Cool Boredom
The practice of meditation could be described as relating with cool boredom, refreshing boredom, boredom like a mountain stream. It refreshes because we do not have to do anything or expect anything. But there must be some sense of discipline if we are to get beyond the frivolity of trying to replace boredom. That is why we work with the breath as our practice of meditation. Simply relating with the breath is very monotonous and unadventurous–we do not discover that the third eye is opening or that chakras are unfolding. It is like a stone-carved Buddha sitting in the desert. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens. As we realize that nothing is happening, strangely we begin to realize that something dignified is happening. There is no room for frivolity, no room for speed. We just breathe and are there. There is something very satisfying and wholesome about it. It is as though we had eaten a good meal and were satisfied with it, in contrast to eating and trying to satisfy oneself. It is a very simpleminded approach to sanity.
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
Sherab Chödzin Kohn
The exemplary story of the birth of a guru is that of Padmasambhava. He is born on the calyx of a huge lotus flower in the middle of a...
Cooking Rice with Marty Janowitz: Conversation with Margaret Wheatley
Welcome to Cooking Rice, a new Chronicles Radio program hosted by Marty Janowitz.
In this series of conversations, Marty talks with people whose work in...
Inconceivable Love
It has been twenty years since Chögyam Trungpa left this world.
As an artist, he taught us all to be artists in every moment of our lives, and to give...
No Place To Go
Setting: Karme Chöling 1972
Trungpa Rinpoche and I are sitting side by side. There's a long period of silence. Out of the blue, he looks over at me and says:...
Chogyam Trungpa: The Early Years
The Early Years in Colorado
This is an account of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's early years in Colorado. It is based on interviews with people who were involved with his initial...
It’s Much More Interesting Than That
During the 1985 Seminary at RMDC, now Shambhala Mountain Center, the Vidyadhara was hosting a number of guests at Prajna for cocktails, followed by a dinner. I was on...
The Shrine Blessing
About 15 of us were doing the first dathun at the Abbey in January, 1986. The place was abuzz because Rinpoche was coming up to Halifax for the shrine...
What Space?
We did not have a place to house CTR for the 1974 ITS (Intensive Training Seminar). Peter Hull and I looked around and found a brown trailer in...
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...
Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche in Colorado
Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche Arrives in Colorado and Wakes to a Double Rainbow at Phuntsok Choling
https://youtu.be/WWlWEwvahJ0
Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche: 84,000 Teachings
https://youtu.be/zj7kjIT8M3Q
Tom and Thich Nhat Han
Thay at RMDC
Installation of the Vajradhara thangka in The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya
We want to let you all know that the installation of the Vajradhara thangka in the Stupa went very well.
What if they Gave a Party and Everyone Came?
Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Debuts on the World Stage
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.
Ten Reasons to Read Diamond Highway
Tony bridges a threshold in the growing body of literature on the life of the Vidyadhara and his students.
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Mahamudra Elixir II: Identifying & Sustaining the Nature of the Dynamic Mindby Elizabeth Callahan
LISTEN TO THE EIGHT RECORDED SESSIONS OF ELIXIR PART I Mahamudra Elixir II Starts October 1 This five-part series will focus on […]
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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 […]