Know your mind, transform your life | Sydney and Online

Know your mind, transform your life

Finding peace, compassion, and wisdom in the nature of your own mind

This five-day retreat will take you to the heart of the still revolutionary insight of Buddhism, that life and death are in the mind, and nowhere else. In Dzogchen—the most direct stream of wisdom within the teachings of Buddhism—the mind is revealed as the universal basis of experience: the creator of happiness and the creator of suffering, the creator of what we call samsara and what we call nirvana.

Through a dynamic process of hearing, reflection, and meditation, guided by the teachings of the Buddha and based on our own direct experience, we will investigate exactly how the mind is the root of our entire reality. This exploration leads to a profound certainty and confidence in our mind's intrinsic essence: the unchanging, pure awareness that underlies the whole of life and death.

From this foundation of trust in our inherently pure nature, we will cultivate a deep inner conviction that the mind's appearances—its unending display of thoughts, emotions, and perceptions—are indeed workable. It is truly possible to 'tame this mind of ours.'

We will specifically examine the aspects of mind that we need to ‘tame and train’, engaging in deep reflection on the cognitive and emotional patterns of delusion that perpetuate samsara. This includes the ingrained tendencies to expect permanence from what is momentary and to expect lasting satisfaction from that which can never provide it.  We will also investigate how we construct an identity as permanent, singular, independent, truly existing persons based on phenomena that are in reality devoid of any stable essence or identity.

Ultimately, this journey will guide us to our mind's true nature, our unchanging pure awareness, which underlies the whole of life and death. This, then, allows for a direct exploration of the challenging yet liberating notion that 'samsara is mind turned outwardly, lost in its projection, whereas nirvana is mind turned inwardly, recognising its nature.' Supported by the blessings of the master through the practice of Guru Yoga, then, we engage in the profound method of leaving the mind unaltered in its true nature, finding a natural great peace, bliss and clarity.

Join us for this journey from our ordinary, everyday mind, to the true essence and nature of mind; a journey Sogyal Rinpoche guided us through again and again during his many January retreats in Australia. This retreat is an opportunity to reconnect, with the precious legacy Rinpoche left behind for us, with each other, and with the joyful spirit of our National Sangha retreats. 

We strongly encourage you to join us in person to get the most out of your retreat time, but an online option is available if you cannot get to Sydney.

This retreat will be led by Senior Teacher, Jan van der Breggen, along with a team of Rigpa Australia teachers and instructors.

About Jan van der Breggen

Jan is a teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and a scholar of Buddhist philosophy. He began the path of meditation at 17 years old, touched by the tenderness of the human experience and filled with questions about what reality was all about. He soon encountered the writings of great masters from various traditions such as J Krishnamurti, Suzuki Roshi, Thich Nhat Hang and Sogyal Rinpoche. Thirty years later, Jan continues to be moved by the vast profundity of the Buddhist path and its vision of the inherent wisdom, loving kindness and strength that lies in the minds of each and everyone of us.

Jan was honoured to be entrusted by Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche and Mindroling Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche as one of the twenty-five worldwide Rigpa Senior teachers. In 2017, he was selected to be a participant in the Milinda program, a 10-year, international Buddhist teacher training program under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

Jan grew up in the Netherlands where he earned a Masters Degree in Historical Anthropology. He is fluent in English and Dutch. He lives in Brisbane where he works as a data analytics professional. Jan was instrumental in founding Rigpa Brisbane in 1999, where he has served as a Dharma instructor for over 20 years.

About Marianne Gizycki

Marianne Gizycki first met Sogyal Rinpoche in 1994. In the years since, she has also received teachings from Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Alan Wallace and Steven Goodman.

As an instructor at Rigpa Sydney, she has led courses on meditation, Buddhist philosophy and Ngondrö practice. Having worked as an economist, she has offered Tibetan Buddhist teachings and practices to Australian business and community leaders. She provides meditation sessions at a refuge house for women recovering from drug dependency.

Marianne spent ten years as Rigpa Australia’s National Director - Teaching Services, assisting with the work of over one hundred course facilitators, designing courses and helping students undertaking their own personal retreats.

Details

Date: Full retreat  22 Jan - 26 Jan

Time: 8:00am - 7:15pm - exact schedule to be confirmed
Thursday start: 10:00am
Monday end: 3:30pm

Where: Rigpa Australia, 158 Australia St, Newtown, NSW and Online via Zoom

Please note that this urban retreat is non-residential. If you are travelling from outside of Sydney we recommend that you book your accommodation early.

To make the most of your precious retreat time, we strongly recommend that you attend this retreat in person in Sydney.
If you are in Adelaide, Brisbane or Melbourne and are not able to travel to Sydney, we are working with our centre teams to have the retreat broadcast to our centres in those cities and warmly invite you to follow the retreat there. You'll be emailed before the retreat begins to confirm arrangements.

Early Bird discount - Book before 4 December and receive a $50 discount on the Standard fee or a $30 discount on the concession fee.