Baltimore Shambhala Meditation Center
“An enlightened society would be based upon the most deep, simple, and natural principle,” says Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the living lineage holder of the Shambhala teachings and author of The Shambhala Principle. “That society would have an unequivocal and deep sense of confidence. This confidence would not be based upon competitiveness or arrogance, nor would it be tinged with paranoia. The society would be awake, and enriched by the most inexhaustible principle.”
The Baltimore Shambhala Meditation Center is an institution in Baltimore that teaches Shambhala Buddhism. Shambhala Buddhism was founded by Chogyam Trungpa and expanded into the larger world by his son, Jampal Trinley Dradul. Shambhala derives its teachings and philosophies from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, specifically the Kagyu and Nyingma schools of thought. The Mahayana tradition is the core of Shambhala, as practitioners are influenced to expand their good will and kindness to all members of society. The title of Sakyong, meaning “Earth Protector”, was passed down from Chogyam Trungpa to Jampal Trinley Dradul, giving Jampal the title of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Rinpoche meaning “precious one” or a beloved teacher.
The term Shambhala comes from the ancient mythical Kingdom of Shambhala. This ancient kingdom doesn’t actually exist but it should technically be located somewhere in the Tibetan mountains, pointing at Shambhala’s Tibetan tradition. Chogyam Trungpa had visions of this mythical kingdom and decided to spread his message of universal goodness and meditation.
Chogyam Trungpa, the founder of Shambhala Buddhism, was born in Tibet and lived from 1939-1987. He lived a very short life and likely died of heavy alcohol use combined with other health problems. He originally passed the Sakyong lineage down to Thomas Rich, or Ozel Tendzin, but after various sexual misconduct allegations and scandals, the lineage was passed down to Trungpa’s son.
“We humans have come to a crossroads in our history: we can either destroy the world or create a good future. Even climatically, the balance is shifting to dramatically change the face of the earth. Our ecosystem is in a precarious and fragile state, and our future depends on our actions as a species. At this time, many of us feel overwhelmed by the day-to-day. We don’t have the time or energy to contemplate personal or social principles, and we may feel helpless in terms of shifting the future. How we move forward cannot depend on one spiritual tradition, economy, or political system, but rather should depend on who we feel we are, both personally and socially. What is the nature of humans and our society? In this light, human nature is the most important global issue.” – Sakyong Mipham
The basic philosophy of Shambhala Buddhism is that there is an inherent goodness in everyone. To attain this good spirit, we must learn and meditate, which will in turn help you to become a kind, radiant spirit to everyone else. The kingdom of Shambhala had a society that was fully enlightened through everyone realizing their inner kindness. The tantra the Shambhala follows is the Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) and this tantra talks about an enlightened society. This ability to achieve an enlightened society is what Chogyam Trungpa was trying to preach, especially during a time when humanity was in such turmoil during his lifetime. This philosophy stems from aspects of the Zen tradition Trungpa encountered during his life.
The main practice of Shambhala Buddhism is mindfulness, or insight meditation. This allows us to be aware and present, along with bringing positive qualities that would improve our lives and the ones around us. In an interview with Allen Greg, Sakyong Rinpoche describes meditations and its benefits. He says that we are always in a constant state of meditation, we just happen to meditate on things that anger us or make us suffer. Instead if we focus on the mind and finding ourselves, we can lead the better life that is inherent in all of us. Perhaps you could even call this person a bodhisattva.
A unique trait about Shambhala Buddhism is the Dorje Kasung. They are a group of Shambhala disciples who are trained in a military model. They don’t practice or teach violence, but all of the actions and clothing are in a military fashion–military uniforms, ranks, training, etc. Their motto is “Victory over War” which points to their aversion of violence and fighting. The war that they want to achieve victory over are the three poisons that Buddha proclaimed: passion, aggression, and ignorance.
“Although the Shambhala tradition is founded on the sanity and gentleness of the Buddhist tradition, at the same time, it has its own independent basis, which is directly cultivating who and what we are as human beings. With the great problems facing human society, it seems increasingly important to find simple and non-sectarian ways to work with ourselves and to share our understanding with others. The Shambhala teachings or “Shambhala vision” as this approach is more broadly called, is one such attempt to encourage a wholesome existence for ourselves and others.” – Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, author of Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior.
Shambhala Buddhism, like many other forms of Buddhism, has adapted to the contemporary environment and times that it currently exists in. Both Trungpa and Sakyong Mipham recognize that the modern world has been undergoing a watershed moment in the past century or so and that the world is still changing at a rapid pace. Amongst all the turmoil and violence that the world has seen, especially during Trungpa’s life, Shambhala Buddhism charges everyone to cultivate their inner human qualities of goodness and to spread these qualities in trying times. This can include meditation, but it also pertains to everyday actions and how situations are approached.
Another way that Shambhala Buddhism has adapted to its environment is that Chogyam Trungpa was heavily influenced by Shunryu Suzuki, a Japanese Zen Buddhist accredited with introducing dharmic teachings to the United States. This is evident in some of the practices that Shambhala Buddhists partake in to help cultivate their inner kind nature. Practices such as tea ceremonies and kyudo (Japanese archery) show that Shambhala Buddhism is friendly to various schools of thought and will even absorb certain aspects of a culture it comes across.
There are several ways to cultivate your inner kindness, and the Baltimore Shambhala Center offers unique ways to keep yourself mindful and meditated. There are activities such as flower arranging and special photography methods that are designed to keep you mindful. This is in contrast to more traditional Buddhist practices which emphasize non-action.
The Baltimore Shambhala Meditation Center offers the same services that all over 200 of the same centers across the United States do. These meditation practices and classes entail Buddhist sutras, tantras, meditation techniques, and educational material to help everyone reveal their inner enlightened nature. There is also a global Shambhala community with Shambhala Buddhist texts translated into various languages and meditation centers across the world. The philosophies of Shambhala allow all people to be able to unlock their inherent kindness through mindfulness, meditation, and learning regardless of what region or culture they are in. They are all linked by the Sakyong lineage and teachings.