The Boulder Shambhala Center
Report by Noor Rahman
Shambhala Tradition
Shambhala is a global community of people inspired by the principle that every human being has a fundamental nature of basic goodness.Currently it has 200+ communities around the world in 50+ countries. The vision of the Shambhala tradition is to take that innate goodness in humans and radiate it to your friends, family, community, and society. This is to counter the age of greed and aggression we are currently going through and to create an “enlightened society”. To achieve this goal, the tradition uses meditation, study, and contemplative practice as its main forms of practice. The founder of the Shambhala tradition is Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche who was a Buddhist who was part of both the Kagyu and Nyingma schools of Buddhism. Trungpa had to flee from Tibet when Communist China took over; this led him to India. From there he traveled to
Europe where he studied ikebana and meditation. Trungpa brought his ideas to North America in the 1970s where he spread them throughout the nation and created the Shambhala tradition of meditation. Trungpa designed Shambhala to be a completely secular practice rather than one tied to Buddhism. He also tied contemplative practices such as kyudo (archery), ikebana (flower arranging), and calligraphy to his teachings beyond the Buddhist canon. Trungpa died in 1987 which led to his eldest son, Osel Rangdrol Mukpo, to take over as leader of the Shambhala lineage, which is passed down from father to son. When Mukpo was installed as the Sakyong, the leader of both the secular and spiritual aspects of Shambhala, he was recognized by Penor Rinpoche, the then head of the Nyingma lineage, as the incarnation of Ju Mipham, a 19th century meditation master. So the new leader of the Shambhala tradition is now known as Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (Left) and Chögyam Trungpa (Right)
The Center
The Boulder Shambhala Center was founded in 1970 by Chögyam Trungpa the founder of the Shambhala tradition, and was originally called Karma Dzong. A Dzong is a fortress and is associated with a capital or locus of power in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. “The dzongs of the mandala are places that introduce the world to Shambhala. Inside a dzong, one experiences a sacred and uplifted environment that allows the mind to open and relax….Enlightened society is the vision of Shambhala. A dzong is a place where that society can be experienced.” The center, like all Shambhala centers, is a not-for-profit institution run on the donations of members and other sources and is part of the Shambhala international umbrella. There is a sister center relatively close the the Boulder center called the Rocky Mountain Shambhala Center.
Programs
The Boulder Center offers teaching from kids ages 5-12 in Bodhi school to anyone else in their other classes. The center offers free weekly meditation classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday where anyone can stop in. Beyond these classes there are programs for more advanced members of the tradition as well as a Way of Shambhala program. The Way of Shambhala program is for those who are serious about pursuing the Shambhala tradition. The program builds on itself with five 5 class courses followed by weekend retreats, each level requiring the previous one as a prerequisite. It is important to note that the program is open to anyone from any religious background including none at all. The program concentrates on finding joy in everyday life and being able to face reality with no fear but as it comes to us. It attempts to teach the participants that they can see reality for what it is and be able to move past it instead of trying to avoid what is happening. In the same vein as this, the Boulder center also offers the Heart of Recovery program for recovering addicts. This program meets once a week and is for anyone who is recovering from an addiction as well as anyone interested in the relationship between recovery and meditation.This fits the theme of being able to face reality as it comes at you rather than trying to hide from it by using substances to alter your state of mind.
Community and Events
The Boulder community seems to be taught by Caucasian rather than Asian teachers based on name alone (excepting the Sakyong). This does not mean that the community is not diverse but rather that it has done what it was supposed to and molded/adapted to its surroundings in order to spread the tradition.The events the Center has are based around the change of seasons. The days that the events are held are called nyida days from the Tibetan word for sun. The four events that they hold each year are: Shambhala Day on the lunar New Year, Midsummer’s Day on the summer solstice, the Harvest of Peace on the autumn equinox, and Children’s Day on the winter solstice. Like most things in the Shambhala tradition, these events are open to the public and people are encouraged to come and have fun. Shambhala Day and the Harvest of Peace include listening to an address from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s eldest son and current Rinpoche, followed by festivities. Midsummer’s Day is more focused on the environment and is done with outdoor activities as well as lhasang, an offering of juniper smoke, “to purify the environment and invoke awakened energy.” Children’s Day is, as the name suggests, focused on celebrating and showing appreciation for our children. There is also Milarepa Day, a less open celebration that involves a full day of practice and chanting.
Dorje Kasung
The Dorje Kasung is an organization within Shambhala modeled on the ancient tradition of dharma protectors and drala warriors. Its members are trained in protecting the space in which practitioners are able to hear and practice the teachings.This takes shape in several different ways including making sure meditation sessions remain uninterrupted or by doing crowd control at one of the more public events. Dorje Kasung members can specialize in building security, personal security, or crisis intervention. The idea of the Dorje Kasung is to work with reality and try to find non-aggressive solutions to conflicts. The Dorje Kasung group in Boulder is the Chrysanthemum Regiment.
Practice
As previously stated Shambhala focuses on meditation, study, and contemplative activities for its practice. The meditation practice is the key to the Shambhala tradition, in the sense that it is all about strengthening yourself to be able to face reality and radiate your own power to those around you. “The teachings of Shambhala emphasize the inherent wakefulness that potentially can be recognized in every situation or state of mind. Through discipline, gentleness and a sense of humor, the practitioner is invited to let go of conflicting emotions and wake up on the spot.” The tradition stresses two things: anyone can learn meditation with enough practice and study is required along with the meditation classes to truly master the art. “Meditation practice is enhanced by study. In this way, practice and study are like two wings of a bird – you need both in order to soar.” Meditation combined with retreats are the two ways that Shambhala is practiced at the Boulder Shambhala Center. That being said, there are more ways of practicing Shambhala, namely contemplative activities/arts. This includes the arts studied by Trungpa: Kyudo, Ikebana, and Miksang Photography. The goal of these is the same as with meditation just through different means. For example Kyudo is “the way of the bow”; it is archery but not for sport. It is more about becoming one with the self and purifying one’s heart. Ikebana is the study and practice of flower arranging which is simply another way of practicing meditation without practicing traditionally.