Category: Event

Rigpa Family Day

🧘🏻‍♀️ Type:

In-person

📆 Date:

Saturday, 31 January 2026

⏱️ Time:

11.00am – 1pm

📍 Addr.:

London Centre, 330 Caledonian Road, London N1 1BB

💰 Fee:

£5 suggested donation for Child | £5 for family group

Open to families with children.

Join us for simple meditation, relaxation and yoga movement.

Family Day: Mindful Moments for Little and Big Hearts

Join us for a gentle, joyful Family Day designed to help children and their grown-ups slow down, connect, and simply be together. This relaxed event invites families to explore simple meditation, playful yoga-inspired movements, and calming creative crafts in a supportive, relaxed environment.

Through mindfulness activities, children will learn easy ways to notice their breath, their bodies, and their feelings, all while having fun. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to participate alongside their children, making this a shared experience of presence, curiosity, and connection.

We’ll move softly, stretch gently, and create with our hands, offering moments of calm balanced with light-hearted play. No prior experience with yoga or meditation is needed, just comfortable clothes and an open mind.

After the activities, families are welcome to stay, relax, and enjoy some snacks together. This is a chance to mingle, chat, and build community with other families in a warm, welcoming space.

Come as you are, take a pause from the busyness of everyday life, and enjoy a nourishing afternoon of mindfulness, creativity, and togetherness. 🌱

*Pleass bring food/snacks to share so we can lunch together after the morning session.

*Please bring your own yoga mat if you’d like to join the yoga session.

How to participate

This event will be held in person.

Suggested donation l

Per Child l £5

Family group l £10

Financial hardship l Donate what you can

Contact [email protected] if you are unable to make a donation of any amount at this time and we will register you.

*Dharma teachings are always offered free of charge. We do not turn anyone away on financial grounds. Your financial contribution is used towards centre running costs, staff salaries, equipment etc. Thank you for your support.

January 7, 2026
Free Bodhi talk – Learn to Meditate: Dealing with Stress

🧘🏻‍♀️ Type:

FREE, in-person

📆 Date:

Saturday, 7 February 2026

⏱️ Time:

10.30am – 12.30pm

📍 Addr.:

London Centre, 330 Caledonian Road, London N1 1BB

Introduction: Working with Stress & Anxiety using Buddhist wisdom tools

Life is stressful.

Money, family, children, work, the environment. No matter where we turn, we find another reason to stress out.

We can choose so many different ways to cope with stress: taking time off, going on vacation, exercising, getting a massage, or just being distracted.

Many of these methods, while wonderful and useful, tend to deal with the outermost manifestations of stress and may not offer a lasting solution.

At bodhi, we explore a different way of dealing with stress; one that can have a more lasting and transformative effect on your life. We start by asking ourselves: what really is the root of our stress? What role does our own mind play in the stress we are experiencing?

FREE to join

Teachers

Dragana Alvarez

Dragana Alvarez has been practising and studying Buddhist Teachings since the early 90s. She taught in higher and further education and also worked as a translator. Her work experience has provided her with an invaluable understanding of the importance of creating a warm environment for clear communication and exchange. She has been an instructor on a range of courses in the London Rigpa Centre for over fifteen years.

Will Mansfield

Will Mansfield has been practising Buddhism for over 25 years and has been instructing on courses in the London Rigpa Centre for over 15 years. He finds it rewarding to see the benefits that meditation and Buddhist teachings can bring to people’s lives and how these two work together to help them deepen their sense of self-discovery.

Vinciane Rycroft

Vinciane Rycroft is passionate about social connection, sustainability and how we can live together well on the earth. She has undertaken a number of projects over the years, including award-winning environmental education programmes, a charity to introduce mindfulness and compassion into schools, as well as conferences on compassion in society. She is a first generation Western Buddhist, who started meditating when she was 18.

Rosey Hastings

Rosey Hastings has been studying and practising Buddhism since the 1980s. She was a schoolteacher for 30 years, teaching children and young adults with learning difficulties and in particular dyslexia. She is passionate about making Buddhism accessible and meaningful to anyone who has the interest and curiosity whatever their background, education, and preferred style of learning. Rosey supports and teaches on the public and sangha programme in the UK.

David Rycroft

David Rycroft is an educator, fine artist and co-founder of Mind With Heart, an international charity training teachers and students in sustainable wellbeing, emotional health and social connection. Since 1994 he has studied and practiced consistently within the Rigpa sangha, receiving extensive teachings on mindfulness and mind from a host of illustrious teachers. During this time he raised a family, and taught art in a north London secondary school for ten years. David recently set up and continues to direct Teach-Peace, a secular education project of the European Buddhist Union.

Educated at Eton College and Edinburgh University, David also has an MA (distinction) in Buddhist Studies from Sunderland University. David specialises in teaching meditation in both Buddhist and secular settings. He brings a spirit of experiential enquiry and playful creativity to his role as a teacher. His paintings, celebrating natural vitality and inviting us to appreciate the wonders of nature, are exhibited internationally, including an exhibition at UNESCO, Paris

Carol

Carol has been studying the Buddhist teachings for over 30 years and an instructor at the London Centre for 25 years, specialising in the meditation courses. Previously she worked in I.T . and as a project manager for a major corporation, leading multi cultural teams and enjoying the interaction with others. Having experienced the remarkable benefits of these teachings and practices, it’s her greatest wish to share these with others and enable everyone to integrate them into their own lives.

