• Session 1: Friday 24th January / 4.30 – 6pm 

• Session 2: Friday 24th January / 6.15pm – 7.45pm 

• Session 3: Saturday 25th January / 10.30am – 12 midday 

Cost: $30 NZD (per session)

Joining in person at Nyima tashi 

Ekai Korematsu Roshi explores the concept of wisdom (Prajna) in Buddhism from a Zen perspective in three 1.5-hour sessions. 

In the second chapter of Shobogenzo, "On the Great Wisdom That Is Beyond Discriminatory Thought" (Makahannya-haramitsu), Zen master Dōgen presents profound teachings to his monks at Kannondōri monastery.  

Rooted in the Heart Sutra (Maha Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra) and the Larger Sutra on Spiritual Wisdom and complemented by a poem from Chinese Master Tendō Nyojō, Roshi's talk explores  Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva’s insight into the emptiness of the five skandhas—form, perceptions, conceptions, volition, and consciousness. 

Dōgen highlights that true wisdom transcends dualistic thinking, revealing the interconnectedness of all phenomena. Ultimately, the talk suggests that all aspects of life and spiritual practice are manifestations of this great wisdom, indicating that the path to enlightenment is embedded in every moment of our lives.   

• Sunday 26th January /10.30am–12 midday

Cost: $28 NZD per session

Via Zoom and at NT on the big screen

​Anapana is the Pali term for breathing; sati is the word for mindfulness. Anapanasati is widely considered to be one of the most important meditation techniques taught in the early discourses of the Buddha, therefore it was taught as a complete approach to awakening. The breath offers meditators an extremely pliable meditation subject based on the ordinary, accessible experience of breathing in and breathing out. It can be used in conjunction with a wide variety of practices to steer attention away from distractions and anchor attention on a present experience. According to Buddhism, it’s incumbent on each one of us to do something to diminish the power of lack of awareness, lack of insight, lack of attentiveness and so on. To do that, we practise mindfulness. According to Buddhism, there is no way to overcome the mind’s propensity for delusions without working with avidya, ignorance. The practice of mindfulness is the first step but, as I mentioned, when we do this, we must think of it as supporting our effort to transform the mind in a positive manner.

• Sunday 26th January /12.30am – 2pm  

Cost: $28 NZD per session

Via Zoom and at NT on the big screen

Tibetan Buddhist mantras are words originally spoken by a Buddha while deep in meditation. Reciting them helps to replace the endless, internal chatter of the mind with calming syllables that purify karmic imprints, bring beneficial energy, focus the concentration, and offer protection and blessings. 

Chanting a mantra cannot by itself liberate a person from cyclic existence. While chanting, one also must transform and focus one's thoughts. 

To engage the mind in this way requires skill in meditation practice. In some sense Chanting is neither active nor passive—it’s receptive. Although Buddhist chanting can have a melody, overall, it’s more monotonic, which is why for the most part Buddhist contemplative practices are based in equanimity and repose. 

The power of chanting arises from deep within, as one slowly learns to let go of the dualistic mind’s desire to control reality. 

• Saturday 25th January / Session 8.30am – 10am

Cost: $28 NZD per session

Via Zoom and at NT on the big screen

In meditation we can reach a state of mind where time and space collapse, and from which spontaneous action arises. This place is the source of all inspiration and creativity, and whatever flows from it is an expression of art in the truest sense. Great works of art engage our whole being, intellectual, emotional and sensual, in order to reveal an inner significance beyond the words, colours or sounds themselves, just as Trungpa Rinpoche’s teachings on sacred vision show us how to transform our ordinary perception of the world into the enlightened perception of a Buddha’s Pure Land. This is universal Dharma, not belonging to any religion, nation or age, but accessible to all. 

• Sunday 26th January / Session 8.30am – 10am

Cost: $28 NZD per session
Via Zoom and at NT on the big screen

In meditation we can reach a state of mind where time and space collapse, and from which spontaneous action arises. This place is the source of all inspiration and creativity, and whatever flows from it is an expression of art in the truest sense. Great works of art engage our whole being, intellectual, emotional and sensual, in order to reveal an inner significance beyond the words, colours or sounds themselves, just as Trungpa Rinpoche’s teachings on sacred vision show us how to transform our ordinary perception of the world into the enlightened perception of a Buddha’s Pure Land. This is universal Dharma, not belonging to any religion, nation or age, but accessible to all. 

