In 1976, Jackie Muse founded a small dharma study group in her home. That group has grown and expanded into what is today known as the Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta. Located in Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta, the Center includes: two old houses, renovated to be a community center, office space, and also space for social gatherings, a shrine room that can seat 2,000 people, gardens, and a rental/retreat house called the Green Dragon. It’s membership seems to be largely made up of white, English-speaking adults. However, the age range has grown much since it’s inception, originally comprised of people ages 30-50, there is now a growing population of young adults, college students, and families. The Center belongs to the larger organization, Shambhala International, which supports meditation centers all over the world.
Shambhala International teaches Shambhala Training, which was created by Chogyam Trungpa. Chogyam Trungpa (1939-1987) was born in Tibet and was considered an incarnate lama. He was a lineage holder in both the Kaygu and Nyingma traditions and was installed as supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries at a relatively young age. However, in 1959 he followed the Dalai Lama into exile, leaving Tibet and the Chinese invasion behind to travel to India. Over the next few years, he began to study English and in 1963 Trungpa enrolled at Oxford to study comparative religion. Four years later, in 1967, he moved up to Scotland to take over a meditation center, which, upon his arrival, was transitioned into a temple, the first Tibetan Buddhist temples in the West. It was during his time in Scotland that Chogyam Trungpa gave up his monastic vows and began working as a lay teacher.
Chogyam Trungpa is viewed as a very controversial figure in Buddhism. Many of the things that made him so controversial led to his leaving the monastic life. He was a heavy drinker, smoked tobacco, and even slept with his students. In fact, at 21 years old he married one of his 16 year old, Englishwoman students. Believed to be the culminating factor in his denunciation of his vows, in 1969 Trungpa was involved in a car accident due to his blacking out at the wheel from driving while intoxicated, leaving him partially paralyzed on his left side. However, if you asked Trungpa why he renounced his monastic vows, he’d probably tell you that “the dharma needs to be free of cultural trappings to take root.”
In 1970, Chogyam Trungpa came to the United States and, in that same year, he established meditation and study centers in both Vermont and Colorado. These centers would become the first of the now more than 100 meditation centers that are part of Shambhala International. Trungpa also began conducting various “seminaries.” These were three month residential programs in which he presented Buddhist teachings in an intense, meditative environment. At these “seminaries” he was not only teaching his students about meditation, he was training them to be teachers themselves.
Having experienced the downfall of his own culture and homeland, and having seen the turmoil and chaos of the world in both the United Kingdom and the United States, Chogyam Trungpa entered into a period of deep meditation and reflection. It was during this time that he discovered the Shambhala Treasure or experienced the Shambhala Vision. Shambhala was a mythical, ancient kingdom, renowned for the wisdom and compassion of all its inhabitant. These qualities, according to the legend of Shambhala, were the result of having received special teachings from the Buddha on enlightened society. Buddha’s teachings have been preserved and transmitted over the centuries through a hereditary line of “Sakyongs,” which translates to “Earth Protector.” Chogyam Trungpa is considered to be the first Sakyong in modern times, and his son is the current lineage holder, Sakyong Mipham.
In describing the need for Shambhala teachings in the modern world, Chogyam Trungpa said,
“The world is in absolute turmoil. The Shambhala teachings are founded on the premise that there is basic human wisdom that can help solve the world’s problems… Shambhala vision teaches that, in the face of the world’s problems, we can be heroic and kind at the same time.”
This is the core of Shambhala: that humanity is at a crossroads and the way forward is paved with global respect, human dignity, and inherent worthiness. Acting on these beliefs will lead to the enlightened society that the kingdom of Shambhala was, and which Shambhala Training actively seeks. Although rooted in Buddhism, Shambhala is often considered secular because of the belief that enlightened society is reachable by people of all faiths.
The Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta follows these teachings of Shambhala Vision. They believe in what they refer to as a “Culture of Kindness.” This Culture of Kindness is rooted in the basic goodness that all humans possess and a belief that kindness is natural and should be exercised to be healthy. The way to practice and encourage this state of natural health is through meditation. Meditation is the key to creating self-awareness and, eventually, an enlightened society. The potential is there at any moment, we just need to be aware and mindful.
According to their website,
“Mindfulness/awareness meditation is the foundation of all that we do at the Shambhala Meditation Center. This ancient practice of self-discovery is rooted in the simple but revolutionary premise that every human being has the ability to cultivate the mind’s inherent stability, clarity, and strength in order to be more awake and to develop the compassion and insight necessary to care for oneself and the world genuinely.”
Through disciplined meditation, practitioners are able to “wake up on the spot” and become an enlightened member of society. Once enlightened, that radiates to other beings and encourages them towards awareness and enlightenment as well.
Meditation instruction is offered at many different levels at the Center. For those wanting to try out the Shambhala Vision, the Center offers free Open Houses each week on Sunday mornings and Tuesday evenings. These Open House programs include an hour of Initial Meditation Instruction, followed by a dharma talk. Many of the regular, more practiced members of the community still come out as a way to support their home practice and also be available to welcome newcomers. The Sunday Open House also offers free childcare so that parents can attend without having to worry about their children.
Once you’ve attended an event that includes Initial Meditation Instruction, members of the public are free to take part in Open Public Sitting Hours. These occur weekly, Monday-Friday 7-8am, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings 7-8pm, and Sunday mornings 9-11:30am.
Past these Open Public Sitting Hours/Open Houses, classes and events often have a fee associated with them. The Center is financially supported through donations and member dues. However, their Generosity Policy allows for both “pay what you can afford” pricing for those with fewer financial means, and “patron pricing” for those who are able to pay more than asked and thus help cover the costs for those who are unable to pay full price. The Generosity Policy is intended to “invite and sustain a diverse community and make our offerings available to all who wish to participate.” Another way to support the Center in generosity is by volunteering in various roles, including: landscaping, laundry, cleaning, data-entry, etc.
The major programming after the entry-level is the Way of Shambhala training. This is an intense and extensive course “in authentic meditation practices and wisdom teachings,” rooted in both Shambhala and Vajrayana Buddhism. The course emphasizes the development of confidence, good humor, genuineness, and personal dignity. It can be broken down into five elements: the Everyday Life series of classes, the Shambhala Training series of weekend retreats, the Rigden Unconditional Confidence weekend retreat, the Basic Goodness series of classes, and the Sacred Path series of weekend retreats. All of these classes and retreats are held with the intent of developing attitudes of wanting to serve the world and create peace.
The Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta is very community oriented and is continually working to build greater and more diverse community. They hold frequent events that draw together all the practitioners, no matter their spiritual stage. These events are meant to encourage a sense of belonging and allow for thoughtful interactions that reflect the enlightened society ideal. Their next big, community event is Children’s Day on December 20th. It is to be a celebration of the winter solstice and everyone is invited! The Center is also active in the larger Shambhala community, as well as the Buddhist community. Their large meditation hall has allowed them to host regional gatherings with other Shambhala centers and also events celebrating all Buddhist groups. They also partner with Compassionate Atlanta, which is a grassroots movement involving all kinds of partners, religious or not, in an effort to raise awareness for the benefits of compassionate action. Compassionate Atlanta’s vision for a city that is uncomfortable with poverty, homelessness, hunger, oppression, and inequality is easily reconcilable with Shambhala’s vision for an enlightened society.
The Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta seems to be a thriving center for meditation training and practice. Their openness to people of all faiths creates a diverse community that is still able to rally around a singular purpose: to cultivate kindness and an enlightened society. Although rooted in Vajrayana as well as Shambhala teachings, the majority of programming seems to draw from the Shambhala way. Overall, they seem to offer a more experiential than scholarly path.
References
http://atlanta.shambhala.org/
http://www.pluralism.org/profiles/view/70496
http://www.strippingthegurus.com/stgsamplechapters/trungpa.html