Do you sometimes wonder: What does a Buddhist do all day? Are they all vegetarian? Can you still enjoy life as a buddhist? I’m working, studying, and way too busy to meditate – what does Buddhism have to offer me? Do I need to be a believer to practice Buddhism? What is it all about?
Well, stop scrolling: this course forms an explorative journey into the heart of 2500 years of unbroken Buddhist wisdom lineage, allowing you to experientially familiarize yourself with its most important themes.

Guided by the spiritual bestseller The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, we’ll immerse ourselves in topics such as impermanence and change, interdependence and the nature of reality, Buddhist understanding of the mind, purpose of meditation, karma, love and compassion for yourself and others, the spiritual path and the Buddhist vision on the process of death, dying, and rebirth.

We’ll complement this with guided meditative practices, which will deepen our understanding and facilitate an experience of how all this relates to our actual lives – you know we gotta walk the talk!

At the end of the course you’ll have a thorough idea of what authentic Buddhism actually is and feels like, and potentially have revolutionized your understanding of life, death, mind, and reality.

So: bring your funk, courage, curiosity, and questions you never dared to ask! We look forward to meeting you.

In a nutshell:

2×5 experiential workshops in our meditation centre in vibrant De Pijp, Amsterdam
2×5 free optional online guided meditations or contemplations at home during the weeks in between
Held by teachers with 20+ years of experience: Astrid, Jeroen, Jesse, and Emma
Guided contemplations and meditations, fun experiments, group discussions, and a community of like-minded people
No strings attached, everyone welcome
Free try-out session on Monday 16 October
If you have any questions after reading this feel free to contact Jeroen Slieker. Email: jeroenslieker@rigpa.nl

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Practical details:

Where:
Rigpa Meditation Center
Kuipersstraat 148
1073 ER Amsterdam

When:
Workshops: Mondays 19:30–21:30
Optional online meditations: Mondays 19:30–20:30

PART I:

Workshops: 16 and 30 October, 13 and 27 November and 11 December 2023
Optional online meditations: 23 October, 6 and 20 November, 4 and 18 December 2023

PART II:

Workshops: 22 january, 5 and 19 February, 4 and 18 March 2024
Optional online meditations: 29 January, 12 and 26 February, 11 and 25 March 2024

Price:

€ 65 for part I
€ 125 for part I and II
or donate what you can

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Jeroen Slieker
Jeroen is a psychologist and works as a crisis manager at the GGD Amsterdam. He has been studying and practicing in Rigpa since 1998 and has completed the Home Retreat. Jeroen has been teaching courses for many years and has been part of the board and management teams of Rigpa Netherlands.

Emma Heijdeman
Emma is a young professional, creative, and facilitator. She grew up with Buddhist parents since birth, and is passionate about exploring how Buddhist and Earth-based traditions intersect. Currently, her main mission is to investigate how the 20/30-somethings of today can genuinely connect to the wisdom of the Buddhist lineage by facilitating retreats, open spaces, festivals, and research experiments based on co-creation, community, and celebration. She is studying the Home Retreat and also works as a university teacher in Amsterdam.

Instructors

Astrid Heijdeman

Soon after graduating with a degree in Social Geography, Astrid fell in love with Tibetan Buddhism.

Since then, she has done regular retreats and study programs under the guidance of several Buddhist meditation teachers, including a three-year retreat. She has taught Rigpa courses with much joy for over 25 years. Astrid likes to bring meditations to life and to investigate how meditation and compassion can be used practically, for example in relational challenges. She is a certified mindfulness trainer and has worked, among other places, in mental health care.

Jesse van Delft
Jesse van Delft (1995) followed her first meditation retreat with Rigpa at the age of sixteen and has not stopped her studies and practice since. She co-founded Rigpé Shyönnu, a meeting place for young adults within Rigpa. In her work as a theatre teacher, maker, dramaturge and art education maker, she likes to integrate meditation and contemplation exercises. Jesse is also a Buddhist teacher in primary education. She is always looking for ways in which to creatively guide people, big or small, in finding their own wisdom, making use of the mind and body.