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...

Jakusho Kwong-roshi on Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Jakusho Kwong-roshi on Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Video by Bill Scheffel.

A Conversation with Jane Kolleeny

Julia talks with Jane Kolleeny about the Westchester Buddhist Center. Visit westchesterbuddhistcenter.org for more information.

Lack of Credentials

Excerpted from The Way of Basic Sanity, A Brief Overview of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Perspective on Sutric Buddhism

The Mala

At the 1973 Seminary in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Rinpoche had to fly out to California for a few days for the release of "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism." Since the...

At the Redneck Bar

Out in the parking lot ... a man approached from out of the gloom with a rifle in his hand that he trained on Rinpoche

The Court

Then, seemingly out of the blue and certainly not to my liking, Rinpoche announced on Christmas Day that he would like to invite my mother to dinner ...

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...

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...

A Penny for Your Thoughts

During the 1984 Kalapa Assembly in Bedford Springs, the Vidyadhara requested that I visit with him. At one point during the visit there was a long silence. I asked...

What Makes Us a Practitioner of Dharma

https://youtu.be/N_va3gLsMXE To learn more about Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and his community of students, visit mangalashribhuti.org

Glimpses of Yarne

"You could say we are just an average bunch of people here — average in terms of our confusion and our wisdom, our inherent goodness and our obstinate little...

Ordinary Memories of an Extraordinary Man

I was privileged to spend many weeks at Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's side, only able to hold my seat because of the affection he lavished upon me and countless others.

Milarepa Day

Sunday, March 16th, 2025
Two sessions: 1:00 PM and 3:45 pm Eastern
In Ocean's Main Shrine Room

What We Learned from Yönten

Part One: A Costly Delay at yak Monastery May 26, 2013 In the late winter of 1959, after discovering that Surmang had been overrun by Chinese troops, Trungpa Rinpoche visited Khamtrül...

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche Celebrates Chögyam Trungpa and the Kagyu Lineage

Photo by Marvin Moore Khyentse Rinpoche's Teachings in Halifax During his talks on the foreword to The Rain of Wisdom, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche marveled at Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's guru devotion,...