Introduction to Emptiness | with Venerable Losang Gendun

Thursday, September 10 6:30-8:30 PM ET In-Person & Online via Zoom | $25 Co-hosted with Shantideva Center. Limited scholarships are available. If financial constraints are a concern, please email svetlana@thus.org. Despite its forbidding reputation, the Buddhist notion of emptiness and its liberating power is surprisingly accessible. This evening's teaching offers a clear, direct introduction to what the Tibetan tradition means by emptiness: not nothingness, not a meditative blank, but a precise understanding of how things exist. Emptiness is a vision that frees us from the instinctive sense that things — including ourselves — exist in a fixed, alienated way, and the anxiety, rigidity, and quiet sense of isolation that follow from it. When we let go of this illusory appearance, a door opens to connection and stillness. When the apparent solidity of self and other begins to soften, something else becomes available: a natural warmth, a greater ease in relation to others, a tenderness that does not need to be manufactured. The evening includes short guided reflections alongside the teachings, inviting participants to bring the insights into contact with their own experience — not just as an intellectual exercise, but as something felt. No prior knowledge of Buddhist philosophy is needed — only a willingness to question what seems most obvious. BIO Venerable Losang Gendun has dedicated nearly four decades to practicing Buddhism and has served as a Bhikshu (Buddhist monk) in the Tibetan tradition for the past 18 years. Prior to his ordination, he worked in diverse fields such as palliative care, technology, refugee organizations, and commercial management. His extensive training includes ten years of studying Buddhist philosophy and practice in monasteries across France, India, Nepal, and Myanmar. Additionally, he spent over four years in retreat, immersing himself in Tibetan sutra and tantra, as well as the Burmese Theravada Forest Tradition. For the last 15 years, Ven. Gendun has been a dedicated teacher, sharing his knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and meditation worldwide. He serves the aspirations of H.H. the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche as part of the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition). Ven. Gendun is also a member of Mind & Life Europe, a multidisciplinary laboratory that brings together researchers and contemplative practitioners to explore the nature of experience.