Breaking Free From Your Habitual Patterns April 2026

Rigpa US is pleased to offer an exciting series of online courses exploring The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, the groundbreaking classic by Sogyal Rinpoche, which has helped millions of people throughout the world to find wellbeing in their lives. These courses rely on the Buddhist tradition of wisdom and compassion and open the way to deeper understanding and freedom from suffering.

The series of courses provides an overview of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings as presented in this acclaimed book. Suitable for everyone, each course is designed to stand alone, so you can attend any or all in the series.

Third course in the series

Breaking Free From Your Habitual Patterns

(The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Chapters 6 to 11)

Do you feel like you're living the same patterns over and over? Many of us experience a sense of being stuck, repeating the same relationships, reactions, and life circumstances despite our best efforts to change. What if there was a way to understand the deeper currents that shape our experience?

Rather than seeing life as random events happening to you, you'll discover a framework for understanding the deeper patterns at work, what many traditions call the law of cause and effect, or karma. This isn't about fate or being trapped by past actions, but about recognizing your incredible power to shape your experience through mindfulness, awareness, and the courage to face your habitual reactions.

This 12 week exploration invites you to consider a profound possibility, that your current life is part of a much larger story of growth, learning, and awakening. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying offers clear, practical wisdom on meditation, understanding our minds, and making sense of how our actions shape our lives. Drawing from an authentic tradition that encourages us to look at ourselves with honesty, the teachings and reflections help us recognize who we really are underneath the habits and patterns that keep us stuck, allowing us to let go of old reactions and empowering us to choose a new way forward.

What You'll Discover

1. Why we suffer, understanding the root causes of dissatisfaction and how recognizing them is the first step toward freedom.
2. The possibility of freedom, discovering that suffering isn't inevitable or permanent, but something we can genuinely transcend.
3. Your power to create change, learning how every action, thought, and intention plants seeds that shape your future experience
4. A practical path forward, exploring three interconnected approaches to transformation:
      - Seeing clearly, developing a deeper understanding of reality and your place in it.
      - Inner cultivation, practices that help you stabilize wisdom and compassion.
      - Living it fully, bringing these insights into every aspect of your daily life.

We'll also examine what it means to awaken fully, to experience the profound peace and natural simplicity that the Buddha described, and how this possibility lives within each of us.

A Space for Everyone

This isn't about adopting new beliefs or abandoning your current worldview. It's about expanding your perspective to include possibilities that might illuminate your current experience in profound ways. Whether or not you ultimately embrace these teachings, exploring them can offer fresh insights into age old questions about meaning, purpose, and human potential.

The wisdom we'll explore has guided countless people toward greater peace, compassion, and understanding for over 2,500 years. These aren't abstract philosophical concepts, but practical tools for living with greater freedom and joy.

You don't need any background in Buddhism or meditation, just an open mind and curiosity about life's deeper questions. We'll explore these profound topics with gentleness, respect for different perspectives, and always with an eye toward how these insights can serve your actual life.

Join us for this compassionate exploration of wisdom that has the power to transform not just how you see this life, but how you understand the magnificent journey of consciousness itself.

Breaking Free From Your Habitual Patters
12 Online Sessions via Zoom
Dates: Wednesdays, April 1 to June 17, 2026
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 pm PT | 7:00 to 9:00 pm ET
Led by: Pat Best, Linda Forrester, Jeff Middelton, Hanne Riegg Luedge, and Nancy Searls

Participant limit: The maximum number of participants is 30 for each course.

Materials: You will need a copy of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. This book is readily available for purchase online. Please note this book is also available as an audiobook. The audiobook would be a valuable complement to the course materials for students who choose to purchase it.

Course materials for each session will be available, including suggested home study and a forum for participants to discuss the lessons. Information on accessing these will be provided at least a week prior to the first class.