Shambhala Mountain Center Blog

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.

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

Dathün is one of the foundational programs of Shambhala. And there is more than meets the eye to this month-long meditation intensive, which can be done in weekly segments. It is an ordinary experience, almost beyond ordinary, that can have a profound impact on your journey and give your mind the strength to handle these challenging times.
 
If you’re not familiar with the experience, its brilliance is demonstrated in its simplicity. You get up each morning, and you go to the shrine room and sit. You have a small break and then you sit again and again. No elaborate meditation techniques, no promises of rainbows, just you being with you. And somehow in the midst of what can seem like dreadful boredom, magic happens. Boredom is no longer a problem, the person breathing heavily in front  is no longer a problem, and you are no longer a problem. You realize your own basic goodness on the spot and can finally smile for no reason.
 
Who knew doing nothing (properly) could be so life changing?
 
Because of the importance of Dathün to your spiritual journey, we offer it at the lowest cost possible. You can attend for as low as $55 per day, which includes your meals and lodging. For those wanting to experience the fullness, strength of mind and joy of intensive meditation, we invite you to make your practice a priority and join us. 

Brian Spielmann

#4 – See the Sunrise at Nagarkot
30 kilometers outside of Kathmandu is the small town of Nagarkot. A sunrise from this sleepy town will take your breath away. In addition to the rising sun, you will also experience magnificent views of the Himalayas. Nagarkot is located on the rim of the Kathmandu valley at an elevation of 7,200ft. You can see Himalayas that extends from Dhaulagiri in the west to beyond Mt Everest in the east.

#5 – Visit Royal Chitwan National Park
Royal Chitwan National Park is the oldest national park in Nepal. With the largest population of single horned Indian Rhinoceros and Bengal Tigers, there’s a good chance you’ll see at least one. Altogether, the park is home to 43 species of mammals, 450 species of birds and 45 species of amphibians and reptiles. You can explore the park via canoe, elephants or guided jungle walks.

#6 – Collect Nepalese Handmade Paper
Nepalese handmade papers are made using traditional methods carried on from hundreds of years. These beautiful paper products can include photo albums, notebooks, picture frames and more. Nepalese handmade paper is a great gift to bring home to friends and family.

Take a spiritual journey to Nepal with Shambhala Mountain Center. Enjoy the sites of Nepal while practicing yoga and meditation. Contact us today to learn more about traveling with Shambhala Mountain Center.

Traveling to Asia? If your trip includes a stop in Vietnam or Cambodia, be sure to include these amazing sites on your itinerary.

Perfume Pagoda, Vietnam
Perfume Pagoda, or Chua Huong, is located in Huong Son, Vietnam. Perfume Pagoda is not one temple but a cluster of temples and shrines in the general vicinity of Huong Son. The pagodas are located in My Duc hamlet in the province of Ha Tay.

Perfume Pagoda has a long history in Vietnamese literature and has been a theme of many songs and poems, and used in literary works and paintings. The uniqueness of Perfume Pagoda is that the mountains, river and forest appear like an oasis for Buddhists in the middle of the great plains of northern Vietnam. This location truly incorporates all the elements of beauty that is often used in Eastern philosophy and arts.

Ruins at My Son, Vietnam
My Son, which flourished from the late 400s to the mid 1200s, was a center of Champa culture. Through commercial and religious contacts with India, the Champa kingdom quickly developed a strong affinity for Indian culture, borrowing Hinduism and the Sanskrit alphabet, as well as Indian architectural and artistic tastes. For many centuries the Champa kingdom existed as an independent entity, warring constantly with the Vietnamese to the north and the Khmer to the west. Champa endured until the 17th century when it was absorbed by Vietnam.

The ruins at My Son represent a series of constructions over a period of many centuries. The monuments bear a strong resemblance to Khmer structures found in present-day Cambodia and eastern Thailand. My Son was far enough south that it was sheltered from Chinese artistic tastes that saturated northern Vietnam. Instead, the cosmopolitan city of My Son did a brisk trade with India to the west and Java to the south. Today, the beauty of My Son would be more complete if not for widespread American bombing during the Vietnam War.

Temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Hundreds of years ago, this temple complex in the middle of the jungle was the heart of a sprawling empire. Today, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ever since its re-discovery by European explorers in the mid-19th Century, Angkor Wat’s sheer massiveness and breathtaking beauty have awed generations of tourists.

The temples were built between 1130 and 1150 AD by King Suryavarman II, and consist of an enormous temple pyramid covering an area measuring 4,250 by 5,000 feet, surrounded by a moat over 600 feet wide. Enormous doesn’t do it justice.  You only have to stand by the gates to be overwhelmed by the complex’s massive scale.

Angkor Wat is intended to symbolize the universe, as the Hindu Khmer understood it.  The moat stands for the oceans around the earth and  the concentric galleries represent the mountain ranges surrounding the divine Mount Meru, the Hindu home of the gods. The walls are covered with carvings depicting the god Vishnu, to whom Angkor was principally dedicated, as well as other scenes from Hindu mythology.

Join Shambhala Mountain Center as it takes a spiritual journey to Vietnam and Cambodia. On February 12, 2009 Susan Piver and Dana Strong will lead a once-in-a-lifetime adventure through these majestic Asian countries. The trip includes stops at the Perfume Pagoda, the Ruin a My Son and the Temples of Angkor Wat. Learn more about this amazing trip today!