Igor Berkhin – Public Talk- What is so special about the Dzogchen teaching – 29 November
We are pleased to announce that the Centre Culturel Tibétain will be hosting Igor Berkhin, a long-term meditation practitioner, Buddhist translator and teacher authorized by the prominent Dzogchen master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, for a public talk on Friday 29.
Public Talk
What is so special about the Dzogchen teaching?
Among a wide variety of different teachings spread in Tibet, the Dzogchen teaching always had a special aura. It was highly praised by some masters as an innermost essence of all Buddhist teachings while being rejected and discredited by other masters as not being the Buddha’s teaching at all. The path of Dzogchen is taught as a path of non-gradual, immediate, effortless, natural self-liberation. What is controversial about it? In this talk, we are going to delve into some characteristic aspects of the Dzogchen teaching to have a better idea of what it is all about.
Biography:
Igor Berkhin was born in the former Soviet Union and he began his spiritual path in the 1980s, behind the Iron Curtain. He has studied with many masters of various contemplative traditions and has also served as a translator. The most important of them is Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, a well-known master of Dzogchen. He has also translated for teachers such as the brothers Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, and the Bonpo master Nyima Dagpa Rinpoche.
Following his meeting with his root master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in 1996, he was appointed by Him in 2002 as an instructor for the training system He developed, the Santi Maha Sangha (SMS). The Santi Maha Sangha, which means “Dzogchen Community”, offers systematic learning and development opportunities in the fields of Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen, both theoretically and practically. Since 2008, he is one of the three instructors with the highest level of authorisation in the field of SMS. The two other instructors are Jim Valby and the late Elio Guarisco.
Besides teaching in a spiritual context, Igor is one of the pioneers of secular mindfulness meditation in Russia. He is also a co-founder of the first Russian interdisciplinary conference on mindfulness as well as of the association of Russian-speaking mindfulness teachers.
Public Talk
Date: Friday 29 November, 7 pm to 9 pm
Where: Centre Culturel Tibétain, 1 Rue Charlotte Engels, L-1482 Luxembourg (entrance at the back of the building, through the shared garden)
(possibility to follow online: a zoom link will be sent to you in due time)
Language: English
Price: €20 (online €15)
Registration form: https://tibetculture.lu/v3/igor-berkhin-registration-form/