Shambhala Mountain Center Blog

Susan Piver, who this month published her latest book The Wisdom of a Broken Heart was recently interviewed on CBS Early Show. She will be teaching a workshop, Wisdom of a Broken Heart,  at Shambhala Mountain Center on January 22-24th.

Today meditation has to be practiced collectively as a family, a city, a nation, and a community of nations.     – Thich Nhat Hanh

Folks are initially attracted to Shambhala Mountain Center for the pristine land and the opportunity to meet and study with the many brilliant teachers from various traditions thatvisit each year. What I personally find most surprisingly delightful about every program that I have attended–and there have been many–is that participants invariably create a heartfelt, caring community. Whether it be an introductory meditation program, a Qigong intensive, or the women’s annual cancer retreat, I am always touched by the kindness and care everyone has for each other — even though many of us just met.

In Buddhism, we talk about taking refuge in the three jewels: the Buddha (teacher), the Dharma (teachings), and the Sangha (community). These three jewels are the foundation for all forms of Buddhism. In the West, we have a tendency to focus on the teacher or particular teachings, often neglecting the third jewel that allows these first two to flourish. As Thich Nhat Hanh predicts:

“The next Buddha may not take the form of an individual. In the twenty-first century the Sangha may be the body of the Buddha. We have the power to bring the next Buddha into existence in this century.”

As we begin not only a new year but a new decade, we have the power to create an enlightened society. And it is only through compassion and loving-kindness that we will survive the immense challenges that now threaten our planet.

We invite you visit Shambhala Mountain Center and experience the magic of the land, the profundity of practicing with our incredible teachers, but most importantly, the preciousness of sharing this journey with one another.

Also, if you have been to Shambhala Mountain Center, please share your story. We’d love to hear from you.

Brian Spielmann

Tina Patterson, who runs our international travel program, is currently in Iran working on our 2010 Iran trip. Here’s her report.

I have been traveling in Iran for 4 days now and I thought some of you might enjoy reading about what I have experienced so far:

Sunday. Landed in Tehran at 2.00 a.m. Immigration and customs goes very quickly. Nobody is allowed to bring alcohol into the country. Women must wear head scarves but the dress code in Tehran is very liberal. Women wear jeans and boots and heels but he whole body is covered (no t-shirts or short skirts!)

Tehran is a city of 15 million people and aside from the beautiful museums there is not much to see in Tehran. However, I was struck by how modern and progressive the city looked. It is a clean city (except for the air) and surprisingly, the architecture is very Western looking. But the most amazing part of Tehran are the mountains that ascend from the city everywhere you look.

We visited the Shah’s old palace which is located in Northern Tehran which happens to be the most affluent part of town. The cost for an apartment in Northern Tehran is about $ 500 per square foot. And if one wants to buy one you have to pay cash. There are no mortgages in Iran. As for owning a car, it costs about $ 8 to fill up a tank. Our guide told us that someone in Tehran just brought in 250 Porsches from Germany which will be sold here within a week or two. Iran is the source of the second largest oil reserve in the world but has only the capability to refine 35%. This means they end up importing gasoline mostly form India.

Although Iran has all that oil money, the infrastructure and the tourist facilities and nowhere near as developed as they are for example in Dubai or the Emirates. Although the money is there, the government does not allow for it to be used for private investments in hotels for example or up scale restaurants.

We don’t see a lot of poverty here though. The only beggars so far were illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The best thing about Tehran was a visit to one of the tea houses where people go to socialize, have tea and smoke water pipes. Women are allowed inside. As a matter of fact, women in Iran enjoy pretty much the same rights as men. Women own businesses, there a 9 women representatives in Parliament, women go to college etc. Only the clergy positions are strictly reserved for men. Marriage is often still arranged but less and less so. When a couple gets married the husband and wife agree on the dowry i.e. the value of the dowry. If the husband divorces the wife he has to pay the dowry (and only then does he have to pay it) plus alimony. Divorce is allowed by both parties so it’s not as strict as we think!

