A Gift of Liberation Course Series (Lam Rim)
In this training, which is currently underway, we will be learning the details of deep meditation and all the steps of spiritual practice, from baby-steps all the way to enlightenment, from one of the greatest teachings on meditation ever given: a book called A Gift of Liberation, thrust into the palms of our hands, written by the great Tibetan master Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941).
A Gift of Liberation 43: The Modern Bodhisattva (2024, Arizona)
We're excited to reach the part of Liberation Thrust into the Palm of Your Hand that talks about the six main practices of a bodhisattva, and Geshe Michael will explore with us what it is to be a bodhisattva in the modern world. Too often in our daily lives, the focus is on me and mine--how can I get ahead? how can I get the advantage? how can I get more money, more fame, a better partner? A modern bodhisattva turns this upside down. A modern bodhisattva finds success by putting others first. They give what they want first to others, and the seeds this plants ensure they will get what they want--in ways that are double or triple what they gave.
A Gift of Liberation 42: The Power to Dream: Bringing Great Ideas to Life (2023, Kyoto)
In our journey on The Steps on the Path have we’ve been learning to develop our kindness and compassion by reducing our self-cherishing and re-focusing us on efforts to serve others, We’ve discovered the profound impact of traditional Tibetan teachings, specifically Lojong and Tonglen practices. These teachings guide us from a self-centered worldview toward a life dedicated to serving others, especially during challenging times. By embracing difficulties as opportunities for growth, we can turn any situation into a step on our path to enlightenment. At the heart of these teachings is the principle that adversity strengthens our spiritual practice, making it more effective and rewarding. This approach is rooted in a long lineage of proven success, promising us contentment and fearlessness in the face of life’s uncertainties. So, what practices can lead us through this transformative journey? How do we train our minds and hearts to embody these teachings?
A Gift of Liberation 41: The Power of a Good Heart (2023, Guadalajara)
Compassion stands unrivaled as the most potent force for good. How can we integrate compassion as a foundational element of our daily lives? And how can we channel the immense force of compassion, building upon our knowledge of the practice of "exchanging self & others" and tonglen? During this course we will learn to deepen and strengthen our practice of compassion. We'll embark on a transformative journey, redirecting our lifelong habit of self-cherishing towards a greater appreciation and cherishing of others. Even though our lives until now have been spent cherishing ourselves at the expense of others, we can change. Using some meditations that will be new to many of us, and using the breath, we will boost the power of our exchanging self & others practice and our tonglen practice. Combining and adding to these practices will move our personal transformations forward. It will soften and open our hearts. It will allow us to begin to live in a heart-centered way, led by our new and improved hearts rather than the whims of our selfishness and egos.
A Gift of Liberation 40: The Magic of Empty Meditations: Tonglen – Exchanging Self & Others (2023, Arizona)
We have reached two of the most cherished meditation practices of our tradition, designed to help us develop a deep experience of compassion and love: exchanging self and others, and tonglen. Geshe Michael Roach will take us on a journey through this deep practice of Exchanging Self and Others. We will be learning from Pabongka Rinpoche’s “Gift of Liberation Thrust into the Palm of Your Hand” and exploring this meditation in all its detail. It is designed to quickly open your heart and help you find the edge of your limitations and break through to become a kinder, more compassionate, and also effective person in the world. This course is the 40th retreat and a continuation of our study of the Gift of Liberation Thrust into the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche.
A Gift of Liberation 39: Accelerate Your Compassion: Exchanging Self & Others (2022, Arizona)
The deep practice of Exchanging Self and Others in Buddhism isn’t just about putting yourself into someone else’s shoes; it’s far worse and far more palpable. It first starts with understanding that every being deserves to have the same happiness as you do. (Which we may resist entirely!) And secondly, you not only put yourself into the shoes of the other person, and swap perspectives, but you also turn back towards yourself, looking back at yourself from their perspective. From that point of view, you begin evaluating and critiquing your own behavior and how it impacts the other, from their perspective. You get to feel what they feel as a result of your own actions!
A Gift of Liberation 38: Becoming a Bodhisattva: Steps to Create a Kinder World (2021, Arizona)
Being a Bodhisattva is such a powerful idea that the word itself has in recent years become synonymous with and common alongside acts of kindness and generosity. Many of us have heard it and used it, and deep inside this powerful idea is a method to actualize change and create a kinder world. This course explores the vision that a Bodhisattva has and how to take concrete steps to see that vision come to life. The instructions are simple, yet profound and ask us to look deeply into the eyes of others to figure out who they really are, what they need and what we can do to help and serve them.
