Shambhala Mountain Center Blog

From Kate Linthicum’s Los Angeles Times article, “In the Stillness, Space for a Rebellious Spirit”…

Both punk rock and Buddhism, according to Levine, began as a rebellion against the status quo. “The first noble truth of Buddhism is that there is suffering in life, that there is an unsatisfactory quality to living in a world where everything is constantly changing, and to living in a world where there is so much greed and hatred and delusion,” he said. “Punk rock’s foundation is dissatisfaction, acknowledging greed, hatred and delusion and rebelling against sexism, racism, political corruption and war.”

By bringing punk and Buddhism together, Levine has reached a mostly untapped demographic.

“I’ve been to other Buddhist centers where I felt out of place, but I’ve found a home here,” said Gary Sanders, 37, who drives from Castaic to East Hollywood to attend Levine’s meditation sessions. “Noah’s taken an approach that makes it palatable to our scene.”

The movement gets its name from Levine’s 2003 book “Dharma Punx,” which chronicles his involvement in the Santa Cruz punk rock scene, his recovery from addiction to crack, heroin and alcohol, and his turn to Buddhism.

Levine, whose father is noted Buddhist writer Stephen Levine, first tried meditating in 1988 while locked up at a juvenile hall in Santa Cruz (for trying to steal a car radio to score some drugs). At the time, he was a homeless 17-year-old dropout, an angry kid who had spent his whole life rebelling. At a young age he had found an outlet for his anger in the punk scene — in the fury of the music and the anarchy of the mosh pit — but when he slid into addiction, he traded his mohawk, Doc Martens and leather jacket for a crack pipe.

Sitting in a padded detox cell, Levine at first felt suicidal. When he started meditating, he found a kind of peace. “My early life’s external rebellion had only led to more suffering,” he wrote.

Read more…

Noah Levine, one of the most influential Buddhist teachers in American will be leading a weekend retreat at the Shambhala Mountain Center titled, The Buddhist Path to Freedom: Breaking the Addiction to the Mind. Come stay with us this August and experience Levine’s unique approach to breaking addictions through Buddhist meditation.

Who is Noah Levine? The Los Angeles Times recently published the following article on his work and influence in the Buddhist community.

In the Stillness, Space for a Rebellious Spirit

By Kate Linthicum
May 4, 2009

Except for his bald head, there isn’t much monkish about Noah Levine. His body is covered with tattoos, his speech is spiked with profanities, and his style (T-shirts devoted to his favorite bands, lots of black) is a throwback to his days as a hard-core punk rocker.

So it looked a bit unusual to a newcomer when, on a recent evening, Levine, 37, sat cross-legged at a Buddhist center in East Hollywood to lead several dozen people in a guided meditation.

“Now bring your awareness to your breath,” began the Buddha in the Bad Brains T-shirt, who happens to be one of the most influential Buddhist teachers in America.

Levine is the founder of the Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, which has centers in East Hollywood and Santa Monica and more than 20 affiliated groups nationwide. He and his students practice a unique incarnation of Buddhism infused with punk rock’s anti-establishment ethos. They call themselves Dharma Punx.

Dharma Punx don’t wear robes and they don’t bow to statues of the Buddha. Anyone can form a group — as long as he checks with Levine first — and there isn’t the emphasis on hierarchy found in many forms of Buddhism (there are no Zen masters or Tibetan lamas). The idea, Levine said, is to make Buddhist teachings accessible to punks — and to reconnect Buddhism with what he sees as its radical roots.

“I don’t feel like this is bringing a punk rock corruption into Buddhism,” Levine said. “I think that that anti-establishment ethic is a part of Buddha’s teachings.”

Read more…

From the diagnosis where you feel completely out of control, overwhelmed and over saturated to the place where your life is turned upside down, you need someone to talk to. Cancer causes you to deal with body image, confusion over treatment, side effects, infertility and more. There may be issues in the workplace, access to medical care issues and emotional issues after cancer. There may also be questions like, how do you integrate this experience into your life, how do you live with the memory, recurrence and relationship issues? Cancer support groups are here to help you cope.

