Tonglen: A Journey in Transformation and Ease

Tonglen is a profound meditation practice that works with intention, feeling, imagery, and breath to help people learn how to transform suffering into ease and to build a commitment to being of help to oneself and others.  It is a simple and profound practice that some people find intimidating. In this talk, Nyingma instructor and psychological scientist Erika Rosenberg, Ph.D. will deconstruct this practice and offer insights on how to work with it in daily life. Her talk will come from the perspectives of Nyingma psychology, Buddhist meditation, and current scientific thinking.

This event can be attended either in person at Nyingma Institute, or online via Zoom

Register for Erika Rosenberg’s free online FACS Drop-In Group

Erika Rosenberg’s next free FACS Drop-In session will be held on Wednesday, September 4th, 2024 at 9:30-11:00am Pacific Time. This is not a FACS training; these 90 min sessions are akin to office hours. People can drop in to Dr. Rosenberg’s Zoom “office” and ask coding questions, conceptual questions about FACS, have discussion, share ideas – whatever!

Registration for my September Drop-In Session is now closed. Click here to be notified of my next drop-in session.

Part 2 of Dr. Rosenberg’s live, online 2-session Tonglen Intensive. This 2-session online intensive offers a deep-dive into the active compassion practice of Tonglen. Tonglen is an ancient, imagery-based meditation practice that exercises your willingness to do something for somebody who needs help (including yourself). Our immersion into Tonglen deconstructs the practice and demystifies it, with an eye toward envisioning what is possible when we learn to stay with whatever arises in life. Offered through Compassion Institute. Registration is for both sessions, April 17 and April 24.

In the brief video below, Dr. Rosenberg addresses some key questions about Tonglen — including the inner strength that it requires but also builds, how it changes our relationship with suffering, and what to expect from the 2-session course.

Part 1 of Dr. Rosenberg’s live, online 2-session Tonglen Intensive. This 2-session online intensive offers a deep-dive into the active compassion practice of Tonglen. Tonglen is an ancient, imagery-based meditation practice that exercises your willingness to do something for somebody who needs help (including yourself). Our immersion into Tonglen deconstructs the practice and demystifies it, with an eye toward envisioning what is possible when we learn to stay with whatever arises in life. Offered through Compassion Institute. Registration is for both sessions, April 17 and April 24.

In the brief video below, Dr. Rosenberg addresses some key questions about Tonglen — including the inner strength that it requires but also builds, how it changes our relationship with suffering, and what to expect from the 2-session course.

On the Immeasurable Benefits of Compassion: Why Growing your Compassionate Nature can Help with Everything

In Buddhist thinking, Compassion is regarded as one of the Four Immeasurables, or the four Brahmaviharas, which means it is expansive and boundless in nature – you never run out of it, nor ever tire from it. In this talk, Dr. Erika Rosenberg, a Founding Faculty at The Compassion Institute, and researcher at the Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, will expound on compassion’s limitless benefits – for you, for others, for everyone you interact with, for all beings, and for planet Earth. Her talk will come from the perspectives of Nyingma psychology, Buddhist meditation, and current scientific thinking.

Erika Rosenberg, Ph.D, will be leading a discourse on Meditation, Compassion, and Psychedelic Exploration as part of Forms of Psychedelic Life: An Interdisciplinary Conference Exploring the Intersections of Aesthetics, Ethics, Religion, and Altered States, a conference sponsored by UC Berkeley. For more information on the conference, click here.

Join Erika for 1 hour of compassion meditation and informal discussion on Zoom. All skill levels are welcome! This free session is offered through the Compassion Education Alliance.

Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) is a multifaceted exploration of how connection and kindness might transform human experience. Originally developed at Stanford University, CCT draws on both contemplative and scientific approaches to the mind and offers techniques and practices for opening the heart and building courage in the face of adversity. We will meet for 2 hours a week, for 8 weeks, on Zoom. Each class includes meditation practices, informal lecture, group discussion, in-class listening, and communication exercises with partners and small groups.

Compassion goes beyond feeling more empathy and concern for others. It develops the strength to be with suffering, resilience in the face of life’s challenges, and the courage to help alleviate suffering in oneself and others. In this half-day workshop, Compassion Educator and Nyingma Institute instructor, Erika Rosenberg, Ph.D., will take participants through an experiential exploration of the cultivation of compassion. This brief training offers a variety a meditations and exercises to explore qualities that support the development of your inherent compassionate nature. In particular, practices will visit three key aspects of compassion work: relaxation and stabilization of the mind, self-compassion, and embracing common humanity. No meditation experience is required to participate in this workshop.

This is the second session of the 2-part intensive. You must register for the 2-session series. This 2-session online intensive offers a deep-dive into the active compassion practice of Tonglen. Tonglen is an ancient, imagery-based meditation practice that exercises your willingness to do something for somebody who needs help (including yourself). Our immersion into Tonglen deconstructs the practice and demystifies it, with an eye toward envisioning what is possible when we learn to stay with whatever arises in life.

Register here: https://www.compassioninstitute.com/class/active-compassion-practice-tonglen-intensive-course-august-2020/

This 2-session online intensive offers a deep-dive into the active compassion practice of Tonglen. Tonglen is an ancient, imagery-based meditation practice that exercises your willingness to do something for somebody who needs help (including yourself). Our immersion into Tonglen deconstructs the practice and demystifies it, with an eye toward envisioning what is possible when we learn to stay with whatever arises in life. Offered through Compassion Institute. Registration is for both sessions, August 3 and August 10.

Register here: https://www.compassioninstitute.com/class/active-compassion-practice-tonglen-intensive-course-august-2020/