• Friday 24th September / 2.30pm – 4pm 

Cost: $35 NZD per session

Joining in Person at Nyima Tashi

Dr Tony Fernando is the author of a recently published book called “Life Hacks from the Buddha”. In this talk he will be sharing some of the main points in his book. This book distils ancient wisdom into 50 simple, easy-to-follow hacks, including mindfulness, generosity, living simply, avoiding harm, and cultivating compassion. One of the greatest causes of suffering is our tendency to cling to ideas or beliefs. We hold on so tightly that we dismiss other perspectives as wrong. Whether it's how to stack dishes or parallel park, or more serious matters like political or religious beliefs, this grasping leads to conflict. Learning to "ungrasp" or hold our ideas lightly, while giving space to others, is a key teaching of the Buddha that leads to peace. You don't have to abandon your beliefs—just avoid clinging too tightly.

• Saturday 25th January / 1pm - 2.30pm

Cost: $28 NZD per session

Via Zoom and at NT on the big screen

Tara is called the "Savioress" because she is known for saving beings from the ocean of samsara (suffering). Her name also means "star," as she is as infinite as the stars in the sky. Ultimately, she represents the essential nature of your own mind, your buddha nature, and in this way, she can manifest in each of us in a myriad of different ways. The twenty-one aspects of Tara appear in the 11th-century tantric text called the Twenty-One Praises to Tara, a devotional hymn popular in Tibetan Buddhism, from which Lopön Chandra Easton's book, Embodying Tara, draws its teachings and practices. The Nyingma Twenty-One Tara tradition is found within the terma (treasure) cycle of Jigme Lingpa, "The Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse” (Longchen Nyingtig), one of the most important of the Great Perfection, Dzogchen, traditions in the Nyingma (“Elders”) school of Tibetan Buddhism. Lopön Chandra will share teachings and stories from this rich lineage as a way to set the context for a guided practice and mantra recitation to one of the Taras, Tara Vajra Saraswati.  

• Saturday 25th January / 3pm – 4.30pm

Cost: $28 NZD per session

Via Zoom and at NT on the big screen

Tara, the Buddhist goddess of compassion, can manifest within all of us. In this class, Lopön Chandra will share how to invite Tara’s awakened energy to come alive in yourself through teachings, guided meditations, and mantra recitations on various Taras from the Nyingma tradition of the Twenty-One Tara Pantheon (From the "Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse" treasure cycle of Jigme Lingpa). We will practice both mantra japa (recitation) and kirtan (mantra melodies) to Tara in her many forms.  

Find out how important women and movements in modern history have achieved this through their own embodiment of Tara’s enlightened activities. The stories of Jane Goodall, Nawal El Saadawi, Vandana Shiva, Ani Choying Drolma, and others will inspire you to bring these aspects of Tara into the world in creative and socially conscious ways for the benefit of all. You will learn meditations and mantras for many of the twenty-one Taras and hear stories of real-life women who embody their qualities. They will inspire you to bring these aspects of Tara alive in yourself, bringing your body, mind, and soul into alignment with your enlightened nature. 

• Sunday 26th January 2025 / 2.30pm – 4pm

Cost: 28 NZD per session
Joining in person at Nyima Tashi

In Buddhism the philosophical view that describes the nature of reality and the way that things exist is not separated from Buddhist psychology, because Buddhist thought always presents the subject and the object together. We cannot just analyse the objective world; we always try to include the subjective side - as in how we are experiencing the object under discussion.

Which brings us to the case in point. How should one view an unhealthy mental event? How does one deal with it? Buddhism would suggest that when we can accommodate our own neuroses and emotional instabilities, then we can accommodate parts of ourselves, without having to reject them. Rejecting one's desire, jealousy, aggression would be rejecting part of ourselves. If we can't accept these tendencies as being part of ourselves and have some kind of warmth towards them then transmutation would not be possible.

• Friday 24th January / 12.30pm - 2pm

Cost: $25 NZD per session
Joining in person at Nyima Tashi

As students of Tibetan Buddhism, we often read and hear references to “the ground”.  The notion of the ground – also called the basis – is a key concept for Mahayana and later forms of Buddhism and is often said to be synonymous with the understanding of Buddha Nature. Drawing on the Teachings of Traleg Kyabgön Rinpoche IX, Meaghan will offer an introduction to the view of the ground and how this view informs the formative stages of meditation practice.