Overview of Session
DATE: Friday 17 October 2025
TIME: 10:00 – 4:00pm
LOCATION: In Person and On Zoom
LEVEL: For all
DONATIONS: We recommend £30 donation. Your donation helps us to keep the centre running and to host inspirational teachers like Venerable Robina.
SESSION Overview
TOPIC: COMPASSION IS NOT ENOUGH – WE NEED WISDOM
There’s a saying in Buddhism that a bird needs two wings: wisdom and compassion. The development of the courageous compassion of the bodhisattvas is the point of the path to enlightenment, but in order to be effective we must first put ourselves together: develop the wisdom wing.
In other words, we first need to go beyond our limited sense of self by understanding karma – realizing that we’re the creators of our own reality and not just victims of external forces – and delving deeply into our own mind and lessening attachment, anger and the rest and growing our virtue and goodness.
Then we can see start to realize that we’re all in the same boat: we all suffer for the same reasons and have all got the same marvellous potential, so how can we not have compassion for everyone?
The great bodhisattvas are fierce in their determination to never give up on sentient beings: they “think in terms of eons,” as His Holiness the Dalai Lama says.
SCHEDULE:
10:00 – 11:15 | Session 1
11:15 – 11:30 | Tea Break
11:30 – 12:30 | Session 2
12:30 – 1:30 | Lunch Break – in the Happy Yak Café
1:30 – 3:00 | Session 3
3:00 – 3:15 | Tea Break
3:15 – 4:00 | Closing Reflections & Dedication
Ven. Robina shares a bit about her life
Ordained since the late 1970s, Ven. Robina has worked full time since then for Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s FPMT. Over the years she has served as editorial director of Wisdom Publications, editor of Mandala Magazine, executive director of Liberation Prison Project, and as a touring teacher of Buddhism. Her life and work with prisoners have been featured in the documentary films Chasing Buddha and Key to Freedom.
Further Sessions over the weekend
Ven. Robina will be teaching at Jamyang Leeds through out the weekend, commencing Thursday 16 through to Sunday 19th October. She will be delving deeper into the same topic on Friday and Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm, and Sunday 10:00-12:30pm - please join us for lunch in our cafe each of the days!
Getting to the centre
It’s great to help the environment where we can. Whilst there is unlimited off street parking near the centre, please do consider coming by public transport or car sharing. Leeds railway station is about 1.2 miles away and takes just under 30 minutes to walk. There are fairly frequent buses from the city centre too. If you would like to offer a lift or would appreciate one, please say so on the registration form and we will do our best to put you in touch with each other. Click here for our Location on google maps.
The nearest hotel is Premier Inn at Elland Road Leeds, which is near the football ground. There is also a Premier Inn on Whitehall Road which is near the rail station.