Resiliency Through Change and Grief with Lama Rod Owens

Grief is not a problem to be solved. In Resiliency Through Change and Grief, Lama Rod Owens invites you to meet it as a doorway: the body's own knowledge that something sacred has been lost, and the place where real change becomes possible because we are willing to feel. This spiritual retreat marks his first visit to Australia, held on the grounds of Abbotsford Convent in Abbotsford, VIC.

The gathering opens with a dedicated Friday for First Nations peoples and people of colour, followed by an open weekend for all. Whether you are new to Buddhism or have followed Lama Rod's work for years, the teachings are contemporary, direct and rooted in lived experience. No prior knowledge of Buddhism is needed.

If you are carrying loss, living through uncertain times, or wondering what you need to release, grieve and reclaim to show up fully for yourself and your community, this is a space to practise that together.

What to Expect

The weekend moves through guided meditation, breathwork, gentle movement, grief work and group discussion, building your capacity to meet unsteady times with more openness, groundedness and freedom. Lama Rod draws on Tantric Buddhism alongside chanting, prayer and ancestor practice, and shares teachings on Ma Tara, the female Buddha of compassion who meets us in our darkness and calls us back toward life.

Tending a broken heart opens into the wider work of spiritual abolition: the liberation of our whole ecology, inner and outer, seen and unseen. The outer work of challenging carceral systems also asks for a revolution in our minds, hearts and spirits. The weekend responds to what is alive in the room, this community, this land and this moment.

The Friday gathering is shaped with and by First Nations peoples and people of colour, with an emphasis on trust, cultural safety, choice in how you participate, and genuine co-creation. Through dialogue, storytelling, contemplative and embodied practices, and shared food and tea, the day explores ancestry, healing, truth-telling, resistance, protection and resiliency. You do not need to be Buddhist or to know Lama Rod's work to take part.

About Lama Rod Owens

Lama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, yoga instructor and authorized lama in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. He holds a Master of Divinity in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School, with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity and spiritual practice. His teachings centre on freedom, self-expression and radical self-care, and he describes his mission as showing people how to heal and free themselves.

He is the author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors and Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger, and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation. In 2018 he co-founded Bhumisparsha.

Venue & Logistics

The retreat takes place in person at Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford, VIC 3067. Friday is in person only and open to First Nations peoples and people of colour. The weekend is open to all, with a virtual livestream option for those who cannot travel; talks in the main hall are livestreamed and breakout rooms run online via Zoom. Weekend talks are also recorded as audio and kept available on the course platform. Friday and the weekend are registered separately, so register for both if you wish to attend all three days. Payment plans are available for the weekend, and a limited amount of financial assistance is offered through the Pay It Forward ticket.