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Surmang shedra completed and in use as a shedra

Starting in 2010, while work on the shrine room furnishings continued, the shedra building complex has been used for various children's programs, for shedra-type study programs for monks, as the temporary monastery lhakang (shrine hall) when the monastery's lhakang was being rebuilt, and as a temporary residence for nuns while the Kyelaka nunnery associated with Surmang Dutsi Til was under construction.

Six Poems of Sadness and Delight

There are days I wake up weary

Saraha and Sahaja

In this lecture, Roger Jackson talks about Saraha's songs, with a special focus on his teachings on sahaja – a vital tantric term variously translated as "the coemergent," "the connate," or "the simultaneously arisen."

Dön Season Retreat on Ocean

During the final days of the Year of the Water Rabbit, we will focus our evening practice on Vajrakilya and Pacifying the Turmoil of the Mamos.

The Passing of Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

Loving-kindness is the thought of wishing total happiness for others and putting that wish into practice. It is the thought of unconditioned, pure, and universal love towards all beings without attachment, self-centeredness, or expectation of rewards. — Tulku Thondup

We are now set up to accept Cyrpto and Stock Donations

Donorbox’s new integration with Rennaisance Charitable and The Giving Block has made it easy for Chronicles/Ocean to accept stock or crypto donations. For stock donations First go to the Donation page on...

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.

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.

The Underbelly of Vajrayana

When Tibetans were forced into exile by the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet, two of the most prominent places of refuge were Kathmandu, Nepal and Dharmsala, India. Within Kathmandu, the village of Boudha, the site of the Great Stupa of Boudhanath, became an un-wobbling pivot around which Tibetans gathered to live, to work, and to revere.

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

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...

Into the Mirror

A Buddhist Journey through Mind, Matter, and the Nature of Reality

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

Karma Pakshi and Two Mongol Emperors: Genesis of the Reincarnate Lamas Tradition

Charles Manson, the Librarian at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, talks about his new book "The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi.

JOIN US FOR MILAREPA DAY

The journey to awakening begins when we begin to hear the dharma. When heard in the present moment, the songs of past lineage holders can suddenly become relevant and specific to our own personal path.

Dön Season Retreat

During these final days of the Year of the Water Tiger, we will focus our evening practice on Vajrakilya and Pacifying the Turmoil of the Mamos. See the schedule below for...

The CTR Digital Library is Here!

It's official, the Chogyam Trungpa Digital Library is Live

Dön Season Retreat

As the  year of the Water Tiger draws to a close, Ocean will host daily Vajrakilaya and Mamo session

Larry Mermelstein and Barry Boyce on the Sadhana of Mahamudra

On January 14, 2023, Barry and Larry had a candid conversation about the Sadhana of mahamudra in Ocean's Main Shrine Room. Here is the recording of that event.

Heaven and Earth Rock Gardens

In the mid-1980s two meditation masters from different countries and traditions came together to create a beautiful and inspired work of art

I Am Here MUKPO

During Ocean's Sadhana of Mahamudra feast on Parinirvana Day, 2022, master of ceremonies Barry Boyce led us through the story of this dramatic calligraphy executed by Trungpa Rinpoche in the 1980s.

Weary

There are days I wake up weary

World Premier: Traleg Rinpoche Documentary Film

A new documentary film about this wonderful Tibetan Buddhist teacher who escaped the Chinese invasion of Tibet at the age of five. World Premiere - online 12-19 March 2022.

News of Dudjom Rinpoche’s Passing

Dudjom International Foundation and Dudjom Labrang announced today that His Holiness Dudjom Sangye Pema Shepa Rinpoche, the supreme head of the Dudjom Tersar, passed into parinirvana on 15 February. 

To Thay With Love

Ani Nyingje's recollection of Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh​

A Great Victory Banner of Dharma

Chögyam Trungpa’s Vast Ocean of Teachings

Barry Boyce surveys Chogyam Trungpa's vast body of teachings and their lasting impact on how Buddhism is understood and practiced

Introduction to The Art of Calligraphy: Part I

Venerating the past in itself will not solve the world's problems. We need to find the link between our traditions and our present experience of life.

Introduction to The Art of Calligraphy: Part II

...at the beginning you just learn to make straight lines on your paper -CTR

Introduction to The Art of Calligraphy: Part III

Gently, but with great conviction, the brush would descend to the paper and make its first dot. Often Rinpoche would pause the brush on this first mark, as if waiting for the calligraphy to be born from its seed.

