Onsite @ Maitrivana & online via Zoom
What is emptiness? Egolessness? Selflessness?
Please join us for a profound weekend on the progressive stages of meditation on emptiness. With warmth and insight, Jirka Hladiš of the Nitartha Institute will lead us, step by step, to the reality of egolessness or selflessness. The program will help to relax the attachments that are the root cause of our suffering.
This weekend workshop is based on Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness by Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Esteemed instructor Jirka Hladiš will guide us through classical contemplations that progress from coarse to subtle viewpoints, from analyzing the self to non-dual awareness, and from intellectual understanding to direct, experiential realization. In short, analytical meditation that integrates the wisdom of our intellect with the groundedness of our experience.
Save the dates: Fri., evening, Oct. 16 to Sun., afternoon, Oct. 18. The workshop is offered onsite at Maitrivana (onsite participation is encouraged) and online via Zoom.
Stay tuned for Registration and Schedule details. If you are curious yet have limited time, consider attending Friday evening’s overview session.
About “Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness”
This workshop is designed for practitioners who wish to deepen their understanding of emptiness (śūnyatā) and learn how to integrate classical Buddhist analysis with direct meditative experience.
The weekend will combine lectures with guided analytical meditation sessions, following the progression laid out by Khenpo Rinpoche’s text. Each teaching session will clarify key philosophical points, followed by a meditation session that gives participants practical methods for contemplating and stabilizing these insights in meditation.
Topics include:
- Developing the enlightened attitude (bodhicitta) as the basis for meditation
- The absence of self in the individual
- The Cittamātra (Mind-Only) presentation
- Madhyamaka as a general framework
- The distinctions between Svātantrika and Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka
- Yogācāra-Madhyamaka (Shentong) and its contemplative approach
Throughout the weekend, emphasis will be placed on:
- How to analyze correctly, without turning analysis into mere intellectual exercise
- How to transition from analysis to meditation
- How to relate philosophical views to lived experience and daily practice
This workshop follows the traditional Nalanda-style approach: Study, reflection, and meditation. It is suitable for practitioners with some familiarity with Buddhist meditation and for those who wish to engage more deeply with the view of emptiness as presented in the Tibetan Kagyu lineage.
The aim of the weekend is not only to understand emptiness conceptually, but to support a genuine shift in how we experience self, mind, and phenomena, grounded in devotion, clarity, and disciplined practice.
Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche’s Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness, though guided explanations will be provided so that all can follow the progression of the teachings. The book is available from Nalanda Store: https://www.nalandastore.com/default.asp
About Jirka Hladiš
Jirka Hladiš has studied under the guidance of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche since 1997. He joined Nitartha Institute in 2002 and was authorized as a Nitartha teacher in 2007. Jirka’s interest is in approaching study, analytical meditation and debate as a unified tool for spiritual transformation. He holds graduate degrees both in engineering from Prague Technical University and in Buddhist studies from Naropa University.
Jirka is dearly appreciated by local Nalandabodhi Vancouver students who have taken his online Nitartha classes, attended his onsite Nitartha Summer Institute classes, or met him at Maitrivana during previous visits.
Date/Time
Date(s) - Fri., October 16, 2026 - Sun., October 18, 2026
7:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location Nalandabodhi Vancouver – Maitrivana