Our guide is fantastic! He lived in the U.S. for over 12 years and went to college in the U.S. He has a Masters in Business and he is incredibly knowledgeable. His English is perfect and he has taught us more in 4 days about the history of civilization in general, Islam and the politics in Iran than I will ever be able to remember. He is very liberal, speaks his mind about the political situation which he opposes (he watches CNN, BBC.. he even gets FOX TV which he does not think much of and VH1… he is totally up on today’s music scene!) He knows about everything… history, culture, politics, social issues. I hope some of you will have the pleasure of traveling with him and getting to know him. He is an exceptional guide with a great personality.

Many of the people here are reformists, and some are monarchists and do not  agree with the political structure currently in place and… not everyone is religious! Our guide, our driver, many of the people at the hotel they do not pray three times a day and they do not go to mosques! (Shiites pray 3 times a day, Sunis 5 times.. there are no Sunis in Iran). As for their views when it comes to the West, our guide told me that many Iranians, the majority, are looking for a way to establish a harmonious relationship with the West and with Israel and yes, they like America and Americans! At the moment, they feel completely isolated from the rest of the world. By the way, Iran has the second highest population of Jewish people in the Middle East after Israel and the Jewish population is even represented by two people in the parliament.

We were lucky to have been here during the last few days of Ashura, the holiest day of the year in the Shiite religion. During this time people honor the martyrdom of the third saint Hussein. People walk through the streets and flagellate themselves with small chains. This tradition dates back for thousands of years.

On the second day we flew to Kerman where one of the most important Sufi saints is buried. From there we set out on an amazing drive across the desert to Yazd. Iran is surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges and you can see them in the distance as you drive through the desert. Many of the mountains are snowcapped. It’s amazing to think that we are in the cradle of civilization. Mesopotamia is only a few hundred miles away and so, by the way, is the Afghan border.

Yazd is home to the Zoroastrians. This is an ancient religion which honors and worships fire (Thus spoke Zarathustra) and used to have sky burials (just like the Tibetans). The fire in the Zoroastrian temple is said to have been kept lit since the 1600s. Yazd is also home to one of the most beautiful and well preserved Friday Mosques in the country with incredibly intricate and magnificent tile work.

Today, New Year’s Eve we are driving for 6 hours to Shiraz with a stop at the ancient site of Pasargadae. Nothing but desert as far as the eye can see. Our guide is giving a talk on the evolution of civilization in this part of the world and on the evolution and origins of writing and settlements. The first signs of civilization in Iran date back 8000 years!! Yesterday we learned about the old Silk Road as we drove by a caravanserai in the desert which once was used to provide food and shelter for the merchants and their camels. The Silk Road began in China on to Mongolia, on to the steppes of Transoxiana (Northeast of Iran), then down to Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan then Turkmenistan, then to Isfahan and Shiraz in Iran, then to Baghdad, then to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Ethiopia. Fascinating!

I’m sure everyone is interested about the immediate political situation but I don’t feel comfortable addressing that on the internet. All I can say is that many of the “myths” created by Western TV and news have been shattered within a few days of being here and interacting with the local people who have been nothing but friendly, curious and welcoming. I feel completely safe here.

When we visited the site of Pasargadae today, which marks the beginning of the Persian history, our guide said that if all the Iranian people understood and appreciated their long and rich cultural heritage, there would have never been a revolution in Iran!

On that note I leave you all with a Happy New Year’s wish from one of the most fascinating places in the world! Enjoy the photos!

Tina Patterson is the founder of Authentic Asia and has been leading trips to Asia, Europe and the Middle East for the past twenty years. Besides Iran, 2010 upcoming trips include Bhutan, Nepal, Mustang, Tibet & Nepal, and India & Sikkim.

Last month, I attended a traditional Chinese Qigong intensive with Qigong master Eva Wong. As Eva demonstrated a movement for the class, I found myself trivializing part of the movement and not giving it my full attention; I had practiced this particular movement many, many times.

