Training the Trainer

Lama Choedak Rinpoche has always ensured that the teaching and practice of Calm Abiding (Shamatha) Meditation remains a priority in his centres' activities. 

Annually he conducts a 10-day Calm Abiding Course at Virupa Retreat Centre near Canberra and a long weekend of Calm Abiding in June.

Rinpoche also teaches Calm Abiding at his other centres at various times throughout the year.

Due to the public interest in meditation practices Rinpoche launched a Training the Trainer course in 2001 to enable some of his senior students to take on the role of trainer and lead students in the practice of Shamatha Meditation.

This course was piloted in Melbourne the year before, having been devised by Lama Choedak Rinpoche and his students at Jamchen Buddhist Centre in Melbourne.

Open to senior students

The intensive course is only open to those senior students who have been practising meditation for some time.

As Calm Abiding is taught sequentially over eight weeks the course is extremely well structured. It involves lectures, role plays and intensive group practice.

A set of CDs and a leader's manual help students refine their understanding and practice. By the end of the course, they feel confident to set up and teach the eight-week course.

Trainers are encouraged to follow a definite program so all students are exposed to the same technique in the same format.

In this way should students wish to develop their meditation yet further they can enrol in one of Rinpoche's annual courses and will be familiar with his explanations and terminology.