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, when horses run on wheels, the king will come to...

Remembering Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche

Our beloved guide, Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, left his physical body behind on June 22, 2024. As with all great teachers, his passing has magnified his presence in the hearts and minds of his students, making this a moment of profound sadness and inspiration. When the sun of dharma, the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, disappeared from view,...

Suffering as Blessing

By Ken Bowles In the early 1970s at age 29, I was diagnosed with an incurable medical condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa that would result in progressive deterioration of my eyesight and blindness. In 1972, I attended a weekend seminar with Chogyam Trungpa on The Mandala of the Five Buddha Families held in a gymnasium in Barnet, Vermont....

What to expect at the Visit of Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche

In this nine-minute talk, the Loppon explains the significance of this visit for Trungpa Rinpoche’s vajrayana students, those who encountered him during this lifetime, and those who have come along since then.

The Passing of Bernie Flynn

Bernie first came to our Sangha after college and roaming around the country in the usual hippy pursuits of the early 70's. The "VT back to the land" movement was in full swing and he was going to write the "Great American Novel". He found a house in Barnet and as it turned out, it was not...

The Passing of John Baker

The family of John Joseph Baker, 81, of Boulder, Colorado share the news of his passing on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at his beautiful mountain home in Boulder, Colorado with his family by his side. He experienced a gentle “fading of my life” over a period of many months. John was born on September 13, 1944,...

Interview with Khenpo Karma Tenkyong

Drala Mountain Center is looking forward to hosting Khenpo Karma Tenkyong, the resident teacher at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, for Open, Spacious, and Free: A Mahamudra Meditation Retreat, August 26th-29th.

Harsh Splendour First Screening

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...

Poetry tributes to Trungpa Rinpoche

No fooling! Thirty-two years ago today, Rinpoche asked me to help him play an April Fool joke on the sangha. He thought a while and then asked me to call Vajradhatu...

Bonnie Rabin

Julia talks with Bonnie Rabin, Halifax psychologist (voted best psychologist in Halifax by readers of the Coast), life coach, and long-time student of Chögyam Trungpa.

Fearless Compassion

To think of Trungpa Rinpoche it is not just to remember an extraordinary man, but to be drawn into the depth and vastness of his mind, to glimpse a...

Two Moments

I met Rinpoche in person only twice, both in the mid-1980's in Berkeley. Once I waited in a reception line to meet him. When I finally came to the...

Climbing the Stairs with Rinpoche

The Vajracharya placed his right hand in mine and the fleshy depth of his hand swallowed me whole.

Being Tara

Unique and extraordinary visual dharma instructions from Trungpa Rinpoche

An Unexpected Reply

Fifty years ago, Trungpa Rinpoche gave a community talk in the shrine room of the Boulder center at 1111 Pearl Street (now the Boulder Book Store). In the question...

Climbing a Staircase

During the Vidyadhara's last visit to England in 1986 I served many times as a kasung around Rinpoche's activities. As a long time city resident and car owner I...

Jackson Hole

In December of 1972 I was traveling east of the Cascades and the Rockies on an adventure. Just looking out the bus window at the endless snow and sporadic...

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse on the Passing of his Father, Thinley Norbu Rinpoche

Thank you for your sympathy and best wishes at this time. We live in a world of our own making, a world built by our own unique perceptions which we...

KCCL Opening Celebration

Sunday, June 4, starting at 10:00 am Eastern in Ocean's Main Shrine Room. The program will feature talks by various teachers and a Sadhana of Mahamudra feast

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

by Meg FedericoRob and I had not been to a practice program together, (let alone on a vacation) since our first child was born and he's 28 years old...

Chronicles Interview with Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche

Traleg Rinpoche comments on the importance of studying Trungpa Rinpoche's teachings

From January 2011: Touch and Go Premieres in Halifax

Chögyam Trungpa's first book, Born in Tibet, originally published in 1966, is a classic story of a great escape. It is an autobiographical account of Rinpoche's upbringing in Tibet...

His Final Home

To commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Chögyam Trungpa's parinirvana, the Chögyam Trungpa Legacy Project mounted an extraordinary exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax.