Rigpa Meditation Center

How to Meditate

Try sitting upright in a comfortable and relaxed position. Leave your eyes open and allow your gaze to be relaxed and natural. Then, simply relax your mind…Allow your mind to be, just as it is: open, spacious, calm and yet completely aware. Simply let your thoughts and emotions, whatever arises, come and go, without clinging to them. Just let go. Relax and remain in the pure awareness of the present moment.

When we allow our mind to settle in its own natural peace, we discover a deep stillness that has always been with us, and whether we are aware of it or not, always will be. We begin to discover the true purpose of meditation, which is to introduce us to the unchanging pure awareness that underlies the whole of our experience. The practice of meditation is to become more and more familiar with this awareness in every aspect of our life.

History

Sogyal Rinpoche is the founder and spiritual director of Rigpa, an international network of over 130 Buddhist centres and groups in 41 countries around the world.“Rigpa is a Tibetan word, which in general means ‘intelligence’ or ‘awareness’. In Dzogchen, however, the highest teachings in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, rigpa has a deeper connotation, ‘the innermost nature of the mind’. The whole of the teaching of Buddha is directed towards realizing this, our ultimate nature, the state of omniscience or enlightenment – a truth so universal, so primordial that it goes beyond all limits, and beyond even religion itself.” In 1979, inspired by the meaning of the word rigpa, Sogyal Rinpoche gave this as the name for his work and to the vehicle he was developing to serve the Buddha’s teaching in the west.

Budda statue In Lerab Ling

Open to all schools and traditions of Buddhist wisdom, and with the guidance and gracious patronage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Rigpa offers those following the Buddhist teachings a complete path of study and practice, along with the environment they need to experience the teachings fully. At the same time, Rigpa seeks to explore how the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha’s teachings can benefit many different areas of life in today’s world.

Here in Ireland, Rigpa has four city centres and a number of study groups, as well as being home to Dzogchen Beara, Rigpa’s retreat centre in West Cork. We offer a place where everyone, regardless of age, background, of all faiths or none, is welcome to come and explore the methods and techniques that come from the Buddhist tradition.

Rigpa Ireland is a non-profit organization (CHY 19478). Its work is supported entirely by contributions and donations from students and friends of Rigpa. The overwhelming majority of people who work for Rigpa are volunteers.