Resiliency Through Change and Grief
Multi-Day Collective Practice with Lama Rod Owens
in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia
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Friday: December 4, 2026 from 2pm - 9pm AEDTÂ
BIPOC & First Nations Community Gathering
In-Person Only
Saturday-Sunday: December 5-6, 2026 from 10am-6pm AEDT
Open to All
In-Person or Virtual
Lama Rod Owens comes to Australia for the very first time for a weekend of practice, transmission, and collective liberation rooted in the teachings of spiritual abolition, grief, and the boundless compassion of Ma Tara. For those who have followed this work from afar, we invite you to meet, practice, and build community together in person.
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What must we release, grieve, and reclaim in order to show up fully — for ourselves, for our communities, and for the unseen ecologies of ancestors and descendants yet to come?
Join Lama Rod on the beautiful grounds of Abbotsford Convent as he draws on the heart of Tantric Buddhist teachings to explore grief, eroticism, and the boundless care of Ma Tara — the female Buddha of compassion who meets us in our darkness and calls us back toward life.Â
These are not separate threads.Â
Grief is the body's knowledge that something sacred has been lost. Eroticism, in the Tantric sense, is the aliveness that pulses beneath even our deepest pain. And Ma Tara is the presence that can hold us as we move between the two.
Together, these teachings ask us to approach our individual and collective grief not as something to be resolved or transcended, but as a portal — a place where liberation becomes possible precisely because we are willing to feel.Â
By processing our grief and tending our broken hearts, we open into the possibilities of spiritual abolition, which calls for the liberation of our entire ecology — inner and outer, seen and unseen. The outer work of challenging carceral social systems also needs a revolution of our minds, hearts, and spirits.
Through guided practice, ritual, and transmission, we explore how to move through times of grief, change, and uncertainty with more resilience, compassion, and freedom in support of honest relationships with ourselves and one another.
Registration Options
(select the offering below that best matches your ability to pay)
All Members of Lama Rod's Learning & Practice Community receive a 10% discount!
Join here to access the discount code.
Friday’s event is open to BIPOC and First Nations only. Saturday-Sunday is open to all. Virtual tickets are also available for those wishing to join us online for Saturday-Sunday.
Payment plans are available for Saturday-Sunday. Click the registration ticket to find out more info.
Virtual Livestream
Not in Australia? Join us from Saturday-Sunday for a weekend of practice through virtual livestream.
FAQs:
When is the event?
Friday, December 4, 2026 from 2pm - 9pm AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) - BIPOC & First Nations Community Gathering
In-Person Only
Saturday and Sunday, December 5-6, 2026 from 10am-6pm AEDT - Open to All
In-Person or Virtual
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Please note:
- The Friday event is open to BIPOC & First Nations only.Â
- Saturday-Sunday is open to all.Â
- Registration is separate for both options (Friday or Saturday-Sunday). If you’d like to attend all three days, please register for both.
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Where is the event?
Abbotsford Convent at 1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford, VIC 3067. Click here for more info on how to access the location.
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What if I am attending virtually?
Talks in the main hall will be livestreamed for the Saturday and Sunday events. Breakout rooms will happen online via Zoom for participants attending virtually. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions virtually during Q&A.
Friday will not be livestreamed and is in-person only.
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What if I can't attend the live session virtually?
The talks in the main hall on Saturday-Sunday will be recorded as audio and posted on the course platform for you to listen back to later. The recordings will be available indefinitely. Â
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Is there a refund policy?
Refunds are available until 8am ET on Nov 23rd less a 20% admin fee. After those dates, we are not able to issue refunds.
Is there financial assistance available?Â
Through the support of those who give at the Pay it Forward level, we have a limited amount of financial assistance available through the Supported Ticket rate. If that amount is not accessible to you, please contact [email protected].
If you are able to contribute to our ability to offer scholarships, your generosity by choosing the Pay it Forward supports our ability to offer more financial support.
What does the registration fee support?
Registration fees support Lama Rod and his team for the extensive labor, seen and unseen, and spiritual devotion that allows his work to remain accessible and sustainable. These resources help cover ongoing operational costs, such as the online platforms and services that are used to offer digital programs, team compensation, and the legal and accounting requirements of the United States, as well as physical spaces, materials, and nourishment for events when applicable.
As Lama Rod writes in The New Saints, he seeks to make the tradition of the Buddha relevant to our experiences in the present moment. This means inviting offerings and exchanges that honor the material needs of his energetic presence and livelihood — not in a conditional nor transactional way, but reflecting a tradition of reciprocity and universal balance similar to how you might leave food upon an altar for an ancestor. Giving and receiving are practices that embody the ethic of care that grounds Lama Rod’s work.
Therefore, your registration fees are one of the ways that Lama Rod is sustained so that he can continue his free and by-donation offerings such as Free Radicals, Medicine Buddha, and partnerships with organizations and schools to support their efforts. These offerings reflect our team’s commitment that no one be excluded from the teachings based upon their financial means. Those who register at the Pay-It-Forward price further increase accessibility by making financial assistance possible for those who need scholarships. Barter offerings and work exchanges are also welcome in some instances. Lama Rod believes that we can be well resourced while practicing an anti-capitalist ethic and is deeply grateful to be in a reciprocal relationship with you.
Other Questions?
For any other questions about this offering, please contact [email protected].Â
About the Teacher
Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen — an internationally respected teacher, author, and lineage holder with a Master of Divinity in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School. His teachings sit at the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice, and centre freedom, radical self-care, and the full expression of who we are.
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.
Applauded for his ability to hold weighty truths with warmth and lightness, Lama Rod has been featured by CNN, BBC, NPR, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, and more.
