Where there are meditators, there is a need for things on which to sit. When North American students first began to gather around Trungpa Rinpoche in the early 1970s, shrine rooms were often strewn with pillows, sofa cushions, and rolled up sleeping bags—as people reached for the nearest support for their bodies and their practice. In 1975, Jeanine Greenleaf and Irv Wieder (her husband at the time), began sewing and stuffing meditation cushions in their home in New York to serve this growing market. Their efforts quickly grew into Samadhi Cushions—the meditators' supply store, which continues to sew, stuff and sell cushions in the village of Barnet, Vermont, just down the road from Karmê Choling. If you've practiced meditation at a Dharmadhatu, Shambhala Center, zendo, or Buddhist center in the past 34 years, chances are you have sat on a Samadhi cushion. In this interview Jeanine (the Coco Chanel of meditation cushions) tells Julia Sagebien (our very own wise Latino woman) the story of Samadhi Cushions. For more information, please visit the Samadhi Cushions website.
HH Karmapa and HE Jamgon Kongtrul with KCL staff, 1976, Photographer unknown
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Theme music: Handel's Water Music Suite. The song at the end is Shambhala Song by Chogyam Trungpa, recorded on the Dragon's Thunder CD, available from the Shambala Shop.
Theme music: Handel's Water Music Suite.
The song at the end is The Shambhala Anthem by Chogyam Trungpa, arranged by Peter Lieberson.
Recorded on the Dragon's Thunder CD,
available from the Shambala Shop.