Father Thomas Keating and Trungpa Rinpoche Talk About Egolessness

This conversation took place during Naropa’s 1983 Christian Buddhist Conference

On Meeting Thomas Merton

"The first genuine person I met from the West" -Trungpa Rinpoche

Reflections on Tales of a Mad Yogi

The Life and Wild Wisdom of Drukpa Kunley,
by Elizabeth L. Monson

1981 Seminary at Chateau Lake Louise

Photos by Marvin Moore
Video Presentation by Robert Zimmerman

Memories, Dreams and Reflections of the 16th Karmapa

Black Hat, Black Mountains I met the 16th Karmapa in 1976 when he was invited to a farmhouse in the Black Mountains of Wales. If there is one event which I can...

Andrew Quintman On Milarepa

Andrew Quintman's 2022 Milarepa Day presentation on Ocean

Songs

Song by and adapted by Trungpa Rinpoche.

Chokling Rinpoche: A Powerhouse of Dharma

The passing of Tsikey Choking Rinpoche, 1953-2020

KCCL Is Moving to Halifax

KCCL (Karma Changchub Ling) has announced that they are moving to 871 Young Avenue on the Halifax peninsula. This is the same property they almost purchased last March. Unfortunately, the deal...

The Way of Basic Sanity

In this essay I attempt to provide a synopsis of Trungpa Rinpoche’s unique perspective on Buddhist hinayana and mahayana practices.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Parinirvana Gathering on Ocean, Oct 5, 2020

Some 150 people gathered on Monday, October 5 to commemorate the life and teachings of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Here is the video recording of that gathering.

Matthieu Ricard on the Anniversary of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s Parinirvana

Here is Matthieu Ricard talking about his teacher, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. This video message marks the anniversary of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoches's passing. Thank you to Matthieu Ricard for sharing these inspiring...

Damage From the Cameron Peak Fire

Michael Gayner shares photos of the damage

Update on the Fire at Shambhala Mountain Center

The fire is under control and the Great Stupa has been saved

A Message from Lady Diana Mukpo Regarding the SMC Fire

  To the Noble Sangha, I am writing today with a heavy heart, feeling so much sorrow, knowing that fire has burned across our beloved Shambhala Mountain Center.  We do not yet know...

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. 

Karme Choling’s 50th Anniversary

From September 17th through the 22nd, KCL will feature a variety of online events for the whole community.

Like Meeting Shechen Gyaltsap Face-To-Face

A Review of Shechen Gyaltsap's PRACTICING THE GREAT PERFECTION: INSTRUCTIONS ON THE CRUCIAL POINTS

A Letter to the Queen of Bhutan on Her 90th Birthday

In 1968, the Queen of Bhutan invited 28 year-old Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to enter into a retreat at Taktsang. It was there that Rinpoche received the Sadhana of Mahamudra.

In the Shadow of the Purkhang

Here is Raging Bear’s marvelous account of Gade Gar.

CTR Quote of the Week

A New Offering from the Chogyam Trungpa Institute

SEARCHING FOR SHAMBHALA

Where and what is it?

The Flight from Tuting

Sixtieth Anniversary of the Last Leg of the Vidyadhara’s Escape to India

Remembrance

My first perception of Khyentse Rinpoche was that of a wonderfully loving grandfather.

Under Fire

On the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Vidyadhara’s Crossing of the Brahmaputra

Mindfulness, Compassion, and Daily Life with Judy Lief

Facing Death, Working with Dying, A Fresh Look at Relationships, and Milarepa’s Journey

Walk Slowly, Arrive Now

Gradual and/or Instantaneous:
A Review of Two Very Different Books That Converge on a Vital Topic

Escape from Tibet with Trungpa Rinpoche

Togden Achö's Recollections: Part One

Touch and Go

Chögyam Trungpa's Epic Journey to the West

The Karme Choling Rock Garden

“The Japanese would be very proud of this!” -CTR

Journey to Taktsang

Travel with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche from Scotland to Taktsang in 1968, and hear him talk about receiving the Sadhana

It’s Up To You

A Review of Chögyam Trungpa's Latest Title

Rechungpa’s Repentance

Protective divinities, or protectors of the dharma, play a great and impor­tant role in the vajrayana teachings generally.

Interview with Karma Senge about Kyere Gompa

The Chronicles (TC): Rinpoche, rather than asking you for further stories about Trungpa Rinpoche today, I'd like to ask you to talk about Kyere Gompa. I'd also like to ask about...

