In the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Mahamudra (Great Seal) meditation is the practice of realising the great seal of reality, the empty and selfless nature of all things. With its unique starting point of meditating on the clear and knowing nature of the mind, we learn to settle back and meditate as spacious awareness. Within this extraordinary experience of clarity, spaciousness, bliss and absence of discursive thinking, we turn our introspective awareness to examine the nature of the subject, our habitual sense of self, in order to free ourselves from all our grasping, attachment and heartache.

Through Mahamudra meditation, we can connect with our own aware space and experience the bliss that comes from this effortless way of engaging in meditation.

The workshop will feature explanations, guided meditations and time for Q&A. All are welcome.

Meditative concentration, also known as calm-abiding, is a state of mind where all the disturbances due to dysfunctional reactions of body and mind are pacified and we find our attention abiding blissfully on whatever object of meditation we focus on. Contrary to popular beliefs, great effort and willpower are not necessary to accomplish it. Rather, the skillful and wise application of our mindfulness, coupled with the attitude of kindness and letting go, transforms our usual effortful struggle in meditation to an effortless process of settling deeply into concentration.

Release from bodily tensions due to stress and calming of distressing ruminative thinking are just some of the benefits we can expect through such practice. The workshop will feature explanations, guided meditations and time for Q&A. All are welcome.

By bringing awareness to this topic of death and being prepared for it, we can greatly reduce the distress and shock that often accompany our encounter with death. In Tibetan Buddhism, there is a wealth of knowledge and practices that can help us navigate the ending part of our life, transforming our relationship with death from one of suffering to one of appreciation, gratitude and fulfilment. 

Death can be an opportunity for discovering our valuable inner resources. In this workshop we will look at Buddhist teachings on death and rebirth, applying them through meditation and exploring practical steps we can take to be prepared for the inevitable. The workshop will feature explanations, guided meditations and time for Q&A. All are welcome.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the spiritual director of FPMT, has explained that the sound of a mantra has the power to protect us, holding our mind from nonvirtuous thoughts and fostering virtuous ones, thus allowing us to develop toward enlightenment. In this workshop, we explore the use of different mantras, accompanied by different visualisation practices, to bring positive changes to our heart and mind through calming distressing emotional reactions and enhancing mental clarity, concentration and kindness.

Mantra recitation is one of the simplest of spiritual practices and can bring great benefits. The workshop is based on the book, The Power of Mantra, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche (Wisdom Publications) and will feature explanations, guided meditations and time for Q&A. All are welcome.

When we encounter blockages and the lack of inspiration in our spiritual practice, the traditional advice from Tibetan Buddhist teachings is to work on gathering the favourable conditions that support realisations. By putting time and energy into nurturing these conditions, seeds of learning and experience from the past have a chance to germinate and grow to give rise to fresh and uplifting experiences. In this workshop we will focus on these essential conditions and how to engage in effective practices that will activate them.

All are welcome; no prerequisite required.

Each workshop consists of two sessions with a mixture of explanations, guided meditations and time for discussion or Q&A.

A main source of our distress over problems and troubles is derived from the compulsive stream of involuntary reactive thinking that is often self-centred and self-defeating. By conscientiously nurturing the qualities of loving-kindness and compassion through the powerful meditative technique of taking-and-giving (Tonglen in Tibetan), we can initiate and sustain a way to help us step out of the vicious cycle of our reactive thinking. Tonglen meditation is based on a combination of mindfulness of breathing and visualisation that reconnects us with our natural potential for kindness.

All are welcome; no prerequisite required.

Each workshop consists of two sessions with a mixture of explanations, guided meditations and time for discussion or Q&A.

By learning to get in touch with the reality of our life and letting go of our distorted conceptions, we can transform our daily experiences of problems, anxiety and stress into opportunities for spiritual breakthrough and deepening insight. In this workshop we will look at how to settle our mindful attention on our mind and its objects of experience, how to uncover misconceptions that are the source of our disturbances, and how we can release our mind from the grip of such grasping in order to find genuine peace and happiness.

All are welcome; no prerequisite required.

Each workshop consists of two sessions with a mixture of explanations, guided meditations and time for discussion or Q&A.