A gentle, guided shamatha (calm abiding) meditation practise.
These 45 minute online sessions have been running since 2020 and are for both new students and more established ones.
Feel free to join us whenever you are able to.
Teacher
Jonathan Hayward is a UK-based teacher and volunteer for Rigpa UK. He has a background in classical music and talking therapy, and lives in the Sussex countryside.
Joining
The Zoom details are included in the confirmation email so please save these.
Please join the meeting with the name you registered with.
FREE to join
Ticket sales for each session close 1 minutes before the start time.
Take a moment at the end of your day to pause, breathe, and reconnect.
These 50-minute online meditation sessions have been running since 2022, offering a simple and supportive space for both complete beginners and more experienced practitioners.
Rooted in Tibetan Buddhist meditation, the sessions are presented in a clear and accessible way, making it easy to explore your mind and gently deepen your practice—whatever your level.
Each session includes:
A short warm-up practice to connect with our motivation
A guided main meditation
A final period of quieter practice, where you can explore your own meditation method
Together, we cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and awareness – qualities that can help bring more clarity, balance, and ease into everyday life.
You’ll also be joining a friendly and welcoming group of people who share an interest in understanding the mind and living with greater presence.
These online sessions are hosted by Rigpa, our meditation centre in central London, where we offer in-person teachings, courses, and a supportive community for study and practice.
Instructor
Simon McVay is a UK-based meditation instructor and volunteer for Rigpa UK. He worked as a therapist in the NHS for 24 years, leading mindfulness meditation groups for staff and patients during this time. He lives in Chelmsford, Essex.
Joining
This session is free to attend. Please register via Eventbrite to receive the online link.
Donations are optional and very welcome – they help support our centre and allow us to continue offering these sessions.
The Zoom details are included in the confirmation email so please save these.
Please join the meeting with the name you registered with.
A weekend teaching about how Lojong transforms life’s challenges into wisdom, compassion and the awakened heart of Bodhichitta.
🧘🏻♀️ Type:
In-person and online
📆 Date:
Saturday 17 October – Sunday 18 October 2026
⏱️ Time:
10am – 4pm
📍 Addr.:
London Centre, 330 Caledonian Road, London N1 1BB
💰 Fee:
£100 suggested donation
The Wheel of Sharp Weapons
Teachings with Khenchen Pema Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Sonam Tsewang
Khenchen Pema Sherab Rinpoche will offer teachings on The Wheel of Sharp Weapons, a profound Mahayana text from the Buddhist mind-training tradition of lojong.These teachings reveal how the difficulties and challenges we encounter can be brought onto the spiritual path. They help us understand the workings of karma, overcome self-cherishing, and cultivate compassion and bodhichitta—the awakened heart and mind.This is a rare and precious opportunity to receive traditional teachings in person from one of the Nyingma tradition’s most senior and respected scholars, teachers and lineage holders.
About The Wheel of Sharp Weapons
The Wheel of Sharp Weapons is a traditional Buddhist mind-training text that encourages us to look deeply at the causes of suffering and take responsibility for transforming our habitual reactions.Rather than allowing difficulties to discourage us, the teachings show how they can become powerful opportunities to develop wisdom, compassion and genuine concern for others.
About Khenchen Pema Sherab Rinpoche
Khenchen Pema Sherab Rinpoche is one of the three senior-most khenpos of Namdroling Monastery and one of the oldest and closest students of the late Kyabjé Penor Rinpoche.Born in Eastern Tibet in 1936, Khenchen Rinpoche studied with some of the most revered Tibetan Buddhist masters of the twentieth century. He served Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche as his attendant for around ten years and received extensive teachings from him. He also received teachings from great masters including Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche and Kyabjé Trulshik Rinpoche.Khenchen Rinpoche is among the last of a generation of authentic lamas who uphold the pure lineage of the Nyingma tradition in both its Kama and Terma transmissions.He is an eminent lineage holder of the Longchen Nyingtik tradition, and this event offers a rare opportunity to receive in-person teachings from a master who embodies and preserves this profound lineage.
About Khenpo Sonam Tsewang
Khenchen Pema Sherab Rinpoche will be accompanied by Khenpo Sonam Tsewang, his long-standing translator and student, who travels extensively with him on international teaching tours.Khenpo Sonam is an accomplished Buddhist scholar and teacher. He will translate Khenchen Rinpoche’s teachings into English and will also lead some of the sessions during the event.
How to participate
This event will be offered:
In person at our London Centre
Online via Zoom
We warmly encourage you to attend in person if you can, as receiving these precious teachings in the presence of the teacher can be especially beneficial.If attending online is your only option, please join from a quiet, distraction-free environment and remain present for the entire teaching. You are warmly encouraged to keep your camera on so that Rinpoche can connect with you.
Zoom details
Online participants will receive the Zoom link in the Eventbrite reminder emails sent two days and two hours before the event.The teachings are offered freely. Your donation helps us cover the costs of hosting the event, including staffing, equipment and the running of our centre.
Donations
Please note: meditation is not a substitute for medical treatment. If you are receiving treatment for a mental or physical health condition, please continue your treatment and check with your doctor/care professional if these sessions would be suitable for you.
Standard: £100
Concession: £50
Supporter: £200 — for those who would like to help subsidise places for others
Under 25s: Free
If cost is a barrier, please email us to register. No one will be turned away because they are unable to make the suggested donation. [email protected]
What is the purpose of the Dharma? Why has the Buddha’s teaching continued to inspire people for over 2,500 years, across cultures and generations? And what does it have to offer us today?
For many, Buddhism is associated with meditation, mindfulness, or compassion. Yet these are only part of a much broader path of understanding and transformation. What is it that the Dharma ultimately points towards? And how does it relate to the way we live our ordinary lives?
In this public talk, Khenpo Tashi explores these timeless questions with the clarity, warmth, and depth for which he is widely appreciated. Whether you are simply curious about Buddhism or have been practising for many years, this evening offers an opportunity to reflect on what the Dharma is, why it matters, and how it can illuminate our lives.
// More about Khenpo Tashi
Khenpo Tashi trained at Namdroling Monastery under the guidance of his root teacher His Holiness Penor Rinpoche. For the past fourteen years, at the request of Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche, he has served as the principal teacher of the Rigpa Shedra in Pharping, Nepal, where he teaches the classical curriculum of Sutra and Tantra to hundreds of students, from beginners to advanced practitioners. Over the past four years, his online teachings have reached an ever-wider audience within the Rigpa community and beyond.
Widely appreciated for the depth of his learning, the precision and clarity of his explanations, and his ability to make profound teachings genuinely accessible while remaining deeply rooted in the tradition, Khenpo Tashi teaches with a rare combination of scholarship, warmth, and practical insight.
// How to participate
This event will be held in person and online, at our London Centre.
// ZOOM Details for online attendees will be in the eventbrite reminder emails 2 days and 2 hours before the event.
// Cost l
Standard: £25
Concession: £15
Supporter: £35–£40 (for those who’d like to help subsidise others)
Under 25’s: Free
Rigpa UK has a policy of not turning anyone away on financial grounds. Please do contact us at [email protected]if you are unable to make a donation at this time so we can register you.
You can cancel and receive an automatic refund through Eventbrite up to 24 hours before the event.