But as I watched her gestures flow into one another, I realized how mistaken I was—there was nothing insignificant about it. Opening my mind, I saw how each aspect of the movement was sacred, how each movement was interdependent upon the other.

How often is it in life that we drop out of the present moment, skipping forward, attempting to experience pleasure and avoid pain? Hollywood captured it well in Adam Sandler’s movie Click. And how often do we recognize these habitual impulses, let them be, and choose instead to remain in the freshness of the here and now, not be seduced by the dream of hope and fear?

The Shambhala teachings remind us that when we abandon our hopes and fears—our concepts of the world—we experience basic goodness, and see the world exactly as it is. As Pema Chödrön puts it:

We can stop and take three conscious breaths, and the world has a chance to open up to us in that gap. We can allow space into our state of mind.

This takes discipline and practice. But what better time to engage in this practice than right now, as winter approaches? Opening to the seemingly cold and dead phenomenal world, we find that, in reality, the present moment is totally alive—each moment has a gift to offer us.

We invite you to schedule some time at Shambhala Mountain Center to deepen your practice of returning to the present moment, whether your flavor of practice be meditation, yoga, an ancient wisdom tradition, or simply being in nature through self-directed retreat.

How precious this time is.

Brian

The heart that is broken has been broken open.

- Susan Piver

Practically everyone has an opinion about the healthcare debate currently raging in Congress. Undeniably, it’s a heated issue. But despite all the discussion, it seems that one critical element is consistently overlooked: compassion.

Dr. David R. Shlim, who will be teaching our upcoming Medicine & Compassion retreat, has devoted his life’s work to making compassion a more prevalent focus of Western medicine. In the introduction to Medicine & Compassion: A Tibetan Lama’s Guidance for Caregivers, Dr. Shlim explains:

Read the rest of this entry »

Sakyong expresses support for Ministries and Departments of Peace The Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, has expressed his support for the worldwide initiative to urge countries to establish ministries and departments of peace. He issued the following statement in conjunction with the Global Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace held in Costa Rica last month:

“Years hence, when every country has a Ministry of Peace, people will look back and ask: ‘What took us so long?’ After all, we have a ministry for almost everything else: health, education and so on. How odd that, of all things, we have no ministries of peace. Peace is the key to accomplishing the rest.

“Peace is the global imperative. The huge challenges we face will not be resolved through aggression. Aggression got us into this global crisis in the first place. Now, even the survival of the biosphere is under threat. We are not going pull back from this catastrophe by using the very same mindset and methods that bought us to this brink. Nor is this a crisis we can resolve through good wishes alone. We need a coordinated global plan which will bring together the brightest minds, the best plans and the most gifted leadership. The backbone of that plan will be the Ministries of Peace.”

At present three countries have established ministries of peace: Costa Rica, Nepal and the Solomon Islands. There are hopes that Canada might be the next nation to do so. The President of Shambhala has written to the leaders of all Canadian parties on the Sakyong’s behalf. The full text of the letter follows.

To the Leaders of All Canadian National Political Parties,

I have the honour to transmit to you the following aspiration from the Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, the supreme head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, headquartered in Canada, in support of the initiative to create a Canadian Department of Peace.

This statement has been issued in conjunction with the Global Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace held in Costa Rica in September 2009:

“Years hence, when every country has a Ministry of Peace, people will look back and ask: ‘What took us so long?’ After all, we have a ministry for almost everything else: health, education and so on. How odd that, of all things, we have no ministries of peace. Peace is the key to accomplishing the rest.

Peace is the global imperative. The huge challenges we face will not be resolved through aggression. Aggression got us into this global crisis in the first place. Now, even the survival of the biosphere is under threat. We are not going pull back from this catastrophe by using the very same mindset and methods that bought us to this brink. Nor is this a crisis we can resolve through good wishes alone. We need a coordinated global plan which will bring together the brightest minds, the best plans and the most gifted leadership. The backbone of that plan will be the Ministries of Peace.”

РThe Sakyong, Jamg̦n Mipham Rinpoche

I am writing to you now, as the leaders of all the national political parties in Canada, to urge your support for this peace initiative, both on a national and global level. On the global level, this initiative is being spearheaded by the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace and, in Canada, by the Canadian Department of Peace Initiative (CDPI).

Finding and remaining at peace is the heart aspiration of the great wisdom traditions and noble societies of the world. In common with many others, Shambhala Buddhism believes we can pursue a genuine path to peace by sensing and harnessing the transformative power of our basic human goodness. Such a view is central to Shambhala’s outlook and practices, which are dedicated to disciplines of personal and social transformation. Both are necessary to dissipate prevailing tendencies towards fear and confusion and open the way to cultivating peace in our lives and our world. This is a genuine and practical basis for effective compassionate action, so sorely needed in this time of escalating global uncertainty, change, conflict and alienation.

As the Sakyong stated when presenting the first Living Peace Award to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “Peace is not a choice for some; it is imperative for all. It is the only way forward for humanity and our planet.”

Peace cannot be won in the abstract but is earned through diligent effort that respects the experience of others and from that ground, listens, learns and communicates — a living practice of genuine human engagement. This quest for living peace cannot wait. Now is the time for people and societies of good faith to step forward assertively to place the campaign for peace in the forefront of our thoughts and efforts.

Shambhala wholeheartedly endorses significant advancements to build a culture of peace in our era. The Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace is perhaps foremost among them. Shambhala believes we can and should play an active role in this and similar civil society efforts which have so much in common with our vision and mission.

We are also supportive of the efforts of CDPI. The mandate of the Minister of Peace would be to reinvigorate Canada’s role as a peacekeeper and peace builder, advancing nonviolent responses to domestic and international conflict. This would include: the establishment of a civilian peace service in Canada; the development of peace education at all levels, including post-secondary peace and conflict studies; the development of early detection and rapid response processes to deal with emerging conflicts; international leadership to abolish nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, to reduce conventional weapon arsenals, and to ban the weaponization of space as part of a worldwide transition from war-based to peace-based economies.

We are delighted that there was a Canadian delegation to the 4th Global Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace held in Costa Rica in mid-September. Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica and Nobel peace laureate himself, hosted the conference in this, the third country to launch a Peace Ministry. We hope that Canada will soon follow.

In anticipation of your supportive response and commitment to action, I send you every good wish,

Richard Reoch

President of Shambhala

(This announcement was from the Shambhala News Service

Whether you write novels, poetry, memoir, personal essays, screenplays, songs, or simply enjoy journaling, most writers struggle with the same issues. Finding time. Finding their unique voice. And most of all, finding confidence. When confidence is present, all the other details: making space in daily life for this precious work, relaxing into authenticity, and finding joy in the delight and the struggle of writing, seem to take care of themselves. You find the sense of flow that all writers long for.

I discovered a way into this flow several years ago when I was on a lengthy meditation retreat. I requested permission to write for several hours a day during the final days of the program because I was on a book deadline. Between fairly lengthy meditation sessions, I returned to my room to work and found that I was in the midst of a writing experience unlike any other. I had no hesitation about how to begin. When I finished expressing one idea, it was like the next one was right there, waiting to be written down. When I returned to my work the next day, it was as if the exact stopping point had been bookmarked in my mind and I was able to pick up precisely where I left off. Most noticeably, I found that the normal problems I had with self-doubt and being overly critical of myself were gone. This was a tremendous discovery. I left the retreat thinking that there was something magical about this combination of meditation and writing practices.

Most people who love writing are also petrified of it. Why, I cannot tell you. I only know that we all experience some form of hesitation when it comes to the blank page. The writers retreats that I lead help to deal with obstacles and blocks and encourage you to trust your voice. We use 4 tools during the writing and creativity retreat.

