Reducing Blame
Blamelessness is a very simple point. Blame doesn’t come from ones partners or friends. Taking blame onto yourself means that it is yours. In other words, when You’re outside and you shout something, if it bounces off a rock, then the rock says, “ai, ai, ai, ai.” But you don’t blame the rock. You blame yourself, because you said “ai, ai, ai, ai.” You’re in an echo chamber, so you blame the echoer, rather than the echo itself. Therefore there is hope; there is hope of reducing blame.
A Sukhavati ceremony will be held at the Vancouver Shambhala Center on December 3rd at 2:00 pm Pacific Time. To join the ceremony on Zoom, FOLLOW THIS LINK and click on Main Shrine Room.
The Cremation of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche Notes from Nepal, November, 2023
Many years back, at the time of the first visit of Thrangu Rinpoche to Boulder, Colorado at the invitation of Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Trungpa Rinpoche was asked what code word we could use for Thrangu Rinpoche when communicating the logistics of his transportation, arrival at events, etc.
In appreciation of Thrangu Rinpoche
In August 2011, Thrangu Rinpoche visited Halifax where he taught on Khenpo Gangshar's text: Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet. The weekend was attended by members of the Shambhala community, and by a number of Thrangu Rinpoche's students from Maine and elsewhere. The three-day program was a testament to Thrangu Rinpoche's generosity and tireless energy. He explicated...
The Passing of Bob Fine
As the size of the Berkeley Dharmadhatu grew in numbers, Bob, along with several other early Berkeley sangha members established the second Berkeley Dharmadhatu in a lovely home on Kentucky Avenue in the Berkeley Hills overlooking the entire Bay.
Tribute to Françoise Guyaux
Our beloved friend and dharma sister, Françoise Guyaux, died yesterday morning, October 29, 2023. Her passing came after eight months and many ups and downs of cancer treatment. Françoise, the consummate dharma practitioner, was ready at every turn for whatever came next. When it was clear that her life was ending soon, she made the decision...
Conversation with Ringu Tulku
An Interview from 2013
Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche October 2023 Visit to Colorado
Naropa University and the Ri-mé Society are honored to host Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche’s historic return to Colorado.
Sukhavati for Betsy Perks
Betsy Perks (born Martha Elizabeth Sharp) suffered a heart attack and passed away in her home in Scottsdale, Arizona early in the week of 9 October 2023. Although Betsy's death was unexpected, she died peacefully in her sleep.
Betsy grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was raised in the Catholic Church by her parents, James Earl...
The Passing of Paul Shippee
Paul Shippee November 15, 1937 - August 31, 2023
Paul Shippee, an original first-generation American student of Suzuki Roshi and of Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a highly innovative and creative early-sangha pioneer, an enduring and devoted Dharma practitioner and a friend and close dharma-cohort to so many of us, has died. May his adventuresome and ingenious spirit, his...
Tribute to Ruth Whitehead
Dr. Ruth Holmes Everett Whitehead, ONS, died on August 29th, 2023 in Halifax. She was born on October 10th, 1947, in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, to Ruth Holmes Humphreys Everett and Hobart Ray Everett, Sr.
Ruth’s funeral will take place in the Main Shrine Room of the Halifax Shambhala Centre, 1084 Tower Road, Halifax, at 10:30 am (Atlantic) on Friday, September...
Remembering Thrangu Rinpoche
An account of Rinpoche's final days from Thrangu Tashi Chöling Monastery
To all those around the world who have a connection, direct or indirect, with the Lord of Refuge, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche:
With great regret, we would like to share some sad news with you.
On May 5, 2023, the fifteenth day of the third Tibetan month of the...
Tribute to Lesly Benditsky
Sukhavati Ceremony for Lesly
A sukhavati ceremony for Lesly is planned for this Saturday, August 19, at 3:00 pm Eastern (4:00 pm Atlantic) in the KCCL (871 Young Ave) Mahasangha Shrine Room and online in Ocean's Main Shrine Room. All are welcome.
With deep sadness we announce the passing of our dear friend and fearless warrior Leslyn (Tzipora)...
Tribute to Adana Barbieri
Adana Barbieri died peacefully on the morning of August 2nd, 2023 surrounded by her family and local dharma community.
