“Introduction to Mahamudra: Looking Deeply, Looking Beyond” with Yangsi Rinpoche

By guiding us through meditation on emptiness, and investigating our intrinsic sense of self, Rinpoche leads us on a journey through our own negative emotions and karmic habits into “the lab of meditation.” While we might think of meditation on emptiness as unattainable, too difficult, or something we aren’t yet ready to practice, Rinpoche’s instruction provides an accessible, realistic approach to understanding reality through deeply looking at this current moment of our experience. This, Rinpoche reassures us, is the ultimate form of healing all types of suffering. Once we have learned how to create the right environment within our mind, we can apply the concentration that naturally arises, without forcing, to all aspects of meditation practice. By building up our own “emotional immune system” in this way, we nourish ourselves, and growth and real freedom are possible. 

Yangsi Rinpoche, Geshe Lharampa & President of Maitripa College

Yangsi Rinpoche was recognized as the reincarnation of Geshe Ngawang Gendun, a renowned scholar and practitioner from Western Tibet, at the age of six. Rinpoche trained in the traditional monastic system for over 25 years, and practiced as a monk until the age of 35. In 1995 he graduated with the highest degree of Geshe Lharampa from Sera Je Monastery in South India. He then completed his studies at Gyume Tantric College, and, in 1998, having the particular wish to benefit Western students of the Buddhadharma, Rinpoche came to the West to teach and travel extensively throughout America and Europe.

Rinpoche served as a resident teacher at Deer Park Buddhist Center in Madison, Wisconsin for five years, and is currently the Spiritual Director of Ganden Shedrup Ling Buddhist Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and of Dharma Friendship Foundation in Seattle, Washington. He founded Maitripa College in 2005 in Portland, Oregon, where he currently serves as President and member of the faculty. Rinpoche is the author of Practicing the Path: A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo (2003 Wisdom Publications). Rinpoche teaches in English, and is admired wherever he travels for his unique presentation of the Dharma, his interest in and enthusiasm for Western culture, and his evident embodiment of the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhist path. When not in the classroom at Maitripa College, during academic year breaks and for special events, Yangsi Rinpoche travels widely, representing Maitripa College at conferences and giving teachings around the world. >more