEACHING TEAM
Pat Best has been instructing Rigpa public courses since 2011. With many years of study, practice, and the motivation to help others, she continues to offer time to guide students with their own study and practice. She lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and her daughter, and three grandchildren nearby.
Linda Forrester first read and fell in love with the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying in 2001 and started going to weekly meditation sessions. Retired now, Linda Forrester taught ESL at the City University of New York for over 25 years. Her work with immigrant and international students was constantly inspired by Sogyal Rinpoche’s teachings, and she feels deep gratitude to him.
Debbie Kinton was first introduced to Tibetan Buddhism in 1979 in Galway, Ireland. Her connection to the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying deepened during retreats where chapters of the book were read aloud. Studying the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying has been a cornerstone of her spiritual path.
Jeff Middelton initially connected through the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying while traveling in India. He has found that the brilliant clarity in the teachings and the practice have provided an accessible refuge so essential in today’s modern world. He particularly enjoys interacting with students who are drawn to the Buddhist path.
Betty Lynn Moulton is a retired psychologist and has been privileged to help guide many students over the years in their study of the teachings. She particularly enjoys interacting with students who are just beginning to study the Buddhist path. She lives on Maui with her husband, three horses, and three cats.
Hanne Riegg-Luedge has been an instructor since the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying was published in 1992. After living in Santa Cruz for over 30 years, she moved to Southern Oregon in 2020 with her husband to live close to her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. Hanne is a retired psychologist.