“The history and legend of Shambhala is based upon a great community that was able to reach a higher level of consciousness. This community could occur because its individual members participated fully in creating a culture of kindness, generosity, and courage.” – Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
The Pioneer Valley Shambhala Center is located in Northampton, Massachusetts, which is a part of the Pioneer Valley Shambhala that serves the Western Massachusetts region. Areas include Springfield, Amherst, Holyoke and many others. It has been in the Pioneer Valley since the late 1970s; it consists of over sixty members and is experiencing exponential growth as Shambhala practice becomes more popular around the globe. Only one of over 220 centers around the world, it provides Buddhist meditation, community, retreats, classes, and events that celebrate human compassion. This center includes a diverse community, ranging from senior teachers who have practed the Shambhala way for years to newcomers eager to learn. Shambhala was founded by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who believed that human goodness is innate and can be cultivated through meditation and other Shambhala practices to promote positive social transformation. The current director of these centers is Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, who preserves the Shambhala teachings and continues to fulfill Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s vision of a better world. Programs are held for individuals of all religions, or no religion at all, that focus on self-reflection through meditation and teachings. Advanced programs, such as Sky Lake Advanced Programs, are also offered here for individuals who are interested in the more intricate aspects of the Shambhala practice.
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on Changing our Attitude
History of Shambala Wisdom and Compassion, Ancient and Modern
The legendary ancient kingdom of Shambhala was well known for its wisdom and compassion, qualities that were a result of unique teachings passed down from the Buddha himself to King Dawa Sangpo, the first ruler of Shambhala. The hereditary lineage of teachers who preserve these instructions are called “Sakyong,” meaning “Earth Protector.” Currently, the holder of these teachings is Sakyong, Jampal Trinley Dradul who was enthroned as Sakyong in 1995. Born in 1962, he is unique because he bridges the Asian and Western worlds. In the West he serves as the spiritual director of Shambhala centers, while in the Asian world, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is greatly believed in the Tibetan tradition to be the incarnation of Mipham the Great, one of the most praised meditation masters of Tibet. The current Sakyong stresses the importance of global self-reflection about our core principles, as humanity is at a crossroads. Enlightenment in society is burdened by our current greed and aggression towards each other. In order to be an enlightened society, we must trust and believe in the value and importance of our society as we move forward.
The first Sakyong in the modern world was Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Born in 1939 he was the eleventh descendent in the line of Trungpa tulkus, important teachers of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. This lineage is one of four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Before escaping Tibet in 1959, he held multiple meditative lineages and was the leader of the Surmang monasteries in eastern Tibet. Having experience the downfall of his own culture in Tibet, Chogyam Trungpa delved into meditation and self-reflection and realized that the ancient teachings of Shambhala were more important than ever. As a result in the 1970s, he presented a societal vision solely focused on secular values that stressed global respect for human dignity in order to create a better world for the future. This Shambhala vision can cure the crisis by meeting worldly challenges with generosity and compassion. It also shows a possibility of creating a shift in human behavior from greed for materialism to kindness to one another. After Chogyam Trungpa’s death in 1987, he passed down his teachings and vision to his son Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
The Shambhala Path
At these centers, students begin and continue their Shambhala path with both Buddhist and Shambala meditation. At practice and retreat centers, individuals can deepen meditation through longer and more advanced programs, as well as participating in intensive study. This path is specifically designed to strengthen and sustain meditation and to clarify the meanings of certain teachings. As learned in class, the practice of mindfulness is stressed in the Shambhala path. This allows individuals to maintain a family and occupation without having to renounce their lives. There is a Shambhala monastic order, however, for anyone to join. This provides another level of flexibility along with accepting individuals of various religions.
A typical program outline for the Shambhala way includes the Everyday Life Series, Shambhala Training Series, Rigden: Unconditional Confidence Retreat, Basic Goodness Series, and the Sacred Path Series. Courses are designed to be interactive, communal, and create an intimate learning environment among students and teacher. Similar to most college courses, these courses are meant to be taken sequentially, with certain prerequisites for the more advanced courses and meditation retreats.
Certain students can join simplicity retreats to further deepen their experience of meditation. These retreats are called Weekthun (week session) and Dathun (Tibetan for “Month session”). The Weekthun provides a powerful introduction to mindful-awareness meditation, which is open to anyone. To deepen their experience even further, students participate in Dathun, where they meditate in a group and follow a schedule to optimize their practice, which includes talks, study and a short work period. Following Dathun, students are able to do a solitary retreat. Although a shrine is present to represent the Buddist nature, individuals do not need to be followers of the religion; it is meant to arouse natural wakefulness and compassion. This is a great feature of the Shambhala practice that has attracted many followers.
A specific group retreat called the Enlightened Society Assembly emphasizes the Shambhala vision in that it focuses on how humans can enlighten society at any instant, whether it be at home, in a city or a nation. Students participate in a practice called the Shambhala Sadhana aimed to expand the strength and warmth of their hearts. This group practice illustrates the crossroad of humanity and how to approach it through realization of inherent goodness of oneself, others, society and the phenomenal world. Students are able to make a personal commitment by taking the Enlightened Society Vow.
Shambhala on a World Scale
Due to its great influence on all facets of life, Shambhala practice is revered by individuals around the globe. Over the past centuries, these teachings have been preserved and also translated into more than a dozen major languages through books, live teachings and countless other mediums. Currently there are over 200 Shambhala communities that work together to sustain dignity and sanity in an ever-increasing problematic world.
One global project of the Shambhala practice in particular is called the Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project. This project is aimed to preserve and promote the dharma legacy of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche by continually teaching the dharmas he instilled upon the Shambhala world. Its goal is to provide more projects and programs to present and future generations as well as creating a financial base to sustain this mission. This project is supported by the Shambhala Trust and the Sakyong Foundation, which pool resources, inspiration, and other helpful means to sustain the Shambhala practice for centuries to come. Other funds, trusts, and foundations around the world also participate to sustain Shambhala practice such as the Konchok Foundation, Gesar Fund, and Surmang Foundation.
Current Events
After the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France, Mingyur Rinpoche from the Tergar Learning Community relayed a message regarding plans of actions. The best way to help others in dire times such as this is to improve our own Shambhala practice and our charity for others. We can help personally by incurring loving-kindness and compassion to help the victims who suffered from the tragedy. Right motivation is imperative to do this, so practice hard to help those in pain and other beings suffering from worldly problems. On the other side, we can help others by physically aiding them. Although we cannot help everyone, we can begin with family and friends who were affected by the attacks. Donating to the victims is a viable option as well as sending emotional support. Through the domino effect of compassion, our positive influence can in turn influence others to do the same, which eventually leads to an ideal Shambhala vision of shifting human behavior from evil to good.
Even though Chogyam Trungpa envisioned this great Shambhala practice in the modern world, the ancient ways are still very relevant in teaching humanity the basic inherent good of oneself. As much tragedy as there is on Earth that is being highlighted by the media, there is way more good being done by individuals. This practice is paving the way for a loving-kindness and compassionate future, which is one giant step for humanity and society.
Works Cited
“Pioneer Valley Shambhala Center.” Pioneer Valley Shambhala Center. N.p.n.n.d. Web.
30 Nov. 2015.
“Shambhala International.” Shambhala: Making Enlightened Society Possible. N.p.n.n.d.
Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
“Sky Lake Retreat Center.” Sky Lake: A Shambhala Meditation & Retreat Center.
N.p.n.n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
“A Message from Mingyur Rinpoche About the Recent Terrorist Attacks.” Tergar Learning
Community. N.p.n.n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.