1. Meditation. The practice of breath-awareness meditation helps gather and quiet the mind. It teaches two precious skills: first, it builds concentration and second, it relaxes the mind. Each day begins with meditation practice (instruction will be offered) and we return to the meditation cushion for a brief session after lunch and again before dinner.

2. Journaling. Sometimes called morning pages or free writing, we’ll follow our morning meditation with 3 pages of long hand, stream of consciousness writing. The purpose of this is to begin to focus your mind on writing, but without any agenda or chance for self-criticism.

3. Personal Writing. You will have two 2-hour periods (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) to devote yourself to your personal writing. You can work on an existing project, dream up a new one, write in your journal, or just sit down at your pad (or computer) and see what happens.

4. Conversation. Each evening, one or two people will have a chance to share their work. The purpose of this is not to offer literary criticism or criticism of any other kind. The purpose is to simply open to and take in the words of a particular writer. We ask ourselves questions like, “What does it feel like to hear this writer’s work?” “How would we describe their voice?” “What was particularly striking and where did we become lost?” “What do we think this writer is really trying to say?” Questions such as these are designed to help the writer (who is silent during the conversation) see what happens when their work has a chance to “breathe” in a friendly, supportive environment. Many participants report that this was the portion of the program that was most frightening, but turned out to be the most inspiring.

My sincere hope is that each writer (whether or not you call yourself one!) will leave feeling inspired by his or her own story and confident in their unique voice.

Susan is offering both a weekend Writing and Creativity retreat October 23-25 and a more intensive writing retreat October 23-29.

Susan Piver is the New York Times bestselling author of four books and a frequent contributor to the Shambhala Sun and Body+Soul magazine. Her next book, The Wisdom of a Broken Heart is due out in January, 2010. She has been authorized to teach meditation in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage since 2006.

A few years ago the Sakyong, the spiritual leader of Shambhala, married Khandro Tseyang. Since then, it has been interesting to watch their relationship manifest as an example of a marriage rooted in wisdom and compassion.

“Relationship is the training ground for practice,” reflects the Sakyong,”and it’s also the place where your practice is tested. If you’re trying to practice compassion, a relationship will show you how well you’re dealing with your own mind. Outside, you can pretend you’re practicing compassion, but when you’re trying to practice compassion with the people who are close to you, you see how theoretical it is.”

This is true of any intimate relationship, whether it be between lovers, friends, or parents and children. It becomes obvious whether we’re being authentic, whether our hearts are truly open. We learn to remain steadfast even when the impetus to deny or indulge our emotions becomes overwhelming.

It seems fitting that so many of our upcoming programs center around this theme. This month, Kate and Joel Feldman will lead our couples retreat, exploring how to deepen commitment to the path of loving partnership. We are hosting Pamela Wilson for an Advaita retreat in which each thought and feeling is welcomed as an opportunity to discover our true nature. In November, Dr. David Shlim will teach a Medicine & Compassion weekend on how to cultivate compassion even in the midst of the immense pressures placed on caregivers in our society. And it’s no accident that we call our upcoming winter dathün retreat “Practicing Fearlessness in Difficult Times.”

Please join us this fall for whichever retreat matches your own practice and needs.

As the seasons shift, Shambhala Mountain Center offers a gentle reminder that every interaction – every moment – is a chance to deepen our practice and to remember what is truly precious.

Brian Spielmann

Last week a friend sent me a Wall Street Journal article by John Freeman entitled “Not So Fast,” an excerpt from his book The Tyranny of E-mail. Freeman’s article points out the bitter irony of today’s media: the faster we communicate, the less we understand; our incessant interconnectivity has actually done little to connect us.  Instead, as Freeman explains, social media has “isolated us from the people with whom we live” and has encouraged “flotillas of unnecessary jabbering, making it difficult to tell signal from noise.”  Living in a “constant state of digital jet lag,” he concludes, we have become largely unaware of our bodies and minds.

