Reconnecting with Reality
The appreciation of simplicity has almost been lost. From London to Tokyo, there are problems with trying to create pleasure and comfort out of speed. The world is mechanized to such an extent that you don’t even have to think. You just push a button and a computer gives you the answer. You don’t have to learn to count. You press a button, and a machine counts for you. Casualness has become increasingly popular, because people think in terms of efficiency rather than appreciation. Why bother to wear a tie, if the purpose of wearing clothes is just to cover your body? If the reason for eating food is only to fill your stomach and provide nutrition, why bother to look for the best meat, the best butter, the best vegetables? But the reality of the world is something more than the modern world has embraced. Pleasure has been cheapened, joy has been reduced, happiness has been computerized. The goal of warriorship is to reconnect with the nowness of reality, so that you can go forward without destroying simplicity, without destroying your connection to this earth.
The Halifax Shambhala Centre is pleased to announce that Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche—the grandson and spiritual heir of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Trungpa Rinpoche’s principal teachers—will be visiting Halifax during the first week of August 2026.
Lady Diana’s Life Story
I’ve been asked by the family of Lady Diana Mukpo to make some remarks today about her life story: who she was, what she did and what her connection is to all of us! It’s difficult to do this for someone of her stature and also for someone who was such a beloved friend of many...
Ringu Tulku on the Sadhana of Mahamudra & the Four Dharma’s of Gampopa
Thank you to Ringu Tulku and his organization, Bodhicharya, for permission to post this talk.
The Passing of Lady Diana Mukpo
Dear Shambhala Sangha,
Our community has experienced an incredible loss. We write with heavy hearts to share that Lady Diana Mukpo - wife and widow of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, mother, grandmother, accomplished equestrian, and steadfast protector of the Shambhala teachings and vision - passed away surrounded by family and close friends at her home in Florida on...
Journey to Taktsang 57 Years Ago
The Sadhana of Mahamudra was completed at Taktsang in Bhutan on September 6, 1968. Here, in his own words, is the story of traveling to Taktsang and receiving the sadhana.
Lack of Credentials
Excerpted from The Way of Basic Sanity, A Brief Overview of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Perspective on Sutric Buddhism
Jonathan Barbieri on Meeting our Kagyu and Nyingma relatives for the first time
Jonathan Barbieri has taught Buddhist and Shambhala trainings extensively throughout North America for over 40 years. He served as a Shastri, a senior teacher, in the Shambhala lineage for several years. Jon has been engaged in several livelihood pursuits including 10 years in educational non-profits, consulting with cities and counties on workforce development, creating contemplative co-housing...
Tim Olmsted on Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Pema Chödrön and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
These Sons and Daughters of Noble Family lectures showcase the rich dharma heritage of our extended dharma family. They were originally presented live by Karme Choling and hosted by Julia Sagebien & Karme Choling Co-Directors JT Buck & Vegan Aharonian between April and October 2024. The Chronicles is now in the process of making all sixteen of these lectures available permanently here, adding a new episode to this page every few weeks.
It Was the Memory of His Kindness
I read something recently that recalled the evening I heard Chögyam Trungpa speak in Toronto in the autumn of 1971. My memories of that evening come back to me occasionally, and they surfaced again while I was reading Opening a Mountain: Koans of the Zen Masters. The book is a deeply contextualized collection of stories and...
Joni and Rinpoche
Here is Joni Mitchell in conversation with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden after receiving the Gershwin Prize. When asked what themes she might want to explore currently in her songwriting, Joni talked about her connection with Trungpa Rinpoche
Calligraphy Lesson
I loved Trungpa Rinpoche beyond words and admired him more than anyone I had ever met (I was also a little afraid of him).
Father Thomas Keating and Trungpa Rinpoche Talk About Egolessness
This conversation took place during Naropa’s 1983 Christian Buddhist Conference
Stories of Sechen Kongtrül, told by Tulku Urgyen
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche's Stories of Shechen Kongtrül, read by Larry Mermelstein.
Myth of Freedom and the Cosmic Joke with Ani Pema Chodron
In this talk, which is presented in three segments, Pema guides us through the beginning chapters of Trungpa Rinpoche's Myth of Freedom.
The Heart of Enlightened Action
Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche teaches on the mahayana at the Berkley Shambhala Center, August 2007. Here are talks One, Two, and Three of the five talk series.
Vajradhatu Seminary Lake Louise
A slideshow of Lake Louise from Charles Marrow
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Cremation Ceremony
Thirty Eight Years Ago in Karme Choling's upper meadow
Why Now?
Tashi Colman's Review of The Sadhana of Mahamudra, a new title from Shambhala Publications
The Genuine Face of the Guru
Why all the fuss over a dead man; why don't you just get over it and move on? Someone asked me that the other day. Good question. A couple...
Cheryl Campbell
Cheryl talks about working in A Suite, her tenure at Karmê Chöling, her management of Vajradhatu Pubs, leaving the Shambhala nest, and working for clothing designer and philanthropist Eileen Fisher.
Beyond Comprehension
Book Review: From Lion’s Jaws, Chögyam Trungpa’s Epic Journey to the West
by Grant MacLean
by Grant MacLean
Climbing the Stairs with Rinpoche
The Vajracharya placed his right hand in mine and the fleshy depth of his hand swallowed me whole.
Banana Leaves, Butlers, and a Miracle on Mapleton Avenue
The household was a whirlwind of activity, packed at all hours of the day and night with family, guests, Kasung, and household staff. It was chaos wrapped in a pervasive atmosphere of precision, joy and humor ...
No Man’s Land
In No Man's Land, Robert Merchasin talks about an extraordinary day in September 1971, and reflects on the lasting impact the events of that day have had on his life.
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Quick Charcoal
I met Rinpoche in 1971, becoming a student of his soon after, and for life. During the course of it, he assigned to me an eclectic array of different tasks and challenges. One of these was to make portrait sketches of him as he ...
My Very Short Life in Tibet
Here's a short one from Michael Chender in the spirit of Alan Sloan's My Very Short Life with Milarepa
Very early on, I was looking to see if maybe I had...
Khandro Rinpoche Addresses the Ocean Community
During Ocean's Parinirvana Day feast practice on April 4, 2022, Her Eminence Khandro Rinpoche appeared among us. She arrived at the perfect moment and said what we needed to hear.
I Am Here MUKPO
During Ocean's Sadhana of Mahamudra feast on Parinirvana Day, 2022, master of ceremonies Barry Boyce led us through the story of this dramatic calligraphy executed by Trungpa Rinpoche in the 1980s.
The Flight from Tuting
Sixtieth Anniversary of the Last Leg of the Vidyadhara’s Escape to India
The Underbelly of Vajrayana
When Tibetans were forced into exile by the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet, two of the most prominent places of refuge were Kathmandu, Nepal and Dharmsala, India. Within Kathmandu, the village of Boudha, the site of the Great Stupa of Boudhanath, became an un-wobbling pivot around which Tibetans gathered to live, to work, and to revere.
The Four Noble Truths Of Wealth
Layth Matthews is a long-time student of Shambhala and Buddhist dharma, living in Victoria, BC where he served as the Shambhala Centre Director from 2010 - 2013, and works...
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