A Brief History of Tassajara

From Native American Sweat Lodges to Pioneering Zen Monastery

On the Mamos, the Dharmapala Principle and Mahakali Vetali

The feminine principle, functions as a force of creating harmony, friendship, and connectedness, in relationships and family, in community, between self and nature, and between mind and body.

A Profound Book of Love and Warriorship

A Review of BURIED RIVERS by Ellen Korman Mains

Children’s Day Candlelight Ceremony

At the Halifax Shambhala Centre, 20 December 2018

Father Thomas Keating Dies at 95

A Trappist monk with a connection to Trungpa Rinpoche

Love in the Time of Chaos

Training in Tenderness, by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Shambhala Publications, 2018

Glimpses of Yarne

Gampo Abbey is a Buddhist Monastery on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. At the time of filming, it was celebrating thirty years since its founding by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in...

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."

Rainy Season Dathün at Deer Park

In India, sites sacred to the Buddha are scattered all over the land, but in the Buddha’s homeland there are very few Indian practitioners who follow the Buddha’s teachings.

Historical Comments on The Sadhana of Mahamudra

There was tremendous corruption, confusion, lack of faith, and lack of practice in Tibet.

Living with Awareness and Integrity

Book Review: EIGHT STEPS TO AN AUTHENTIC LIFE, Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times by Patricia Ullman

Interview with Her Eminence Jetsün Kushok Chimey Luding Rinpoche

Jetsün Kushok worked full-time as a weaver and part-time as a housekeeper, while also raising four boys, running dharma centers, and practicing—often through the night.

Changing our Relationship to Anxiety and Stress

Andrew Safer talks about his do-it-yourself guide.

Saga Dawa Sūtra Resounding

A Message from 84000, Translating the Words of the Buddha

Lineage and Devotion

As our devotion increased in these early years, we came to regard Trungpa Rinpoche as the only and the everything. It seemed that he came out of nowhere, like a bolt of lightning. But there was a larger context...

Irrepressible Teachings, Ngedön School, and The Next Ten Volumes of The Collected Works

SUMMER 2016: The last two weeks of July have been dominated by the political conventions to nominate the Republican and Democratic candidates for president and vice president of the United States. The polarization of the two parties ...

Devotion

Created from Lama Ugyen Shenpen's Home Videos of the Lineage

Another Bite of the Whole Enchilada

The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volumes Nine and Ten

Boston Dharmadhatu: The Early Days

His talks were like timed capsules—timed to go off months and years and perhaps decades later

On the Sadhana of Mahamudra

Once he arrived in America in 1970, in spite of his insistence on the sitting practice of meditation as the main discipline, Trungpa Rinpoche encouraged students to gather together and read the sadhana on the new and full moon.

Elocution Lessons with Chögyam Trungpa, Part Two: Form as Practice

If you are paying attention to how you speak and how others communicate, you will find that you are paying attention altogether to the environment, to how you sit or stand, to how you hold your hands, to how you look at people — all those things.

The Impression Suzuki Roshi Made on 15-Year Old Me

At one of the high points in my life, at the tender age of 15, I met Suzuki Roshi at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in California. My mother, Carol Star Safer,...

Smile if you have to

The origins and evolution of Sun Camp:
Excerpts from a new book by Will Ryken & Jim Lowrey

From BORN IN TIBET to FROM LION’S JAWS

From BORN IN TIBET to FROM LION'S JAWS

1978: Children’s Day at the Court

On the first several Children's Days in Boulder...

Shunryu Suzuki Roshi Connections

On the anniversary of his passing

Beyond Comprehension

Book Review: From Lion’s Jaws, Chögyam Trungpa’s Epic Journey to the West
by Grant MacLean

Lessons from Milarepa’s Life and Songs

Review of a New Book by Chogyam Trungpa

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.

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, many taking...

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.

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 ...

Being Tara

Unique and extraordinary visual dharma instructions from Trungpa Rinpoche

Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes

The Practice of Contemplative Photography, by Andy Karr and Michael Wood, offers a practical system of instruction that applies the wisdom of Buddhist teachings on perception and creativity to the contemporary...

Visiting Casa Werma, A Personal Experience

By Gary Hubiak Acharya Simon Luna was re-visiting the homeland of his Mexican parents for the first time in 30 years in May of 2007. He had come to teach mahamudra at...