On Saturday, August 19th, at 4:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, a memorial service led by Judith Lief will be held at the Boulder Shambhala Center. This will be for people in person and on Zoom.
ZOOM LINK FOR ADANA'S...
Tribute to Nancy Castlebury
As dictated by herself to her husband who wrote down this obituary:
Nancy Louise Castlebury left this world on such-and-such a date , after a brief but spirited skirmish with the evil-doer Maya (that is, illusion.) She was the last surviving member of her birth family: her father, James Crain Jr., and her mother, Loualice Elizabeth Georges,...
Passing of Bart Leonard
Dear Sangha,
Bart had been fighting liver and bile duct cancers since last fall. He had been in the hospital since Monday, July 17 and it quickly became clear that he was not going to recover from this episode, and after a few days he entered hospice. Bart passed away on July 28, around 6 pm surrounded...
Susan Dreier’s Passing
Susan Dreier, an artist and a long-time member of the organizational leadership of Vajradhatu and Shambhala, passed away peacefully in her apartment on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, MA, on April 4, 2023, several years after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. She was 75 years old.
Susan was born on October 18, 1947, in Washington, D.C. to John...
Opening Celebration of Karma Changchub Ling (KCCL)
Auspiciously, KCCL’s opening celebration took place on June 4th, which was Saga Dawa Day, the annual commemoration of the Buddha’s birth, realization, and parinirvana
Joan Halifax Roshi
Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist visionary, an artist of great imagination, a wild beardless prophet, and a man with a very human heart. His brief and radical appearance in...
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.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
I would like to talk a little bit about Trungpa Rinpoche. Even when he was very young, he was extremely knowledgeable. He gave the Rinchen Terdzö empowerment when he...
Research Expedition to Prince Edward Island
“We should research PEI,” Rinpoche announced one evening after dinner in early September 1984. It was a golden period in the Mill Village retreat. Rinpoche was generally in a jolly mood—full of mischief and good humor.
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...
The Big Thud
I'm unsure what year this was, probably the late summer or early fall of 1986, but it was the last time Rinpoche was to be in the States, and...
From Now Onward
I was seventeen. July 1973. My brother Neil brought me to hear Rinpoche talk...
James Yensan
In this 4-minute video, Jim Yensan recalls the sense of trust he experienced as a student of Trungpa Rinpoche.
When Chögyam Trungpa met Jules Chender
Yuli Shenderoff was born in Russia in 1920 at a time of pogroms against the Jews. As a very small boy, he learned to lie when strangers came to...
Interview with James George
James George Talks About Trungpa Rinpoche
Tashi Deleg! Cheerful Shambhala Day!
Trungpa Rinpoche and Czareena at Mill Village, 1984.
https://d2j018qw05ry1m.cloudfront.net/ShambhalaDay1982-Feb24.mp3
Editor's note: Rinpoche begins his address with the Japanese New Years greeting, "Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu!"
© 2005 Diana J. Mukpo and the Shambhala...
Cameron Peak Fire Reaches Shambhala Mountain Center
This is a poignant moment for everyone with a heart connection to SMC. We will be updating this post as new information comes to light.
Film: Glimpses of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Life and Legacy in Tibet
This is a film about Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, yet all of the video and most of the photos are contemporary. Thus, those interviewed are, in effect, speaking about the...
1974 Seminary
Visit the 1974 Vajradhatu Seminary in Snowmass, Colorado
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Prajna and Upayaby Martin Evans
Three Tuesdays at 7:00 pm Eastern starting September 19. We will listen to Rinpoche’s three talks together and, as always, […]
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Outer, Inner and Secret Levels of Mindfulness Practiceby Lodro Sangpo
Please note: Participants in this course may also be interested in Lodro Sangpo’s course on Abhidharma in the Context of […]
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Kitchen Sink Series: The Path is the Goalby David Nudell
This five-week course will use Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s text, THE PATH IS THE GOAL. Taken from two seminars in 1974, one held […]
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Mind, Symbol, and Word: The Three Levels of Vajrayana Transmissionby Judy Lief
According to the Vidyadhara, our understanding of the three lineages begins with our relationship with the teacher. It begins […]
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Mahamudra Aspiration of Rangjung Dorjeby Gerardo Abboud
Rangjung Dorje’s Mahamudra Aspiration is an extraordinarily pithy and comprehensive text. Not only does the text elucidate the […]