A Gift of Liberation 37: The Best Thing You Can Do With Your Life (2021, Arizona)
This is a perfect topic for all of us just coming out of the traumatic times of this Great Pandemic. We’re going to learn to do some deep personal meditations that will fill our hearts with inspiration and guidance for our new life as we come out of the virus. And of course, as always, we will do so by helping others.
A Gift of Liberation 36: Love in the Time of the Virus (2020, Arizona)
In this course, we will learn how to answer the call for human kindness amidst this great pandemic while letting go of our tendencies to primarily focus on ourselves. Additionally, what tools can we use to respond with these challenges right around us, in our home communities, in order to have a lasting impact? How does serving others first become the cause to end great suffering and finally, what visions and motivations can we hold in our heart to bring all this about effectively and rapidly?
A Gift of Liberation 35: Insights Into The Wheel of Life (2020, Arizona)
In this section, we learn about the Wheel of Life. It’s a great opportunity to understand the deeper meaning of our life and to plant seeds for more wisdom and compassion. We will learn what we can do to meet the challenges we face in our lives and transform them into amazing opportunities and positive outcomes. And how we can see our world heal in these difficult times.
A Gift of Liberation 34: Victory Over Our Negative Thoughts (2019, Bali)
Geshe Michael Roach continues with the famous Gift of Liberation series, an outline of all the steps to enlightenment by Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941). In this section, we learn exactly how what goes on in our mind creates the world outside us, and how we can use this fact to have a beautiful life.
A Gift of Liberation 33: Planting the Seeds of the Seer (2019, Mexico)
We’ll continue with the famous Gift of Liberation, an outline of the entire steps to enlightenment by Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941). We’ve reached the section where we learn exactly how what goes on in our mind creates the world outside of us, and how we can use this fact to have a beautiful life.
A Gift of Liberation 32: Empty Coming, Mental Bombs: A New Way to Live Our Life (2019, Arizona)
In the pristine, high desert of Arizona, we will go into a 10-day retreat exploration of our mental mind fields. In this study that will show us how to Search & Destroy, we’ll continue with the famous Gift of Liberation, an outline of the entire steps to enlightenment by Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941). We’ll be studying where Rinpoche identifies the 10 major mental bombs that can make our life unhappy, and teaches us how to destroy them. We will investigate the deeper meanings of his writings, and how to apply his understanding of reality to our daily lives.
A Gift of Liberation 31: How to Make Your Mind a Beautiful Place (2018, Thailand)
Geshe Michael Roach continues the Gift of Liberation series, taught originally by Pabongka Rinpoche in a 24-day lecture series in the early 20th century. With exquisite detail and breadth of knowledge, Geshe Michael brings these teachings alive to modern audiences and shows us how to live them in our daily lives.
A Gift of Liberation 30: Navigating The Great Journey, Understanding the Wheel of Life (2018, Mexico)
Geshe Michael Roach continues the Gift of Liberation series, taught originally by Pabongka Rinpoche in a 24-day lecture series in the early 20th century. With exquisite detail and breadth of knowledge, Geshe Michael brings these teachings alive to modern audiences and shows us how to live them in our daily lives.
A Gift of Liberation 29: The Great Escape, From a Story That Doesn’t Have to Happen (2018, Arizona)
In the pristine, high desert of Arizona, we will go into a 10-day retreat to gain freedom from the 6 Problems of Life, forever. We will learn how these problems show up in our lives, how we obviously and subtly perpetuate them, and how we can escape from them with powerful methods to increase our practical wisdom and compassion.
A Gift of Liberation 28: Building My Practice Space Retreat (2017, Thailand)
For the second year, we return to Thailand for another installment in the Gift of Liberation series, which is based upon the Lam Rim teachings of Pabongka Rinpoche, in his seminal book, A Gift of Liberation Thrust into Our Hands. At this retreat held on the stunning beaches of Thailand, Geshe Michael Roach teaches us how to identify the six major problems that most people experience at one time or another, and the how to finally end them.
A Gift of Liberation 27: The Four Flowers (2017, Arizona)
Based on the great Tibetan Classic, A Gift of Liberation Thrust into Our Hands, written by Pabongka Rinpoche, this retreat focuses on using death meditation to reinvigorate your life and your practice. It includes the popular three-day “Retreat within a Retreat.” This 10-day installment finished the portion of the text describing the animal and hell realms, included a beautiful death meditation, and began the section of the Lam Rim which discusses the practice of going for refuge.
A Gift of Liberation 26: The Reality of Karma (2017, Mexico)
Who really runs the world? Maybe it is the DNA within our body´s cells. Maybe it´s the politicians – or people in power. Maybe it’s just money. Or maybe there is a deeper cause beneath it all. The cause beneath all causes. Maybe it´s just all the acts of kindness we have ever done for others. In the 26th installment of our series on the Steps to Enlightenment, we’ll be continuing through A Gift of Liberation by Pabongka Rinpoche, one of the greatest books ever written in Tibet. Geshe Michael Roach will focus on the intricate ways of how karma works, and how we can use it to achieve a great life.