Road trip photo album

Thirty people were interviewed during this tour of the Northeast for a total of over 70 hours of recorded conversation about Trungpa Rinpoche. The following people were interviewed during May and June...

1974 Seminary

Visit the 1974 Vajradhatu Seminary in Snowmass, Colorado

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.

Jim Lowrey Reads from Taming Untameable Beings

https://soundcloud.com/trungpachronicles/jim-lowrey-reading-from-untameable-1   Taming Untameable Beings is available in paperback and Kindle e-book at: amazon.com and www.amazon.ca Facebook: Taming Untameable Beings

Oxford Refuge for Buddhist Monks

Newspaper clippings from the UK press in 1964 describing CTR's escape from Tibet.

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche Retreat in Massachusetts

Between 20,000 and 75,000 years ago, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered what is now eastern Massachusetts in thousands of feet of ice and carved hills that remain today. In 1807, the...

The Escape’s Place in History

For those of us with a connection to Trungpa Rinpoche and his teachings, the significance of his escape from Tibet has been about the Dharma: because he survived, the Dharma he...

Milarepa Day Offering

https://soundcloud.com/trungpachronicles/doha-of-sadness-by-chogyam-trungpa This poem, read by Steve Baker, is one of the Songs of Chögyam Trungpa from Rain of Wisdom. The Rain of Wisdom was one of the first translation projects that Trungpa Rinpoche...

Like a Bolt of Lightning

Book Launch at the Halifax Trident E ma ho! Finally a true grass root's history of the early days of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his entry into the Wild West! Here we...

Excerpts from: Taming Untameable Beings

We should keep all these stories of the beginning of Buddhadharma in America. I personally feel very grateful for the existence of the Pygmies. Without them, there was no possibility that...

Firsthand Account from Nepal

Photos from Tenzin Dolma Below is an inspiring and heartbreaking account just received from our adopted daughter in Nepal, Tenzin Dolma, who went through Thrangu Rinpoche's school in Kathmandu. If people want...

May Nepal Endure as Vajra Nature

Whether this Tara is buried now, in the rubble of this old temple, or somehow survived the quake, there is no doubt in my mind that she now weeps for Nepal.

Mindfulness in Action

by Chögyam Trungpa Edited by Carolyn Rose Gimian Available from Shambhala Publications This comprehensive collection of teachings by Chögyam Trungpa offers both new and experienced meditation students an extraordinary guide to mindfulness practice. The...

Interview with Garap-la

Garap-la, one of Rinpoche's contemporaries in Tibet, tells the story of CTR's escape.

Yangsi

Sometimes we called him Mr. Universe. Dilgo Khyenste Rinpoche was a towering and charismatic epitome of enlightened realization, a teacher to Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche as well as Trungpa Rinpoche's advisor and...

When the Iron Bird Flies

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...

Extraordinary Being, Ordinary Magic

The 16th Karmapa Rigpe Dorje was once asked by a Westerner what one should do if one witnesses a miracle. The Karmapa responded, "Regard it as completely ordinary." The Karmapa himself...

The Four Noble Truths Of Wealth

Layth Matthews is a long-time student of Shambhala and Buddhist dharma, living in Victoria, BC where he served as the Shambhala Centre Director from 2010 - 2013, and works as a...

The Pop-Up Mandala

Reposted from the Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project On that first afternoon, Ferry Beach was still just a conference center. Its buildings sat right at the edge of tall grasses that led to...

The Three Bodies of the Buddha

A Report on Trungpa Rinpoche's Class at CU Boulder, Winter 1971 In the fall of 1970 Bob Lester, then Chairman of the Religious Studies Department at the University of Colorado, invited Chögyam...

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 now. So,...

Vajradhatu Seminary Lake Louise

https://youtu.be/-hUvblQO-nc Thank you to Charels Marrow for putting together this slide show recollection of the 1981 Seminary. For more about all thirteen seminaries conducted by Trungpa Rinpoche, listen to Sarah Coleman's...

1980 Seminary Slideshow from Allan Novick

Thank you to Allan Novick for sending in these images from the 1980 Seminary

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 the summer...

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 ways. But...

When The Iron Bird Flies

I felt honoured and excited but also apprehensive when Walter and Victress asked me if I would review "When the Iron Bird Flies" for the Chronicles. I felt my review would...

Riding on the Wind: The Culture of Windhorse

by Clarke Warren As we enter the year of the wood horse, it seems appropriate to delve into the qualities and significance of the horse in Tibetan culture. Students of the Vidyadhara,...

