In 1959 Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche led 300 refugees on a nine-month journey across Tibet to India – a journey now seen to rank among the greatest of history’s great escapes. Among those following him was the Washutsong family and their daughter Palya, aged 15. With music composed and performed by India Gailey and Jeff Reilly, narration by Grant MacLean, Harsh Splendour tells Palya’s story. Through HD satellite images and a flight simulator, we follow the route the refugees took, see the towering mountain terrain they crossed, the fearsome weather they faced. It is a journey to inspire us all.
You Are The Masterpiece
Exploring unconditional sacredness: the display of innate goodness, the worthwhileness of everyday life
21 Years of Tributes from the Mahasangha
Contribute your poems, stories and tributes to this ongoing collection
Four Artists Reflect on CTR’s Visual Dharma Teachings
Photo by George Holmes, used by permission
A reminiscence from Jack Niland
Here's the story. In 1974 at the start of Naropa, Trungpa told me I had to teach a class..."Just tell them everything I've told you" were his only instructions. The first year I assisted others to learn the ropes. Then, starting in 1975, he had me...
Datun Study Program
Buddhism: View and Path: A 7-month study program from Siddhartha's Intent: January - July 2026. The course is being taught by senior instructors and students of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, along with several excellent guest teachers.
The Passing of Lama Yonten
Lama Yonten passed away in Nepal on February 7. Yonten was Trungpa Rinpoche's attendant during their escape from Tibet, 1959-1960. He also attended Trungpa Rinpoche's root guru, Shechen Kongtrul Rinpoche. Years later in India, he attended Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
Here is a recent passage from Rabjam Rinpoche's Facebook page
In Loving Memory of Lama Yonten, Personal Assistant to...
50 Years of Dharma at the Philadelphia Shambhala Center
In December of 2020, during the pandemic, the Philadelphia Shambhala Center hosted a virtual gathering with fourteen of the founding members of Shambhala in Philadelphia. Coming together from coast to coast, some of them had not seen each other for decades.
They talked about the early days of practice, the sangha house in West Philly, the visits...
The Halifax Shambhala Centre: Who’s in Charge? The Mandala Governance System
In 1975, when Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was asked how he saw his lineage continuing in America he replied that “the general plan, seemingly, or general intuitive plan, is that some kind of reign of sanghaship would take place for a while," and "this needs group spirit."
The Halifax Shambhala Centre is implementing a new governance model. The...
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
Why Now?
Tashi Colman's Review of The Sadhana of Mahamudra, a new title from Shambhala Publications
The Halifax Shambhala Centre Announces the Visit of Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche
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...
Greg Smith
In addition to the central figure, the thangka shows Chakrasamvara, Vajradhara and Chemchog Heruka in the sky.
James Gimian
Jim talks about the myriad ways in which Trungpa Rinpoche worked with his students to nurture their personal understanding and sense of trust in their own intelligence.
Glimpses of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Life and Legacy in Tibet
Many thanks to Lyndon Comstock and Jon Ransohoff and everyone at the Konchok Foundation for making this wonderful documentary available. It is such a delight to see where Rinpoche...
We’re Going to Test Your Realization
During the time just prior to the cremation of H.H. the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa I was fortunate to meet Trungpa Rinpoche at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim. As an American...
Servant
One evening in 1971, at the Four Mile Canyon house
Four Moments of Truth
I was living in Boston at the time of the Vidyadhara's 1986-87 illness, and we in the sangha there had been doing intense practice because of this on and...
Memories of Chögyam Trungpa
He replied, “The path is the goal.”
When Chögyam Trungpa met Jules Chender
Yuli Shenderoff was born in Russia in 1920 at a time of pogroms against the Jews. As a very small boy, he learned to lie when strangers came to...
On Rinpoche and Roshi
In this episode, Henry Schaeffer and Sam Bercholz cover a lot of ground in 18 minutes, including Rinpoche throwing his mala over a fence in Oakland, Roshi blessing ...
Tribute to Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
His Holiness Dungtse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche died in New York today at the age of 80. The son of Dudjom Rinpoche and the father of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche,...
The Passing of Bob Fine
As the size of the Berkeley Dharmadhatu grew in numbers, Bob, along with several other early Berkeley sangha members established the second Berkeley Dharmadhatu in a lovely home on Kentucky Avenue in the Berkeley Hills overlooking the entire Bay.
Karma Senge Rinpoche Wins Our Hearts
On Sunday, June 24, 2007 at the Shambhala Center in Halifax, more than 125 members of the community came to watch a slide show presented by Karma Senge Rinpoche....
Andrew Quintman On Milarepa
Andrew Quintman's 2022 Milarepa Day presentation on Ocean
Introduction to The Art of Calligraphy: Part III
Gently, but with great conviction, the brush would descend to the paper and make its first dot. Often Rinpoche would pause the brush on this first mark, as if waiting for the calligraphy to be born from its seed.
Falling In Love With a Buddha
The bio/memoir of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche deserves at this point its own sub-category of Chögyam Trungpa Studies (hopefully soon to be a department at a major university). Diana Mukpo's...
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Buddhist Rebirth III: Modern Takesby Roger Jackson
Rebirth, or reincarnation, was assumed by most premodern Buddhists – and is believed by many modern Buddhists – to be “the […]
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The Key Points of Trekchö with Gerardo Abboudby Gerardo Abboud
In person at the Halifax Shambhala Centre, and here on Ocean We are very pleased to welcome Gerardo Abboud to the Halifax […]
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Samsara, Nirvana, and the Pathby Jakob Leschly
Samsara represents the painful cycle of dysfunction and suffering, whereas nirvana epitomizes the liberation inherent in our true […]
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The Kagyu Lineageby Jonathan Barbieri
Lineage is the unbroken transmission of wisdom and skillful means that is passed down directly from teacher to student – from […]
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The Interconnectedness of The Mandalas of Taktsang and of the Sadhana of Mahamudraby Lodro Sangpo
In the first class we will present a slideshow and videos of the walk up to the temple complex, as well as the other important […]