A Gift of Liberation 25: Perfect Shelter (2017, Arizona)
Here, in the 25th installment of our series on the Steps to Enlightenment, we continue through A Gift of Liberation Thrust into Our Hands by Pabongka Rinpoche, one of the greatest books ever written in Tibet. We’ve recently explored the idea of taking shelter, that is, where to go for ultimate protection when life gets hard. Now we move into how that protection roots us in the path to achieving ultimate happiness. By learning how karma works and revealing which actions bring about actual happiness and which actions do not, success and liberation become more readily attainable.
A Gift of Liberation 24: Empty Buddha: The Ultimate Protection (2016, Thailand)
Life is dangerous! We see people all around us who get hit by a car and leave this world in a few minutes. Sooner or later, something like this comes to all of us. Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves, here and in the world beyond? We’ve all heard about the word “emptiness,” but if we learn about it correctly and deeply, we can use it for every part of our life—especially for protection and support in difficult moments at work, in our relationship, and even in the moments when we pass away from this world.
A Gift of Liberation 23: Protection from Life & Death (2016, Arizona)
Based on the great Tibetan Classic, A Gift of Liberation: Thrust into the Palm of Our Hand written by Pabonka Rinpoche, this retreat focused on using death meditation to reinvigorate your life and your practice and included the popular 3 day “Retreat within a Retreat”. This 10-day installment finished the portion of the text describing the animal and hell realms, included a beautiful death meditation and began the section of the Lam Rim which discusses the beautiful practice of going for refuge.
A Gift of Liberation 22: Unlimited Fortune Retreat (2016, Mexico)
The only real protection for this life and beyond is to create good karma, or mental seeds. This is the only thing that brings you prosperity, love, health, peace, and above all, the ability to help other people. In this retreat we learn how to create the best positive seeds in the fastest way possible, using techniques that are priceless for you, your family, and the world.
A Gift of Liberation 21: The Joy of Impermanence Retreat (2016, Arizona)
In this 10-day program, we learn to live each day with the joy and intensity that we would give to the day if we believed it would be our last on this earth. If you do good death meditations, your life will be happy, because you know you aren’t wasting your time. If you get ready for death, you focus on your life—you can have a family, eat nice food, have a house, etc.—and you know you don’t have to worry.
A Gift of Liberation 20: Unsurpassable Life Retreat (2015, Guadalajara)
During this retreat you will learn a special practice called Death Meditation. This is a Buddhist practice to help you prioritize your life, and learn to focus your energy each day on doing the what’s most beneficial to others and best for your own heart and mind.
A Gift of Liberation 18: A Retreat Within The Retreat (2015, Arizona)
These retreat teachings contain a shorter three-day solitary retreat, where we practice Jorchu (prayer of preparation for meditation), Gandan Hla Gyama (the prayer to Je Tsongkapa), and Lama Chupa (prayer of offering to our teacher). During the retreat we learn how to identify the tendencies within ourselves to be attracted to deeper things and how to maintain the love and quest for our highest aspirations.
A Gift of Liberation 15: Finding a Teacher You Can Trust (2014, Arizona)
You can’t learn to play piano from a book. You can’t learn to drive a car from YouTube. If you want to be happy in this life—if you want to go to deep spiritual places—you’ll need a special person to be your spiritual guide. Someone you can really trust. Learn how to find your own special teacher during this series of evening talks. Geshe Michael Roach guides us through the great Tibetan classic on how to find your heart teacher: A Gift of Liberation, Thrust Into Your Hands.
A Gift of Liberation 14: The Beauty of a Teacher (2014, Guadalajara)
During the this week-long teaching retreat which was held in Guadalajara, Mexico, Geshe Michael Roach lead us through the section of this great text about the importance of having a teacher to guide you along the spiritual path.
A Gift of Liberation 13: Jorchu: The Meditation Song (2013, Arizona)
The ancient sages of Tibet called it Jorchu: The Meditation Song. It is a spiritual journey that we take every morning to prepare ourselves for very deep meditation. In this course you can learn to do this beautiful practice yourself at home.
A Gift of Liberation 12: Master Magnet Retreat (2013, Prescott)
We want peace in our life, and we want our life to count. We are not here for long. A big part of having a happy life, and a life which is meaningful, is to find a true Master who can guide us as we travel through life. During this retreat’s teachings we will be reaching a major landmark in this spiritual undertaking: we will begin the actual Steps of the Path. These steps begin with learning how to find our spiritual Master, and how to interact with them, in a tradition which has flourished for the last 25 centuries.