Video Excerpt from When the Iron Bird Flies

This 5 minute clip from the feature documentary WHEN THE IRON BIRD FLIES: Tibetan Buddhism Arrives in the West follows Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche as he leaves England, lands in the US...

Dreamers and Their Shadows

In the bombed-out wreckage of post-war Tokyo, a safe is discovered that contains several scrolls within a gorgeous antique lacquer box. They chronicle the strange trajectory of the Prince of Ling,...

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 Chok Ling,...

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.

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, vision, and...

The Gradual Path of Raising Buddhist Children

A Conversation with Thinley Norbu Rinpoche

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 Rinpoche at...

Ten Reasons to Read Diamond Highway

Tony bridges a threshold in the growing body of literature on the life of the Vidyadhara and his students.

Living Life Fully

Available from Amazon Finding ourselves imprisoned within the four walls of our minds, and then making the journey beyond these self-imposed limitations is what Bill Karelis's book, Living Life Fully: Finding Sanity...

The Transmission of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye’s Treasury of Pith Instructions

In December 2012, Steve Cline had the opportunity to speak with Lama Sonam Phuntsho about the transmission of the Dam Ngak Dzo. Here is their conversation.

Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma Retreat

By Kim Gilmer and Robbie Dvorkin Devotion and generosity of heart" is a phrase that captures the atmosphere of the Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma retreat, held in Topsham, Maine,...

Jewel Mountain

Jewel Mountain was made in the mid-1990s and is the first in a series of subsequent films on Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

Protecting the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya

Dear Friends, This past summer, a devastating forest fire in the Poudre Canyon near Fort Collins destroyed tens of thousands of acres of forest and many homes in the area. Mercifully, the...

Falling In Love With a Buddha

The bio/memoir of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche deserves at this point its own sub-category of Chögyam Trungpa Studies (hopefully soon to be a department at a major university). Diana Mukpo's Dragon Thunder...

Remembering the Masters

Homage to Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. This film was published by Sogyal Rinpoche and Rigpa in 2009 commemorating the 50th anniversary.

Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s Visit to Halifax, June 2012

The shrine room was packed for the long awaited visit of Tsoknyi Rinpoche to Halifax in June 2012.

Dharma Art—Genuine Art

A letter written on the occasion of the Naropa Institute’s first summer program, July 1974. The term dharma art does not mean art depicting Buddhist symbols or ideas, such as the wheel...

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...

Chronicles Interview with Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche

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

What if they Gave a Party and Everyone Came?

Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Debuts on the World Stage

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 role this...

Necessary Angel

An interview with Henry Schaeffer, by Bill Scheffel Henry Schaeffer studied with Suzuki Roshi before meeting Chögyam Trungpa and becoming the latter teacher's student in 1970. In this video, Henry describes the...

A Chögyam Trungpa Exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Immigration

Entitled, Great Eastern Sun, the Shambhala Community in Nova Scotia, the exhibit presents a uniquely Shambhalian esthetic, in a uniquely Canadian setting.

Video Tour of Great Eastern Sun Exhibit

GREAT EASTERN SUN: The Shambhala Community in Nova Scotia, at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

Enter the Dragon

During his lifetime, we celebrated Chögyam Trungpa's birthday in February. I don't think we ever had an exact date, probably because Tibetans use a lunar calendar. In Born in Tibet, Rinpoche...

The first Shambhala Lineage Festival: A blog

by David Whitehorn Post 1: 7am, Saturday, September 24, 2011 The shore of the Northwest Arm, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada The water of the Northwest Arm is calm and quiet. A thin fog...

What Made Him Tick

I'd been eagerly awaiting a chance to see Crazy Wisdom after it premiered in Santa Barbara in February, so when I heard it was playing at the Buddhist Film Festival in...

Crazy Wisdom

Review by Grant MacLean People who were around Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche for years, day in and day out and often around the clock, confess that they had no idea who he was....

Shambhala Mountain Center Forty Years Ago

by Jim Lowrey "There was a valley with pine trees and rocks that had never been cultivated. Should we buy an empty desolate valley without any facilities? We drove through and the...

84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

The Kangyur, or translated words of the Buddha, includes more than 500 sutras and 1,100 tantras. The Tengyur contains more than 4,000 treatises and commentaries by Indian and Tibetan masters on philosophy,...

