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...

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...

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


Thanks to you, the Ocean/Chronicles community, our 2025 year end campaign was a great success.


In just 16 days, your donations totaled $53,617, ending just shy of our $60,000 goal

Thank you! 
Thank you!
Thank you!

 

Ashoka Mukpo

Twenty years! It seems difficult to comprehend that it has been so long since Trungpa Rinpoche passed away. Even now I feel him more as a living, breathing entity...

Cooking Rice with Marty Janowitz: Conversation with Patty Livingston

Marty talks with Dr. Patty Livingston about her work in anesthesiology and pain management, as well as her ongoing work in Rwanda training anesthesiologists.

Onyumishi Kanjuro Shibata XX Sensei

Hello everyone. How are you? Trungpa Rinpoche died so quickly, very quickly. Now, all of you, sangha people everywhere, listen to Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s voice. You can hear him...

The Fibre Glass Buddha

Many people meeting the Vidyadhara for the first time may have felt awkward and out of place. Some may even have felt as deeply ambivalent about the situation and...

How Naropa Got Its Name

In the summer of 1973, Trungpa Rinpoche gathered a few of his more academically minded students to discuss the creation of a new college

Being Tara

Unique and extraordinary visual dharma instructions from Trungpa Rinpoche

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...

Chogyam Trungpa in Mousehole

Chogyam Trungpa in Mousehole The west Cornish potter and teacher Bill Picard, died aged 92 in 2007. He was a cultured and charismatic buddhist. In the early 1960s, having been...

A Half Hour in His Company

I was not part of Naropa in Boulder, but one day I smoked a cigarette on a bench next to Boulder Creek with Trungpa Rinpoche. I knew who he...

Parinirvana Day Message from Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

At dawn on April 4, 2020, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche sent this message

The first Shambhala Lineage Festival: A blog

by David Whitehorn Post 1: 7am, Saturday, September 24, 2011 The shore of the Northwest Arm, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada The water of the Northwest Arm is calm and quiet. A...

When the Iron Bird Flies

by Steve Roth Reprinted with permission from The Miraculous 16th Karmapa: Incredible Encounters with the Black Crown Buddha. In eighth century Tibet, Padmasambhava made a prophecy: "When the iron bird flies,...

Introduction to The Art of Calligraphy: Part II

...at the beginning you just learn to make straight lines on your paper -CTR

JOIN US FOR MILAREPA DAY

The journey to awakening begins when we begin to hear the dharma. When heard in the present moment, the songs of past lineage holders can suddenly become relevant and specific to our own personal path.

Suddenly Without Warning

This book is about love and it is about grief. It is about being a parent and it is about losing a child “suddenly and without warning.”