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...
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...
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...
Leonard Hortick
The twentieth anniversary of the parinirvana, of the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche is a time of reflection for many of us. Many remember those events of a long time...
Cynthia Moku
Cynthia talks about meeting her teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, how she began to study with SMR, the origins of the Rigden thangka, and the ongoing iconographic work that she has undertaken.
Kunga Dawa on Chögyam Trungpa and Sadhana of Mahamudra
This footage is from a three-hour interview Cathy Hubiak and Bill Scheffel conducted with Kunga Dawa, Richard Arthure, earlier this year.
Road Trip to Crestone
BOULDER, early summer afternoon, 1982 - The reception for the Vajradhatu and Nalanda staff in the back garden of Kalapa Court is a familiar scene: uniformed servers offer heavy...
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Quick Charcoal
I met Rinpoche in 1971, becoming a student of his soon after, and for life. During the course of it, he assigned to me an eclectic array of different tasks and challenges. One of these was to make portrait sketches of him as he ...
Letter to the 1980 Seminary
From the all-encompassing vajradhatu,
Indestructible nonthought beyond description,
From the vast dharmadhatu,
The unceasing play of energy and light,
The dharmakaya Vajradhara takes form
As the incomparable root guru, Chokyi Gyatso.
The five poisons and...
At Waterways Duck Farm
Trungpa stayed with a spiritualist healer called Robert Copley on his duck farm in ST Ives Huntingdon, U.K. in, or around 1962, where I met him. He described his...
My Very Short Life with Milarepa
One of the first books I read about Tibetan Buddhism was the Life of Milarepa. I found the story of his life and enlightenment a great inspiration. Reading about...
Trungpa Rinpoche and Alan Watts
Here is Sam's account of Trungpa Rinpoche's friendship with Alan Watts.
Shibata Sensei Cremation Ceremony
https://youtu.be/1FTRNGxq0rM
Video by Greg Smith
The song that you are hearing here is Sensei singing about a flock of geese, "Gun"...one or two may fly away from the V - arrowhead...
Pilgrimage to Delhi (New York)
Late in September 2016, fourteen aspirants, mostly “old” students of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, began wending their ways to Delhi (pronounced “Del-High”), New York. We came to receive the Chakrasamvara Abhisheka,...
How the Pygmies Came to the Land
Excerpted from an interview with Don Winchell in February, 2003
Shambhala Mountain Center
(photo borrowed from the SMC site)
"I saw it first from the back, and the only thing we...
Like a Dream, Like an Illusion . . .
After a two-hour wait in the line at the Kathmandu airport for our visas, Trudy and David Sable and I tried to connect with the promised driver from Tek...
Trungpa Rinpoche’s Escape From Tibet: 50 Years Ago
Watch Touch and Go, a documentary on Trungpa Rinpoche's escape from Tibet and follow the escape route maps.
As this project is very much a work in progress, please contact Grant...
Guru and Student in the Vajrayana
I have written the following in response to a number of requests, including some from the press, for my take on the present situation in the Rigpa Sangha over Sogyal Rinpoche’s behaviour.
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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 […]