Being Brave in Halifax

The Being Brave Transforming Our World retreat took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 5-10, at the Cunard Centre -- the same venue where Joining Heaven and Earth (the Sakyong's...

On Becoming a Teacher

An Interview with Jakusho Kwong-roshi

We’re Here

Qatar Airlines surprised us at the gate with first-class seats. So we arrived in style: row 1, seats A, B and C. Then the wild cab ride to Boudhanath (Boudha)— although...

The Boulder Premiere of “Crazy Wisdom”

As Clay Evans, a staff writer for the Boulder Daily Camera who recently reviewed "Crazy Wisdom" aptly put it, Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche "haunts Boulder."

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 and his...

The Magic of Casa Werma

By Brus and Jean Westby What is the difference between the "magic" of sleight of hand or a trick of the eye and real magic? The first amuses, even astounds, while the...

Children’s Day Album

Of all the cultural traditions initiated by Trungpa Rinpoche, perhaps none have been observed with more enthusiasm and consistency than Children's Day. "Dharma brats" and their parents have been decorating shrines...

Celebrating 900 Years of the Kagyu Lineage

Photograph by James Gritz James Gritz reports, December 11, 2010: We are here in Bodhgaya working from dawn to late at night on the film of the Karmapa and the Kagyu Monlam. One...

Installation of the Vajradhara thangka in The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya

We want to let you all know that the installation of the Vajradhara thangka in the Stupa went very well.

Finding the Escape Route

By Grant MacLean Like many others, on re-reading Born in Tibet, I found that there were spiritual and inspirational layers I'd missed before. But it only slowly dawned on me that the...

News from Surmang

Lyndon Comstock and Jon Ransohoff have returned from Surmang with video, photographs, and news. On this page you will find comments from Karma Senge Rinpoche and Surmang Khenpo about the shedra,...

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 if you...

Gesar Mukpo on Tulku

In many ways, Gesar Mukpo leads an ordinary life. He's working to build a career as a filmmaker, he's had trouble in his marriage, and he struggles to pay his bills....

Celebration at the Court: One Parent’s Perspective

By Michelle Munro When I left work at the Halifax Shambhala Centre Friday, Shambhala Centre Director, Yeshe Fuchs, encouraged me to go to the celebration of the birth of Jetsun Drukmo at...

Celebrating the Return in Colorado

When Yangsi Rinpoche came into the shrine room, we witnessed a kind of scene special to Tibetan Buddhism, where the buddha activity of the previous teacher becomes identified with another, subsequent person.

Some Moments in Vancouver

In his humble way, he listed the many wonderful qualities of the previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche while declaring he himself had none of those qualities.

Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche at Phuntsok Choling in Ward

By Joanna Bolek AKA: Joanne Fagan Attending the "Celebrating the Return" event was an opportunity to soak in the dharma which my husband and I rarely get, living as we do with...

Setting Lobsters Free

During the Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche's tour to Vermont an appeal went out for people to donate funds to release lobsters. As I found out, releasing lives is a practice that Dzigar...

Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche in Boulder

By Roland Cohen Boulder Colorado, Friday, August 13, 2010: Organized and hosted by Dzigar Kongtrul, Rinpoche and his sangha (Mangala Shri Bhuti), the ceremony was held at the old Boulder Theater on...

Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche at Shambhala Mountain Center

I just spent a magical afternoon with Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche. He came to Shambhala Mountain Center to see the Great Stupa and we hosted him in classic Vajradhatu style. The...

Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche in NYC

by Barbara Elizabeth Stewart Thursday evening, August 12 The Yangsi has left New York, left Vermont and is now alighting in Boulder. His New York visit was short but the Pema Tse Nyingtik—long-life—abhisheka,...

Opening of Thrangu Monastery Canada

Thrangu Monastery in Richmond, British Columbia, hailed as the first traditional Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Canada, officially opened on Sunday, July 25. The centerpiece of the new shrine room is a...

Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche in France

The photos below are from Laura Weiss who writes: "Greetings from France, Here are a few photos from the trip so far. Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche has captured our hearts with his...

Western Thangka Painting: An interview with Jack Niland

"If you want to rule a kingdom, you have to have a kingdom, and a kingdom is a culture, and a culture is art." - CTR 1971

Karme Chöling Turns 40

By Tom Bell May 28, 2010 Today is a day of preparation at Karme Chöling—getting ready for the Celebration. The place looks really beautiful and the feeling is good. Staff are working and...