Join Shambhala Mountain Center for Courageous Women, Fearless Living. This cancer retreat will provide you with the guidance and companionship you need to assist you on your way. Integrating body, mind, and heart, you will discover ways to meet all of your experiences directly and courageously. Led by an extraordinary team of experts in the field, this cancer program will include meditation instruction, healing visualization practice, yoga sessions, whole-being health care and nutrition tips, small group discussions, art therapy, ritual, sacred dance, and community building. Contact Shambhala Mountain Center to learn more.

The Sakyong offers Protecting the Earth; a call to contemplation and action on climate change The Sakyong offers these teachings in support of Earth Day, this Wednesday, 22 April, and the work of the Touching the Earth Working Group of the Sakyong’s Council.
 
 Our precious planet and the innumerable beings who dwell here face an unprecedented crisis. The escalating threat to the world’s environment and climate stem from a profound predicament that affects all humanity. We are ever more rapidly losing our connection with the sacred nature of our world. This tragedy affects us in so many ways, but at its heart, it is a crisis of the spirit. We are harming our planet and fellow beings because we are losing touch with the basic goodness of our own sacred being.
 
 This disconnect from our primordial basic goodness is amplified by unparalleled technological and industrial capacity, dramatic population growth, and the vast inequalities we witness everywhere in our world.
 
 Disastrous as this situation is, it is still possible to change course. The earth is calling to us for protection and for a return to basic sanity. We must all heed this call by adopting an approach that returns to a deep respect for our environment, and conserves our threatened resources.
 
 We can take advantage of both traditional methods and innovative technological advances based on living in harmony with the fundamental intelligence of nature. But this global crisis cannot be transformed into a new way of living, if we rely on the same attitudes and habits that brought us to this terrifying brink in the first place. To do that would merely reinforce, despite our good intentions, the degradation and inequality that is already so widespread.
 
 This emergency calls for a complete transformation of how we live — a transformation of our underlying attitudes, our approach to human society, and our relationship to planet earth and all its inhabitants. My father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the great Tibetan meditation master and founder of Shambhala, foresaw this turning point in human history. His words could not ring truer: “When human beings lose their connection to nature, to heaven and earth, then they do not know how to nurture their environment or how to rule their world…healing our society goes hand in hand with healing our personal, elemental connection with the phenomenal world.”
 
  In the Shambhala tradition is it said that it is precisely in dark times like these that the inherent wisdom of the universe makes itself felt. Now is the time to draw on the inspiration of the humanityâ•˙s wisdom traditions. All remind us of the sacred oneness of life, the interdependence of all beings, and the inexorable laws of cause and effect. These teachings could not be more relevant to our collective imperative: the creation of enlightened and sustainable societies.
 
 I am delighted that, within the Buddhist world, there is increasingly deep reflection on how the wisdom of this particular tradition can shine light on this common goal. Now is the time for us to tap the power available to us from our diverse disciplines, cultures, and societies to cultivate the dignity, confidence and fearlessness necessary to protect our earth. By doing so, we can help to reconnect all humanity with its primordial basic goodness, transform our relationship to sacred world and be inspired to sane choices, compassionate leadership and wise activism.
 
 The Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche
 Halifax
 19 April 2009 

There is an emerging field called yoga therapy where psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers incorporate yoga and meditative breathing into their clients’ sessions.

While there may be some emotional release in a group yoga class, individual sessions with trained mental professionals can really unlock stored emotional memories. Within such a personal setting there is attention given to both the physical and emotional experiences.

Many studies have proven the connection between mental health and physical exercise. However, it is now becoming clear that such health concerns as stress, anxiety and depression are all linked to physical activity. It only makes sense that yoga and therapy would be a beneficial combination.

With new found popularity, the number of schools offering yoga-therapy training now reaches close to 50 and the International Association of Yoga Therapists has more than tripled its membership from 2003 to 2009, to about 2,500 members.

There are some that are concerned about the safety of the patients in this combination therapy. But Bo Forbes, a clinical psychologist, yoga teacher and found and director of the Center for Integrative Yoga Therapeutics in Boston says that it is perfectly safe for a medical professional to teach yoga as long as he or she has gone through extensive yoga training. She believes that psychotherapists should have in-depth study of yoga and a strong background in anatomy and alignment to limit client injuries.

Join Bo Forbes and she teaches Yoga for the Emotional Body: Healing Anxiety, Insomnia & Depression through Yoga. Using Integrative Yoga Therapeutics (therapeutic vinyasa, restorative yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises), Forbes will help you log in to your innate healing power and create the blueprint for emotional freedom. Contact the Shambhala Mountain Center to learn more.

Like most adults, our children live a life of stress. While they don’t have to worry about mortgages or finances they do have homework, peer pressure and over-scheduling to contend with. And like adults, these kids are turning to yoga to help them relax.

Kids’ yoga has numerous benefits. Regular practice can help kids develop better body awareness, self-control, flexibility and coordination. Yoga stretching and body alignment can create a better athlete while also improve listening skills.

In fact, Yoga has been shown to help the hyperactive and attention-deficit child. These children crave movement and sensory/motor stimulus. Yoga helps channel these impulses in a positive way. Yoga poses help instill calm, confidence and balance.

If done properly, yoga is a suitable alternative to tumbling and team sports for getting stressed-out, sedentary children socializing, exercising and building discipline.

This summer solstice come play with your family and celebrate with the community through yoga, meditation, storytelling, music and nature. Join senior certified Anusara Instructor Jeanie Manchester for early morning meditation and asana practice, while children participate in an interdisciplinary program with storyteller and children’s yoga expert Sydney Solis. Fun-packed evening programs round out the experience. Children ages 6 to 12 are welcome to participate in the program. Childcare is available through our Shotoku Children’s Center for children ages 3 to 5. Contact Shambhala Mountain Center to learn more.

What happens in a cancer support group, like those offered by Shambhala Mountain Center, is that you get great emotional support and information. You’ll receive empathy and be able to share your experience with people who are dealing with the same thing. And while you may be scared to see people sicker than you, you learn that everyone’s cancer experience is uniquely theirs and just because someone else is going through a bad time, doesn’t mean that you’ll go through a bad time. Essentially, our support group helps validate your own personal experience.

It is within Shambhala Mountain Center’s cancer retreat where real friendships form, where a one on one relationship becomes truly beneficial. Our cancer retreat provides an opportunity to find humor and compassion in the experience.

Within our cancer retreat setting, you can inspire hope in each other. You can teach each other how to distinguish the difference between healing and curing, and support each other through each step of the journey.

When dealing with cancer, it’s very easy to feel isolated. But when you sit with someone who has empathy, you exchange information and the meeting takes on a life of its own. People who meet in cancer support groups look and realize that the odds of each other meeting without the cancer would have been remote. So you find these unlikely relationships that develop as a result of this cancer.

To learn more about Shambhala Mountains Center’s cancer retreat, Courageous Women, Fearless Living, contact us today.

In the early hours of today (Tuesday 7 April), Prajna, the wooden summer retreat house used by the Vidyadhara and the Sakyong at Shambhala Mountain Center, caught fire. In a very short time the house was engulfed in flames and burned to the ground. With the recent snowfall the danger was reduced, although some trees in the immediate vicinity were burned. The volunteer fire department responded with multiple trucks and the Shambhala Mountain Center fire volunteers are standing watch over the smoldering remains. It is not clear at this point what caused the fire, but an investigation will be conducted.

The Sakyong and Sakyong Wangmo were informed this morning, Halifax time, and are following the situation closely. The Sakyong has requested that the Shambhala Mountain Center community gather to conduct protector practices, perform a long lhasang to invoke windhorse and raise the aspiration for the establishment of a new court for the lineage, long-needed at Shambhala Mountain Center.

Those involved with the care of the residence and its furnishings have also been informed. Most important artefacts and texts were no longer housed there.

“This fire, and the complete devastation of the residence, has come as a shock to us all,” the Sakyong said this morning. “Many practitioners have come to Prajna to serve in the court, to meet me, to attend special events and to be part of the many celebrations that have been hosted there. So it is associated with many fond and moving memories in all our minds. Both Khandro-la and I have the community at Shambhala Mountain Center very much in our hearts at this time, and appreciate their valiant efforts through the night. At the same time, this is a moment to reflect on how we move forward from here, recognizing the potent truth of impermanence, and turning our minds to what is now needed to provide an appropriate lineage seat at this vital centre in our mandala.”