Rigpa Youth

The Rigpa Youth thank you blues

2011-08-14T14:25:00.003+02:00

Rigpa Youth is still very much alive and kicking, but unfortunatly we didn't get the opportunity to write about it. Recently we had a meditation retreat at Lerab Ling, called What meditation really is where loads of young peeps where present. We had some nice walks and lunches together, and at the end of the retreat some very creative members wrote a 'thank you blues' to thank Sogyal Rinpoche for

Awake with Sogyal Rinpoche

2011-04-15T17:10:00.002+02:00

Thanks to some creative peeps in Holland, Sogyal Rinpoche is soon going to steel the show in Amsterdam"Awake! Awake in the morning, in your life, in the world, and on Wednesday 4 May. That’s when Rigpa Netherlands is organising the Buddhist ‘mind and meditation event’ entitled Awake with Sogyal Rinpoche, in Amsterdam’s premier music venue, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. "For more info go to the Official

Reflections on black swan

2011-02-15T08:38:00.000+01:00

recently saw the movie Black Swan--kind of a must-see for a balletenthusiast like me. It was really interesting to observe myselfwatching the movie, which was not only a story about a dancer but adeep psychological portrait about becoming a woman and discoveringyour sexuality and your dark side. I was brought up with very littlein ways of scary movies, kind of always kept away from those because

Thinking about death...

2011-02-09T10:42:00.000+01:00

In the days between Christmas and new year's I attended SogyalRinpoche's annual retreat in Kirchheim, Germany. This year's theme wasdeath and dying. It was very powerful to receive and contemplateteachings on such a topic. I think those teachings are particularlypoignant when you are young, because we tend to so professionally bandeath out of our lives here in the West. And yet, it is true

A New Year's eve in meditation to open the year !

2011-01-22T16:20:00.009+01:00

It’s been three weeks since the Christmas retreat at Lérab Ling concluded, but I can still feel the benefits of the precious teachings we received. We were 130 retreatants from all ages and backgrounds to spend seven days studying and practicing Sogyal Rinpoche's teachings. Practicing “shamatha” or mindfulness meditation was the central theme of the retreat. But there was also a focus on love and

Celebrating a Buddhist Christmas?

2010-12-23T15:52:00.001+01:00

Every year around this time I start reflecting again on the questionwhat Christmas means to me as a Buddhist. Having been brought up in aChristian country with respect for religion, Christmas has always beenimportant to me, and it has usually meant something like "peace onearth." And of course, world peace is the final goal, isn't it? As Christmas comes at the end of a year, I always feel the

The treasures of respect and gratitude

2010-12-22T09:29:00.001+01:00

Maybe the above topics sound quite scary for a youth blog, butactually I think respect and gratitude are things that can make usreally happy beings. I started thinking a lot about these topics aftersome e-mail conversations with my ballet teacher. Namely, in ballet,which has its roots in the 17th century courts, respect is veryimportant. For example, at the end of a ballet class, the

International Forum on Buddhism and Medicine at Lerab Ling

2010-11-19T14:30:00.013+01:00

p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; It was forecast to rain but the sun shone brightly as almost 1,000 healthcare professionals and members of the general public descended on Lerab Ling recently for the Third International Forum on Buddhism and Medicine. In previous years the forum had been held in Montpellier and so this was the first time it was to be in such an environment, and indeed the first time

Where practice really matters: an accident

2010-11-03T02:17:00.001+01:00

It actually already happened a few months ago, but I was too busy tooblog beforehand. At the end of August, I was involved in an accident:I broke five ribs and had stuff in my lungs (pulmonary contusions)because I was hit by a car while I was biking. It was a greatlesson in the power of practice. Even though I am by no means a greatpractitioner, I started to get a sense of what the masters mean

Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche in Lerab Ling

2010-10-20T14:07:00.019+02:00

p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }I recently extended my stay in Lerab Ling, the upside of which was that I was able to be here for the visit of Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche. I remember when I first heard Sogyal Rinpoche teach, at the Myall Lakes retreat in Australia many years ago. I had seen some of his teachings before at a Rigpa centre and read a bit of the book (The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying),

An interview without answers

2010-10-18T11:27:00.028+02:00

Last night we had an interview with Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel at the Shambhala center in Amsterdam. Although not that many people attended, it was heartwarming that young students of different masters all came together: Shambhala, Rigpa, WakeUp and Dzogchen Community were represented.With Rigpa Youth I've interviewed several lama's over the past two years and those have all been very cool and

Rigpa Youth has a new member... Mingyur Rinpoche!

2010-10-01T10:28:00.006+02:00

p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }After several days of receiving some of the most lively and inspiring teachings from Mingyur Rinpoche during the Lerab Ling Dzogchen Retreat, the expectation was high for our interview with one of the most accomplished and engaging young lamas to teach in West. He of course did not disappoint, gleefully declaring after hearing about our project that he also qualified

Summer 2010 at Lerab Ling

2010-09-08T09:42:00.002+02:00

Corinne from Italy has kindly written a short story, telling about her impressions of visiting Lerab Ling for the first time this summer. Hello everybody, My name is Corinne and I would like to share the experience I had in Lerab Ling this summer, with whoever is interested in reading this little story. I´ll start a bit before

Tulku

2010-09-08T09:31:00.002+02:00

The Buddhist Broadcast Foundation, or www.Buddhistmedia.com , has finally made the documentary 'Tulku' available online. Being a young Buddhist is one thing, but being a tulku is another!"Gesar Mukpo is a filmmaker who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is the son of the great Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his British wife. As he gathers impressions from others, Gesar

DJKR's Interview for Karmapa Youth.

2010-09-02T22:33:00.002+02:00

The Karmapa Youth group asked Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche to give his advice for young people and to say something in genaral about relationships, profession and hobbies (f.i. listening heavy metal and being a buddhist). The interview was recorded at 3 July 2010 in Menz, Germany.Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche about relationships, profession and hobbies.

Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche interviewed by teenagers

2010-08-04T10:10:00.009+02:00

During Yangsi Rinpoche's recent inaugural visit to Lerab Ling, Rigpa Youth had the incredible honour to take part in a special interview with him. Organised in collaboration with Rigpa Yeshe, the interview was a chance for Yangsi Rinpoche to meet the teenagers at the All Mandala Retreat and answer their questions, as well as questions from Rigpa Youth members from around the world.Before the

Retreat at Tenzin Gyatso Institute

2010-07-07T11:27:00.000+02:00

I just returned from the retreat at the Tenzin Gyatso Institute. It wasan amazing event. While driving up with my friend Neal, we listened toMichaela's beautiful cd "Actual Mind." It is such a great inspiration!We were contemplating about how we could bring a more contemplativestyle to our lives. The first two days of the retreat were theinaugurational celebration of TGI. There was Tibetan music,

Life at Lerab Ling: The Sadhana of Soccer

2010-07-07T10:55:00.004+02:00

Although Lerab Ling is situated relatively remote, 20 minutes by car from the nearest supermarket –the hallmark of civilization-, it does not escape the football madness that currently captures a large part of the world. In between the work, teachings and practices, a considerable section of the Lerab Ling residents manages to find the time to watch the world championship football. Countries

Mipham Rinpoche Anniversary

2010-06-10T20:10:00.004+02:00

Today is the anniversary of Ju Mipham Rinpoche, one of the greatest scholars of the Nyingma tradition. It's hard find a Nyingma text which doesnt have a commentary by Mipham Rinpoche, and equally hard to find a difficult point which has not been made easy by Mipham Rinpoche's explanations. Check out his bio by Nyoshul Khen hereAn excerpt of 'Satirical advice for the four schools' "The Nyingmapas

Did you know... about the RigpaWiki MP3 library?

2010-06-09T20:35:00.004+02:00