Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel
Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel has studied and practised the Buddhadharma for over 30 years under the guidance of her teacher and husband, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.
After meeting Rinpoche in Nepal in 1985, she became his first Western student. She has been intimately involved with Rinpoche’s work in bringing Buddhist wisdom to the West, in particular to the development of Mangala Shri Bhuti, an organization dedicated to the study and practice of the Longchen Nyingtik lineage. Elizabeth has an academic background in both Anthropology and Buddhist Studies, but her learning is also grounded in practice. After many years of solitary retreat, Rinpoche appointed Elizabeth as Retreat Master at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, Mangala Shri Bhuti’s retreat center in southern Colorado. She has edited two of Rinpoche’s books, It’s Up to You and Light Comes Through and teaches the Buddhadharma in the United States and Europe.
Elizabeth delights in wrestling with difficult and juicy ‘koans’ that tend to plague modern day practitioners, while maintaining a deep respect for the tradition she comes from.
Publications
- The Power of An Open Question: The Buddha’s Path to Freedom (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2010)
- The Logic of Faith: the Buddhist Path to Finding Certainty Beyond Belief and Doubt (Boulder: Shambhala Publications, 2018)
Teachings Given to the Rigpa Sangha
- Rigpa centre, Levallois, France, 7 May 2009: Embracing Complexity
- Lerab Ling, France, 9 May 2009: The Student-Teacher Relationship
- Rigpa London, UK, 13 May 2009: Fixing versus Healing
- Rigpa London, UK, 9-10 October 2010: Beyond Doubt and Blind Acceptance
- Rigpa centre, Levallois, France, 13 & 14 October 2010: Finding our way into true practice & Faith: Beyond Blind Acceptance and Doubt
- Rigpa NY City Centre, USA, 23 April 2014: Sacred World
- Dublin, Ireland, 6 June 2019: Burning with Love in a World We Can’t Fix
- Dzogchen Beara, Ireland, 7-9 June 2019: Claiming Agency for Our Own Awakening
- Rigpa London, UK, 12 & 13 June 2019: Claiming Agency for Our Own Awakening
- Pieter Nieuwland College, Amsterdam, Holland, 15-16 June 2019: Claiming Agency for Our Own Awakening
- Valencia, Spain, 19-20 June 2019, The Mind of an Open Question
- Dharma Mati, Rigpa Berlin, Germany, 21-23 June 2019, The logic of trust: A Buddhist approach to certainty beyond belief and doubt
- Rigpa centre, Levallois, France, 26-27 June 2019, Buddhism Explained Simply & Claiming Agency for Our Own Awakening
- Lerab Ling, France, 29-30 June 2019, Claiming Agency for Our Own Awakening