Understanding Emptiness with Khenpo Tashi

Dates: 7-11 November 2026

Onsite only

We spend our lives relating to the world through assumptions: about ourselves, about others, and about the way things are. Yet according to the Buddhist teachings, many of the difficulties we experience arise precisely because we mistake appearance for reality.

Understanding the difference between the two is at the heart of the Buddhist teaching on emptiness. What does emptiness actually mean? Does emptiness mean that nothing exists? If things are empty, why do our experiences feel so vivid and real? And how can understanding emptiness help us live with greater freedom, clarity, and compassion in everyday life?

Drawing on selected highlights from The Beacon of Certainty by Mipham Rinpoche, one of the great works of Tibetan Buddhist thought, Khenpo Tashi explores some of the essential questions at the heart of Buddhist wisdom with warmth, precision, and a deep grounding in the Tibetan tradition.

WHO THIS EVENT IS FOR

This retreat is open to all practitioners with familiarity in meditation and Lojong. 

Whether you are newer to the philosophical dimension of the Dharma or a long-time practitioner seeking a firmer foundation beneath your practice, these teachings offer something increasingly rare: the opportunity to develop a clear and stable confidence in the view of emptiness, one that can genuinely support our path and our daily life in every circumstance.

TEACHERS

Khenpo Tashi is one of the most gifted and respected Nyingma khenpos of his generation, trained at Namdroling Monastery under the guidance of his root teacher Kyabjé Penor Rinpoche. For the past fourteen years, at the request of Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche, he has served as the principal teacher at the Rigpa Shedra (Buddhist study college) in Pharping, Nepal, offering teachings on both Sutra and Tantra to hundreds of students, from beginners to advanced practitioners. Over the past four years, his online teachings have brought his guidance to an ever-wider audience within the Rigpa community and beyond.

Renowned for the depth of his learning, the precision and clarity of his explanations, and his rare ability to connect with students according to their needs and level of understanding, Khenpo Tashi’s teachings are consistently experienced as both inspiring and transformative.

These teachings will be offered in Tibetan with live English interpretation.

Damien van Effenterre (Translator & Senior Teacher)

Damien van Effenterre is a translator and long-term student of Buddhist philosophy. He began practicing the Dharma in 1999 and later left a scientific career as a physicist to commit fully to shedra study and Tibetan language. A former director of Rigpa’s International Shedra Department, he is now the principal interpreter for Khenpo Tashi at the Rigpa Shedra in Pharping and online, and continues translating classical Tibetan texts. He also teaches and guides study, with a heartfelt wish to support students’ understanding. In 2021 he was nominated as a Rigpa Senior Teacher. 

PROVISIONAL SCHEDULE

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

START Saturday 7 November at 10am
END Wednesday 11 November at 1pm

CONTRIBUTION 5 days: €264 (does not include accommodation or meals)

REGISTRATION AND BADGE/KEY COLLECTION
Thursday 5 November: 2pm – 6pm
Friday 6 November: 9am – 9:45am
If arriving after 6pm on Friday, please notify registration@rigpa.org

LANGUAGES
Teachings: Tibetan
Translation: English, French

LOCATION Onsite only at Lérab Ling