This month in our weekly studies we will explore the training in immeasurable compassion, based on two traditions: the one presented in The Words of My Perfect Teacher and that presented in the Zindri. By looking into these different approaches we will be able to fine tune our own way of evoking immeasurable compassion in our practice and integrating it into our everyday life.
The Way of the Great Perfection, Year 2, Special Study Module
AEPE Year 2 Zindri: The Chapter on Taking Refuge from “A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher”
The purpose of this stand-alone module is to help us read and study the chapter on Taking Refuge from “A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher” (often simply called Zindri.) It is intended for individual study of students of the AEPE who have completed year 2 of the programme.
The material presented in this chapter is indispensable for Rigpa students working towards joining the Dzogchen Mandala.
To fully complete this module, there are several questions that must be answered and submitted online. We suggest you watch all the material presented in this module and, if possible, that you read the chapter on Taking Refuge from the Zindri.
This month we will be exploring the meditation on Immeasurable Love with Patrick Gaffney’s and Sogyal Rinpoche’s best teachings on this topic, starting on the first week with establishing a good foundation from which to develop Immeasurable Love. On the second week we will go further into looking at all the different phases of the practice of Immeasurable Love, both with and without an object. On the third week we will experience the practice deeply with Patrick’s loving and careful guidance. And on the fourth week we will conclude by learning about how to integrate Immeasurable Love in our life.
The teachings on Immeasurable Equanimity show us a different way of relating to other beings. We are invited to let go of divisions, biases, prejudices, and partisanship in favour of a bigger picture which, taking into account countless previous lives, reveals both enemies and friends to have shown as tremendous kindness. As, in one life or another, every single being has been extremely close and dear to us, we develop the wish to repay their kindness.
Meditation on Immeasurable Equanimity could change the whole way we look at people around us and our perception of who they are and what they actually need.
The practice of the Four Immeasurables is considered the foundation of the training in bodhichitta, it is the way to “make bodhichitta arise where it has not arisen”. This month we will be exploring what Immeasurable Love, Immeasurable Compassion, Immeasurable Joy and Immeasurable Equanimity really mean, and the two practices related with each of the immeasurables: with an object and without object. We will conclude with a session specifically on Immeasurable Equanimity. The January 2026 Live Sangha Day teaching, “Beyond Measure”, is given by Rigpa senior teacher Ruth Seehausen.
The Buddhist teachings on compassion describe the evolution of compassion to great compassion and then to Bodhichitta, the Heart of the Enlightened Mind. The December programme allows us to study and experience the development of this evolution which is based on empathy and reason.
The Way of the Great Perfection. AEPE 21 - Loving Kindness.
Introduction to Loving Kindness. Exploring the phrases of loving kindness. The ‘enemies’ and ‘supports’ of loving kindness. How Loving Kindness is the antidote to anger and fear.
The November Live Sangha Day teaching on Loving Kindness is given by Rigpa teacher Andrew Warr.
The practice which many of us will first accumulate is the practice of offering prostration in the context of Taking Refuge. In this month’s weekly study we will receive guidance on how to accumulate. We will also be introduced to the ngöndro practice of the Longchen Nyingtik.
The October Live Sangha Day teaching, ‘The Heart-essence of the Vast Expanse from the Great Perfection’, is given by Rigpa senior teacher Seth Dye.