A Gift of Liberation 11: The Art of Appreciating Yourself & Your Life (2013, Arizona)
Want a good relationship, financial independence and great energy – as well as inner peace, or peace in our world? Then you must learn to master the Art of Appreciating Yourself and Your Life, from the wisdom of ancient Tibet. Use special mediation as you fall asleep and awake with all the powerful good karma you need to have a good day and a good life.
A Gift of Liberation 10: New Year Retreat (2013, Guadalajara)
During the this week-long teaching retreat Geshe Michael Roach will lead us through the section called “Learning to be Quiet,” from one of the greatest books ever written in Tibet: the Gift of Liberation by Pabongka Rinpoche. This intensive series of teachings is meant to give us all the ancient secrets for making a meditation session really successful and this intensive meditation retreat is a chance to actually put into practice these meditation secrets.
A Gift of Liberation 09: The Seven Doors to Meditation (2012, Phoenix)
For centuries, Tibetan monks have used 7 powerful steps to put themselves into a state of deep meditation. During this course we will be learning a beautiful seven-step mental exercise which is followed by Tibetan monks in order to put themselves into a state of deep meditation. You can learn to do the same, for peace of mind, and for incredible focus to make your work and relationships successful.
A Gift of Liberation 08: Learning to be Quiet (2012, Prescott)
During this week-long teaching retreat, Geshe Michael Roach will lead us through the section called “Learning to be Quiet,” from one of the greatest books ever written in Tibet: the Gift of Liberation by Pabongka Rinpoche. This intensive series of teachings is meant to give us all the ancient secrets for making a meditation session really successful and this intensive meditation retreat is a chance to actually put into practice these meditation secrets.
A Gift of Liberation 07: Learning to be Quiet (2012, Phoenix)
Turn off your laptop. Put down your iPhone. Learn to be quiet. For 10 days we’ll be learning all the tricks that it takes to have a peaceful and powerful meditation session, based on the Tibetan classic, Liberation in Your Hands. Learn to balance your inner life and your life on Facebook. Ten days of incredible teachings on how to meditate, directly from one of the greatest books ever written in Tibet. Plus awesome practice classes, beginner to advanced, to help you get started.
A Gift of Liberation 06: Passion Retreat (2012, Prescott)
In the last course in this series Lam Rim Series Course 3: Finding What We Were Always Meant to Be continuing our ten-year journey through Pabongka Rinpoche’s Gift of Liberation, an important spiritual classic from Tibet. We learned how to look deep inside ourselves to find that vein of pure gold—the one thing that we were always meant to do, and to be. And then we are no longer tired or bored with our life: we feel a sudden joy in finding our one true purpose.
A Gift of Liberation 05: Finding What We Were Always Meant to Be (2011, Arizona)
During this retreat we will learn how to identify the tendencies within ourselves to be attracted to deeper things and how to maintain the love and quest for our highest aspirations.
A Gift of Liberation 04: The Energy Retreat (2011, Prescott)
This is a special retreat focused on getting more energy in your life, work and relationships, through meditation & yoga, new ideas about food and special ancient ceremonies from the Tibetan tradition for increasing energy and overcoming fatique, along with the continuation of Pabongka Rinpoche’s famous teaching on the steps to enlightenment or lam-rim.
A Gift of Liberation 03: Why Are We Alive? The Quest to Create a Perfect World (2011, Phoenix)
Why did we come into this world, and what are we meant to do here? We have a deep hunger to know why we are here, why we were born, and what we need to do with our life. Deep down we all want to save the world, and in the process we want to reach our own happiness as well. We will be following, word by word, one of the greatest books ever written: A Gift of Liberation, Thrust into Our Hands.
A Gift of Liberation 02: Breaking Through to Highest Reality (2011, Prescott)
The ancient books of Tibet say that if a person can see ultimate truth only once, for just 20 minutes in their entire life, then they will soon be able to reach enlightenment, and help stop the pain of countless living beings in this world. They say that ultimate truth lies all around us, like an invisible wall of diamond that can only be seen by a mind which is perfectly still and quiet. The moon’s reflection can only be seen on the crystal surface of the lake of our mind if that surface is absolutely still.
A Gift of Liberation 01: The Deepest Meditation (2010, Phoenix)
Ultimate truth lies all around us, like an invisible wall of diamond that can only be seen by a mind which is perfectly still and quiet. The moon’s reflection can only be seen on the crystal surface of the lake of our mind if that surface is absolutely still. Really bringing our mind to silence is like learning to play a piano: it requires careful training under a qualified teacher—and lots of practice!