2026 Archive: “Living in a Sacred World: We are all Buddhas, but we do not realise it”- Dharma Talk with Dr. Francesca Fremantle

Sunday 1st February 3:00-5:00pm

Dharma Talk with Dr. Francesca Fremantle- Author of “Luminous Emptiness”

Living in a Sacred World: We are all Buddhas, but we do not realise it. The tantric teaching of sacred vision shows us how to transform our ordinary perception of the world into the enlightened perception of a Buddha’s Pure Land. Living dharma is all around us and everything we experience becomes an inspiration on the path of awakening.

Sunday 1st February
3-5pm
Donation: £15 (suggested but not expected)
All welcome.

Francesca received a BA in Sanskrit at SOAS, University of London, followed by a PhD in Buddhist Studies for a study of the Guhyasamaja Tantra. During this time she also trained in the Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam and took part in performances throughout the UK.

In 1969 she met Chögyam Trungpa and recognised him as her guru. After he moved to N. America she spent several years living in Boulder, Colorado, studying with him. They collaborated on a new translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which was published in 1975.

Her second book, Luminous Emptiness, was published in 2001. She contributed a chapter to Recalling Chögyam Trungpa, by Fabrice Midal, and a Foreword to Never Turn Away, by Rigdzin Shikpo. Numerous translations, poems, articles and book reviews have appeared in publications such as Buddhism Now, The Middle Way, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and Shambhala Sun.

During the 1990’s she joined the Longchen Foundation, which was founded by Rigdzin Shikpo (Michael Hookham) at the request of Trungpa Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche to teach the complete path of Buddhism. Following Rigdzin Shikpo’s death in 2023 she and others of his students continue the work of the Foundation.

In her wider teaching activities she is particularly interested in expressing the universal nature of Dharma and especially in exploring affinities in European culture.