Rigpa Senior Teacher Dominique Side will visit Australia in October to present 5 public talks. Each of these are stand-alone topics, but they follow the sequence of Dominique’s latest course: A New Way of Seeing the World – From Knowledge to Insight. We strongly encourage you to attend the session in your city in person, and join the others online to make the month of October a complete journey from the struggles of daily life to an investigation of where we can find long-lasting sustainable happiness.
Bookings will open soon.
Dominique will also be offering instructor training sessions at the national centre, probably around 5-8 October. Please keep your calendar free around this time.
About Dominique
Dominique first encountered Tibetan Buddhism in the mid-1970s in London. She has studied with Sogyal Rinpoche and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, completed several strict retreats and has obtained a PhD in Madhyamaka philosophy from Bristol University, UK. She taught Buddhism in London schools for eight years and has written textbooks on the subject. As a senior teacher in Rigpa, she specialises in making Buddhist thought and philosophy accessible to all.
Friday 2 October 6:30-9:00pm AEST - Newcastle
The Search for a Sense of Personal Identity: a Buddhist View
Moving through the highs and lows of life can challenge our sense of self, and even create an identity crisis, leading us to ask ‘who are we in the face of loss and failure?’ Conversely, experiences of success can feel self-affirming, but may leave us fearing that they will not last or simply leave us wanting more. The Buddha found that the underlying cause of so much of our suffering is the immense pain of having lost touch with who we really are.
In this evening teaching, Dominique Side will present some Buddhist insights into our true identity, and show how, by nurturing a deeper understanding of who we really are, we can begin to find the confidence and inner strength to weather life’s ups and downs.
Sunday 4 October 10:00am-12:30pm AEST - Sydney
Understand Your Mind
When we seek to find who we truly are, we may find ourselves identifying with our mind. Our thoughts, feelings, emotions and opinions colour so much of how we see and interact with the world around us.
In this teaching, Dominique Side will show how Buddhist psychology unpacks different facets of our mind to give us a clearer understanding of what mind is and how it functions. This gives us insights into how we can work with our mind to find a way out of our suffering and reveal our own capacity for inner peace.
Sunday 4 October 2:30-5:00pm AEST – Sydney
A Clear View: Seeing Our World As It Really Is
From a Buddhist perspective, the root of all our troubles comes down to two types of mental affliction: destructive emotions such as anger, pride, jealousy, desire and ignorance; and the distorted way we see things.
In this teaching, Dominique Side will explore how our misperception of reality leads to pain and how we can turn this whole edifice around through mindfulness.
Sunday 11 October 10:00am-12:30pm AEST – Melbourne
Finding Peace and Clarity in Meditation
The practices of mindfulness and meditation are powerful, effective and practical tools for transforming our state of mind from one of agitation, despair and confusion to one of peace and clarity. In this teaching, Dominique Side will present meditation practices that relate directly to our habits and emotions to show how such a transformation is possible.
Sunday 11 October 2:30-5:00pm AEST– Melbourne
What’s This Thing We Call Happiness?
The Buddhist path is not about superficial or short-term happiness and wellbeing. It is not therapy or a quick fix of any kind. And yet the benefits of bringing the Buddhist view into our lives are immense. In a nutshell, it can free us from the hopes and fears that entangle us and bog us down.
In this teaching, Dominique Side will explore what happiness is. Is it wellbeing? Is it contentment? Where do we find happiness in a world full of suffering? Together we’ll investigate how can we set ourselves a goal of true, sustainable, long-lasting happiness.