This article is a reminder of the need to slow down and remember what’s really important. Freeman sees the frantic speed at which we text, chat, and type as a way to stave off the specter of our own mortality, a temporary relief from the reality that our lives are finite. “Busyness,” he says, “numbs the pain of this awareness.” But both body-based practices and mindfulness disciplines teach us that in the heart of this pain is the possibility of freedom, the opportunity to face the fact of our impermanence, and to live our lives accordingly.

With society increasingly wired for instant communication and remote networking, it can be difficult to remember to slow down. At Shambhala Mountain Center we offer you refuge from the speediness of modern society. Our programs provide opportunities to transform busyness to mindfulness — a chance to rest and renew your mind, body, and spirit.

Consider this blog post a beautifully-wrapped paradox: delivered via its speedy efficient medium, it is an invitation to stop, turn the laptop off, take a breath, and rest — truly rest.

Best,

Brian Spielmann

Speaking as a person who slept through her first dathun (month long sit) and mentally redecorated her apartment throughout her second, I understand all too well that the seemingly simple instruction on how to meditate requires both time and the repeated inspiration of other practitioners in order to sink in.

The Sangha Retreat, hosted by Shambhala Mountain Center during the third week of July, was a rare and powerful opportunity to receive those instructions directly from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, see the effects of these instructions on one of our community’s greatest practitioners, Ani Pema Chodron, and practice the instructions with the guidance one of our community’s most dedicated young teachers, the Kalapa Acharya Adam Lobel.

“It will take ten years,” said Ani Pema Chodron to a participant who described his difficulties with following the instructions for dropping the habitual storylines created by thoughts while he practiced. It didn’t sound very reassuring at the time, but in retrospect, no one ever said the path to enlightenment would be easy, let alone the deceptively simple-sounding instructions of labeling thoughts and following the breath.

Despite the pain that inevitably arises in peoples’ minds and bodies during intensive practice meditation, the teachers created an environment that felt completely nurturing.

Gentleness and Strength

In an interview after the retreat ended, Kalapa Acharya Adam Lobel explained how the Sakyong laid the foundation of that environment in an initial meeting he held with both Acharya Pema Chodron and himself: “Rinpoche told us that the theme of this retreat was strength manifesting as gentleness, producing non-aggression.”

With this theme in mind, the acharyas, meditation instructors, and staff gave practitioners the opportunity to practice the meditation technique in a setting characterized by its friendliness, kindness, and openness.

Barbara Hirschfeld, Director of the Santa Rosa Shambhala Center, said, “I have been to many programs—large programs with lots of participants. Here, I was struck by the gentleness and by how little people complained. The theme of gentleness really permeated.” Most striking to her was the fact that “enlightened society was really experienced by all. And it was due to the Sakyong, to Pema, and to Acharya Lobel and their teachings.”

Acharya Lobel also was struck by the environment cultivated by the program. In reflecting back on the program, he appeared genuinely pleased to note, “Everyone seemed really genuine and engaged and connected with the practice as well as the global context of Shambhala vision.”

Summer Steeped in Richness

The Sangha Retreat program occurred in the midst of a summer steeped in the richness of the historical introduction of the Scorpion Seal Assembly for advanced-Vajrayana practitioners– teachings that represent a “powerful shift in our inner practices,” in the words of Acharya Lobel.The idea that the Sangha Retreat would be merely “introductory” seemed to place it in sharp contrast with the advanced teachings the Sakyong would present during the rest of the summer.

However, according to Acharya Lobel, the contrast between the two types of programs proved to be less sharp than he would have expected: “Many of us were very excited about this summer because of the opening of the Scorpion Seal Assemblies,” he explained. “But it turns out that the inner shift really has an energetic effect on our whole sangha, and that was very evident here at the Sangha Retreat.”

Role Models for Warriorship

The Sakyong’s talks touched upon matters close to his heart, and no doubt they were influenced by the enormous energy he has put into presenting his father’s Scorpion Seal teachings and by his mandate to help us establish enlightened society by way of the Shambhala teachings.

