'Don't worry, be happy' might be a line from a song but a top Tibetan Buddhist lama, who is visiting Norwich next month, believes it should also be a mantra to live by, as TARA GREAVES discovers.

We spend so much time fretting about our families, our health and job worries that we lack the clarity we need to solve our problems, according to his Eminence the 7th Dzogchen Rinpoche who is visiting Norwich for the fifth time next month.

Jigme Losel Wanpo, whose education was personally supervised by the Dalai Lama, believes we would all be much happier if we could stop needlessly worrying.

While this might sound easier said than done for many people, Dzogchen Rinpoche will be imparting some of his wisdom during a talk on the subject entitled How to Stop Worrying at the Assembly House, Theatre Street, Norwich, on June 5.

'Worrying about our concerns particularly at the last minute, without understanding their true causes and conditions or thinking about the consequences of our actions, leaves us confused and unsure what to do,' he said.

'Instead we should use our inner wisdom to plan ahead for these issues so we can face them with confidence and then there is no need to panic.

'It's more helpful to have wisdom worry; this kind is better for us because we can avoid all sorts of obstacles and problems.

'But normal worry often comes too late and that is very unhealthy for us, people don't see the consequences until later on – this we must try to avoid.'

The Dzogchen Rinpoches go back more than 400 years to Pema Rigdzin, who in 1685 founded Dzogchen Monastery in Kham, the easternmost province of Tibet.

The 7th Dzogchen Rinponche, a father of two, was born in Sikkim, which is nestled in the Himalayas, and was enthroned at the age of eight and at 12, in 1976, he travelled to Dharamsala - a city in northern India which is home to the Dalai Lama.

He continued his training in India in what appears to have been a simple, yet fulfilling life.

'Although there was a lot of training and discipline and no toys as such, I was able to be creative in making my own toys and playing in nature, building bridges, dams etc. I was very interested in repairing things and recall repairing alarm clocks, tape recorders and radios at the age of 12 and making boats from the base of a broken iron and placing a motor on it for it to propel through the water,' he said.

At the age of 21 he visited Tibet where he received a warm welcome, with many people walking for three weeks to get to see him.

He is now one of the highest lamas in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and the authentic Dzogchen lineage holder and head of Dzogchen Monastery in South India with more than 280 branch monasteries in Asia mainly in Tibet, India, Nepal and Bhutan and in the west.

In his public talk Dzogchen Rinpoche will explain how to recognise in advance the difference between the conditions that create suffering and those that generate peace so that we can experience joy and be free from worry.

His visit to Norwich is part of a worldwide tour which covers France, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia and finally India.

Of a previous visit to Norwich he said: 'I had the opportunity to walk in the heart of the city and enjoyed watching how people go about their lives. There seems to be a sense of community here.'

Tickets for the talk, which starts at 7pm, cost £12 (£9 concession). To book in advance, email norwich@shenpenuk.org or call 0796 485 6410.