The Essence of Tibetan Buddhism

In this weekend of teachings, shared reflection, and meditation practice, Jan van der Breggen will guide participants through an exploration of key elements of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, with the aim to help anyone — whether new to Buddhism or with an already established practice path — establish a meaningful relationship with the vast and colourful world of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Buddhist path can be divided into three broad stages: the foundational path, emphasizing peace, the mahayana path, emphasizing compassion and wisdom, and the vajrayana path, emphasizing transforming our perception of ourselves and the world we live in.

During this weekend we will explore how this third approach — that of transforming our perception,  forms a thread that runs throughout all three stages. It is founded on the view that the awakened state, enlightenment, is right here, in the present moment, and can be brought into every aspect of the spiritual path.

From this perspective, our world and our reality depend entirely on our own mind, and the way it perceives reality. And so, the unsatisfactory nature of our lives that Buddha’s teachings speak of, is not caused by an inherent problem with our world. Instead, it is a result of our limited, distorted perception. 

Founded on this view, Tibetan Buddhism is marked by a rich array of skilful methods which it has nurtured and perfected over hundreds of years. This includes basic meditation practices to calm and stabilise the mind; contemplative methods to awaken in us deep wisdom and vast compassion; visualization practice, mantra recitation, and profound meditation to help us arrive swiftly at a direct realization of our true nature and the nature of reality itself.

During this workshop we will explore some of these methods, and how each of them is founded upon the view they are designed to help us bring into direct, personal experience.