Presented by the Tergar Melbourne Practice Group

In this eight-week course, we will explore the causes of suffering and dissatisfaction through the practice of insight meditation. By bringing our unchallenged beliefs and patterns into the light of awareness, we can see how our rigid ideas often blind us to the richness of our true nature. The wisdom that arises through insight meditation allows us to see our inner experience clearly. This leads to a sense of freedom, well-being, and confidence that is rooted in awareness itself and available to us each and every moment.

Saturdays, 23 July to 10 September 2022, 10:00 - 12:00 PM AEDT (Melbourne, Australia)

In the third level of the Joy of Living, Mingyur Rinpoche offers guidance on the practice of insight meditation, a profound form of meditation that uproots the causes of anxiety and suffering.

In this level, you will learn:

• How to use insight meditation to break through the distorted ideas that create confusion and suffering
• How to see beyond superficial thoughts and emotions to the basic goodness that lies within
• How our rigid beliefs about ourselves and the world around us keep us locked in a cycle of dissatisfaction and anxiety
• How to see things as they actually are, rather than the mistaken version of reality that we project onto the world

Each lesson includes experiential video teachings by Mingyur Rinpoche, as well as guided meditations and moderated discussions with Tergar Instructor Edwin Kelley and Tergar Facilitator Franka Cordua-von Specht who will be leading the sessions live from North America each week.

This live, online course covers the same material as the in-person Joy of Living Level 3 weekend workshops, and all participants will receive a printable course and practice guide as well as opportunities to join ongoing weekly gatherings of the Tergar Melbourne Practice Group, and is currently open to practitioners anywhere, regardless of your current location.

Who can attend this course
This course is open to meditators who have previously attended Joy of Living 1 and 2 meditation workshops and meet the practice requirements.

Course Length:
8 consecutive Saturdays from 10:00am – 12:00pm AEDT (Melbourne, Australia)
July 23 & 30; August 6, 13, 20, & 27; September 3 & 10
Instructors: Edwin Kelley and Franka Cordua-von Specht

Suggested Donations:
Standard Rate: $135.00 AUD
Sponsor Rate: $185.00 AUD
Concession Rate: $90.00 AUD
Repeater Rate: $110.00 AUD

Bursaries : Those who choose the sponsor level enable us to offer a number of bursaries will be available to ensure that, where possible, people with financial difficulties are not prevented from participating in this course.

We are also offering a number of complimentary places for First Nations people of Australia. Please contact melbourne@tergar.org for more information.

If your ability to pay makes it difficult for you to attend, please contact us at melbourne@tergar.org for further options. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

Cancellation Policy
Registrations can be cancelled for a full refund at any time up to 24 hours prior to the start of the first event. Full or partial refunds cannot be made for any cancellations requested after this time unless under extenuating circumstances.

About your Instructor Edwin Kelley and Facilitator Franka Cordua-von Specht

Edwin Kelley

Edwin Kelley first became interested in Buddhism in 1975 when he attended a meditation retreat near Perth, Australia. He later pursued a career as a public accountant and in 1992 went to Burma to undertake a six-month period of intensive retreat with the renowned meditation master Chanmyay Sayadaw. While practicing in Burma he ordained temporarily as a Theravada Buddhist monk.

In 1994 he was hired as Director of Operations by one of America’s best known meditation retreat centers, the Insight Meditation Society (IMS), in Barre, MA. Eighteen months later he was appointed Executive Director of IMS and served in that capacity until 2003 when he resigned to pursue further long-term intensive meditation practice.

Edwin first encountered Vajrayana Buddhism in Dharamsala, India in 1993 and became a student of Mingyur Rinpoche in 1998. He has a post graduate diploma in Buddhist Studies from the University of Sunderland in the UK. He moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife Myoshin in 2009 to help establish the global Tergar Meditation Community. In addition to his work as an instructor, he currently serves as chief financial officer for Tergar International.

Franka Cordua-von Specht

Franka Cordua-von Specht was introduced to meditation in 2004 and became a student of Mingyur Rinpoche in 2007 in Vancouver. The meeting was pivotal and inspired her to attend Rinpoche’s teachings in Bodhgaya, India, in 2009. Foremost, she appreciates the profound transformative power of Rinpoche’s teachings on awareness, and in June 2013, she helped found the Tergar Vancouver Practice Group. Franka works for Tergar International on the Training Operations team.


Tergar Melbourne
This course is being facilitated by the Tergar Melbourne Practice Group. Established in May 2020, we are an Australian-based, peer-led dharma study and practice group inspired by the teachings of Mingyur Rinpoche. We currently meet weekly in virtual gatherings online, and welcome practitioners from all corners of Australia and beyond. Sign up to our mailing list and learn more at http://bit.ly/tergarmelbourne