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...
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...
Bill Wooding on Being Gay in the Sangha
Julia speaks with Bill Wooding about being gay in the early Vajradhatu/Shambhala community, about the history of "Queer Dharma", and about the efforts made by a number of North American dharma groups to welcome and include the LGBTQ community as part of their sangha.
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Cremation Ceremony
Thirty Eight Years Ago in Karme Choling's upper meadow
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:...
Chögyam the Translator
"...he used to amazing effect the fact that no one expected him to speak syntactically perfect English. Subtle, complex, and mind-opening ambiguities, as well as multiple shades and layers of meaning emerged easily from his often slippery sentence structures."
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...
How I Met Rinpoche
Part One of a Conversation with Ani Pema Chödrön.Training of an American Buddhist Nun. The following conversation between Pema Chödrön and Walter Fordham took place in Halifax on 10 December 2003.
Like a Foreign Country
[Rinpoche] said there would be economic problems and earthquakes, that the weather would become more extreme because the dralas would not be protecting the situation, and that it would be harder and harder to practice genuine dharma because of the level of aggression in the country.
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...
Tea and Rice ceremony welcoming Yangsi Rinpoche in Boulder
By Nina Rolle
We've been having some hot August days in Boulder, with a dry wind. Most of the sangha has returned to town from a summer of retreats up...
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
Devotion & Crazy Wisdom! A Sadhana of Mahamudra Book Launch (in-person & online)
In collaboration with Shambhala Publications and the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library
Like Meeting Shechen Gyaltsap Face-To-Face
A Review of Shechen Gyaltsap's PRACTICING THE GREAT PERFECTION: INSTRUCTIONS ON THE CRUCIAL POINTS
Love in the Time of Chaos
Training in Tenderness, by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Shambhala Publications, 2018
Effortless Beauty by Julie DuBose
Preparing to write this review, I sit down, then pause, put aside my pen, and gaze out the window, taking in the soft moist greens and tawny golds of...
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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 […]