December 31, 2025
Free Bodhi talk – Learn to Meditate: Dealing with Stress

🧘🏻‍♀️ Type:

FREE, in-person

📆 Date:

Thursday, 5 February 2026

⏱️ Time:

7.00pm – 9.00pm

📍 Addr.:

London Centre, 330 Caledonian Road, London N1 1BB

Introduction: Working with Stress & Anxiety using Buddhist wisdom tools

Life is stressful.

Money, family, children, work, the environment. No matter where we turn, we find another reason to stress out.

We can choose so many different ways to cope with stress: taking time off, going on vacation, exercising, getting a massage, or just being distracted.

Many of these methods, while wonderful and useful, tend to deal with the outermost manifestations of stress and may not offer a lasting solution.

At bodhi, we explore a different way of dealing with stress; one that can have a more lasting and transformative effect on your life. We start by asking ourselves: what really is the root of our stress? What role does our own mind play in the stress we are experiencing?

FREE to join

Teachers

Dragana Alvarez

Dragana Alvarez has been practising and studying Buddhist Teachings since the early 90s. She taught in higher and further education and also worked as a translator. Her work experience has provided her with an invaluable understanding of the importance of creating a warm environment for clear communication and exchange. She has been an instructor on a range of courses in the London Rigpa Centre for over fifteen years.

Will Mansfield

Will Mansfield has been practising Buddhism for over 25 years and has been instructing on courses in the London Rigpa Centre for over 15 years. He finds it rewarding to see the benefits that meditation and Buddhist teachings can bring to people’s lives and how these two work together to help them deepen their sense of self-discovery.

Vinciane Rycroft

Vinciane Rycroft is passionate about social connection, sustainability and how we can live together well on the earth. She has undertaken a number of projects over the years, including award-winning environmental education programmes, a charity to introduce mindfulness and compassion into schools, as well as conferences on compassion in society. She is a first generation Western Buddhist, who started meditating when she was 18.

Rosey Hastings

Rosey Hastings has been studying and practising Buddhism since the 1980s. She was a schoolteacher for 30 years, teaching children and young adults with learning difficulties and in particular dyslexia. She is passionate about making Buddhism accessible and meaningful to anyone who has the interest and curiosity whatever their background, education, and preferred style of learning. Rosey supports and teaches on the public and sangha programme in the UK.

David Rycroft

David Rycroft is an educator, fine artist and co-founder of Mind With Heart, an international charity training teachers and students in sustainable wellbeing, emotional health and social connection. Since 1994 he has studied and practiced consistently within the Rigpa sangha, receiving extensive teachings on mindfulness and mind from a host of illustrious teachers. During this time he raised a family, and taught art in a north London secondary school for ten years. David recently set up and continues to direct Teach-Peace, a secular education project of the European Buddhist Union.

Educated at Eton College and Edinburgh University, David also has an MA (distinction) in Buddhist Studies from Sunderland University. David specialises in teaching meditation in both Buddhist and secular settings. He brings a spirit of experiential enquiry and playful creativity to his role as a teacher. His paintings, celebrating natural vitality and inviting us to appreciate the wonders of nature, are exhibited internationally, including an exhibition at UNESCO, Paris

Carol

Carol has been studying the Buddhist teachings for over 30 years and an instructor at the London Centre for 25 years, specialising in the meditation courses. Previously she worked in I.T . and as a project manager for a major corporation, leading multi cultural teams and enjoying the interaction with others. Having experienced the remarkable benefits of these teachings and practices, it’s her greatest wish to share these with others and enable everyone to integrate them into their own lives.

December 31, 2025
Know your mind. Transform your life.

🧘🏻‍♀️ Type:

In-person, Online

📆 Date:

Weekend, 28 February – 1 March 2026

⏱️ Time:

10am – 5pm

📍 Addr.:

London Centre, 330 Caledonian Road, London N1 1BB

💰 Fee:

Suggested donation | £120
Concessions | £60

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

With Senior Teacher Jan van der Breggen.

This weekend 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’, and through this find the peace, compassion, and wisdom that are at the heart of who we really are.

The retreat will allow for reflection and meditation on the teachings that are shared tailored to each participants’ prior experience: from complete beginners to Rigpa meditation, ngondro, and dzogchen mandala students.

Teacher

Jan began his 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. Forty 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 every one of us.

Jan completed Rigpa’s three-year retreat under the guidance of Sogyal Rinpoche. He was entrusted as one of Rigpa’s Senior teachers by Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche and Mindroling Jetsun Khandro in 2022. Jan has been a participant in the Milinda program since 2017. Milinda is a 10-year, international Buddhist teacher training program under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, with a three month per year intensive and immersive in-person learning and reflection program.

