Bringing Shantideva Home with Verena Pfeiffer

What happens when a text written a thousand years ago starts to change how you speak to a colleague, or how you meet your own mind at three in the morning? This episode we're joined by Verena Pfeiffer, a senior teacher in the Rigpa community, to talk about Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara — why a text like this still speaks to us, and how to actually work with it in the middle of an ordinary day: at work, in traffic, in the small frictions of family life. Verena's path began in 2005 and deepened quickly. She took part in the seven-month teaching periods of Rigpa's three-year retreat from 2006 to 2009, and has studied since 2007 at Rigpa Shedra East in Pharping, Nepal, under Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche. Today she teaches at the Shedra, guiding students through the Bodhicharyavatara itself, and leads retreats internationally — including a much-loved annual weekend at Dzogchen Beara in Ireland, where she's known for the calm, spacious atmosphere she creates for contemplation. She has a particular love for exploring the dharma with younger practitioners, and for putting these teachings into language that's genuinely usable on an ordinary Tuesday. Originally from Germany, Verena now lives in the Netherlands with her partner and their much-adored dog.