In his second talk to retreatants, he described the hardships of the teachers and lamas of the previous generation, many of whom “lost their entire families” and suffered untold brutalities as a result of the Chinese invasion of Tibet. In their struggle, the Sakyong explained, and in their continued and unwavering goal of perpetuating the message of compassion and virtue, these teachers embodied the striking power of genuine warriorship when it is infused with gentleness.

His father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, was an example of the strength of these past teachers. “He walked to India!” the Sakyong exclaimed during his talk. But what the Sakyong really impressed upon the retreatants was not just the extensive physical and emotional hardship endured by this past generation of refugees, but the fact that when they arrived in safety, despite their suffering, their message was still one of compassion, not aggression.

During the question and answer period that followed the Sakyong’s second talk, he assured SMC staff member Bobby Elbers that, indeed, Shambhalians do not need to hide in caves and suffer deprivations in order to accrue the benefits of practice and attain the discipline and wisdom of the lineage holders of the past. He reaffirmed that we will benefit greatly from their example by simply taking this same view of compassion and training ourselves to apply this view wherever we go when we leave the protective container of the shrine tent.

Meditation: A Magnifying Mirror

Acharya Chodron has been practicing long enough to witness at least one generation to grow up and benefit from these teachings on compassion. What’s more, she made it obvious that these teachings work through her repeated and loving references to the instructions she received from her first teacher, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, her gentleness towards the students who voiced the most personal of questions in front of 380 pairs of eyes, and her humorous candor that can only be the result of having made friends with herself despite the unbearable self-scrutiny of years of practice.

Acharya Chodron did not try to make meditation practice out to be something more pleasant than it is, however. “This is actually sounding like a pep-talk for not practicing,” she laughed when talking to the gathered community. She likened sitting for extensive periods of time and following the instructions faithfully to the act of staring at one’s own face in one of those magnifying-mirrors: things might look interesting, but “it doesn’t look pretty,” she warned. It takes a certain amount of bravery and mettle to sit on the cushion, but the act of mustering that honesty and rousing that bravery is the opportunity for participants to practice that very gentleness that the Sakyong had in mind when he set the tone for the week.

On the concluding day of the program, the Sakyong asked the hundreds of people gathered in the tent if they should “do it again.” The answer from the group was a resounding “Yes!”

Tears Accompany a Gesar Song

In that same spirit of celebration, the Sakyong requested that the Sakyong Wangmo, Khandro Tseyang, treat the participants with a song drawn from her family’s lineage-connection to the Epic of Gesar of Ling. For many, it was the very first time they had heard the Sakyong Wangmo sing. “I cried,” said Ian Bascetta of the New York City sangha. “I literally had not cried during the whole retreat, even though I probably should have. And then she started singing and I finally burst.”

Many expressed similar reactions to her performance, proving it to be one of the most moving moments of the week. Her simple act of reminding us of the heroics of Gesar and his fellow warriors became a moment of contextualizing the entire retreat: we are a part of an extensive historical and familial tradition in which the paradoxical contrast between warriorship and gentleness no longer exists; conventional wisdom separates the two, but in skillful combination, these qualities can conquer the obstacles of a dark age.

Power, Relevance, Immediacy

“There was a feeling of the power and relevance and immediacy of the Shamabhala teachings,” said Acharya Lobel, noting that the teachings of that week reached out “way beyond just advanced practitioners towards newer practitioners going forward on the path.”

We can only hope that this Sangha Retreat was the first in what will be a series of opportunities for practitioners to reconnect with the Shambhala teachings and practice establishing enlightened society.

My personal aspiration, I hasten to mention, is that the future dance parties held after the final banquets of these retreats can also live up to the enormously fun precedent set by the participants of this first one. After all, it’s not often that one can dance the night away with a few hundred fellow warriors

By Alexandra Milsom

Photo Credits: Brian Spielmann, Barbara Hirschfeld, and Christoph Schoenherr