Jan grew up in the Netherlands where he obtained a Masters Degree in Social and Historical Anthropology. He has lived in Brisbane, Australia, since 1998, and was instrumental in founding Rigpa Brisbane in 1999, where he has served as a Dharma instructor for over 20 years.

How to participate

This event will be held in person and online.
* Online Zoom details for online attendees will be in the eventbrite reminder emails 2 days and 2 hours before the event.

Suggested donation l £120

Consession l £60

Financial hardship l Donate what you can

Contact [email protected] if you are unable to make a donation of any amount at this time and we will register you.

*Dharma teachings are always offered free of charge. We do not turn anyone away on financial grounds. Your financial contribution is used towards centre running costs, staff salaries, equipment etc. Thank you for your support.

**You can cancel and receive an automatic refund through Eventbrite up to 24 hours before the event.

December 29, 2025
Clarity and Cognisance: Discerning the human mind from A.I.
🧘🏻‍♀️ Type:

In-person

📆 Date:

Monday, 2 March 2026

⏱️ Time:

7pm – 9pm

📍 Addr.:

London Centre, 330 Caledonian Road, London N1 1BB

💰 Fee:

Suggested donation | £18
Concessions | £9

With Rigpa Senior Teacher – Jan van der Breggen

During this reflective conversation, blending modern insights on the “attention economy” with the timeless wisdom of Buddhist philosophy, we will explore how to navigate—and thrive in—an environment increasingly shaped by AI.

What we will explore:
- Reclaiming Your Attention: Modern algorithms are designed to hook our instincts—keeping us scrolling, clicking, and chatting to meet their goals, not ours. We’ll discuss how to be more intentional with your focus, ensuring you are deciding what matters, rather than letting technology decide for you.
- The Comfort of the ‘Perfect Listener’: Unlike real people, who have bad days and complex needs, AI offers a relationship with zero demands. We’ll ask: Is this convenience replacing the messy, difficult, but necessary work of real human connection?
- Who is Listening? When we pour our thoughts into a chatbot, it often feels like someone is there. We will look at the vital difference between the clarity and awareness of the human mind and the inanimate, ‘high-tech mirror’ of AI, which mostly just reflects our expectations back to us.
Keeping Your Cool: Even though a chatbot cannot be insulted or hurt, your mental states and emotions are real. We’ll look at how our interactions with machines impact our own mental states, and how to protect your peace of mind in a digital age

Teacher

Jan began his 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. Forty 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 every one of us.

Jan completed Rigpa’s three-year retreat under the guidance of Sogyal Rinpoche. He was entrusted as one of Rigpa’s Senior teachers by Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche and Mindroling Jetsun Khandro in 2022. Jan has been a participant in the Milinda program since 2017. Milinda is a 10-year, international Buddhist teacher training program under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, with a three month per year intensive and immersive in-person learning and reflection program.

Jan grew up in the Netherlands where he obtained a Masters Degree in Social and Historical Anthropology. He has lived in Brisbane, Australia, since 1998, and was instrumental in founding Rigpa Brisbane in 1999, where he has served as a Dharma instructor for over 20 years.

How to participate

This event will be held in person.

Cost

Dharma teachings are always offered free of charge. We do not turn anyone away on financial grounds. Your financial contribution is used towards centre running costs, staff salaries, equipment etc. Thank you for your support.

Suggested donation: £18
Concessions: £9
Donate what you can

If you can’t afford any donation – just contact [email protected] to register.

You can cancel and receive an automatic refund through Eventbrite up to 24 hours before the event.
December 29, 2025
The Illusion of Gender

🧘🏻‍♀️ Type:

In-person

📆 Date:

Wednesday, 11 March 2026

⏱️ Time:

7pm – 9pm

📍 Addr.:

London Centre, 330 Caledonian Road, London N1 1BB

💰 Fee:

£18 suggested donation for six weeks

Transgender Experience and the Understanding of Identity in Buddhism

How do we relate personally to the idea of gender? In this talk, we will attempt to apply the investigative tools of the Buddhist teachings to our ideas of gender, and how they impact our behaviour.

Teachers

Naomi Gassler is a writer, longtime meditator, and teacher in the Rigpa organisation. She studied physics and mathematics and received her Ph.D. from Northeastern University, Boston, USA. In 1997 she moved to Lerab Ling, Rigpa’s retreat centre in the south of France, and has since then worked to help with the translation and transmission of the ancient Buddhist wisdom to the Western World. She is passionate about finding ways to integrate the wisdom and compassion of the teachings of the Buddha into our everyday activities, and thus dissolving any separation between daily life and one’s own spiritual path. Naomi, a transgender woman, enjoys cooking and baking for her friends and for her family, as well as planning and constructing wooden chalets in Lerab Ling.

How to participate

This event will be held in person.

Suggested donation l

Full rate l £18

Concessions l £9*

Financial hardship l Donate what you can

Contact [email protected] if you are unable to make a donation of any amount at this time and we will register you.

*Dharma teachings are always offered free of charge. We do not turn anyone away on financial grounds. Your financial contribution is used towards centre running costs, staff salaries, equipment etc. Thank you for your support.

December 29, 2025