Shambhala Buddhism: Difference between revisions

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The term ''Shambhala Buddhism'' has come into use as an umbrella term referring to the teachings of [[Karma Kagyu]] and [[Nyingma]] lineages of [[Tibetan Buddhism]], mixed with the various Shambhalian teachings and practices revealed by the Vidyadhara [[Chögyam Trungpa]] Rinpoche (the 11th [[Trungpa Tulku]] and first [[Sakyong]]), as propagated by the Sakyongs. The present head of the lineage is [[Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche]], Trungpa Rinpoche's eldest son and heir.




==Distinguishing Characteristics of Shambhala Buddhism==
*Buddhagupta – teacher of Shri Singha in the [sems sde] lineage. Alternate spelling: Bhutakugta (bhu ta kug ta); Butakuta, Butakutam, Buddhaguhya. Early master in the [[sems sde]] lineage. [RY]
At the heart of the teachings of Shambhala Buddhism is the belief that "there is a natural source of radiance and brilliance in the world, which is the innate wakefulness of human beings. This is the basis, in myth and inspiration, of the Kingdom of [[Shambhala]], an enlightened society of fearlessness, dignity and compassion."[http://www.shambhala.org]
 
The Shambhala Buddhist sangha continues its ties to contemporary Kagyu and Nyingma lineage holders, among them His Holiness the [[Urgyen Trinley Dorje|Karmapa]], H.H. [[Penor Rinpoche]], and other important [[lama|lamas]]. Many prominent lamas come and offer teachings to the community on a regular basis. However, there are also aspects of Shambhala Buddhism that are unique to the [[sangha]], known as ''Shambhalian'' practices. Among them are:
 
===Shambhala Training===
''Main article: [[Shambhala Training]]''
 
In [[1976]], Trungpa Rinpoche began giving teachings, since gathered and presented as [[Shambhala Training]], inspired by his vision (see [[termas]]) of the legendary Kingdom of [[Shambhala]]. Shambhalian practices focus on using mindfulness/awareness meditation as a means of connecting with one's basic sanity and using that insight as inspiration for one's encounter with the world. Shambhala Training is essentially a secular approach to meditation rooted in Buddhism but accessible to individuals of any, or no, religion. In Shambhala terms, it is possible, moment by moment, for individuals to establish enlightened society. His book  ''Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior'' provides a concise collection of the Shambhala views.
 
===Shambhala Terma===
Certain Shambhala Buddhist practices derive from specific terma texts of Trungpa Rinpoche's such as ''Letter of the Black Ashe'', ''Letter of the Golden Key'', ''Golden Sun of the Great East'', the Scorpion Seal texts, ''Lightning of Blessings'', ''Roar of Werma'', and others. Trungpa Rinpoche is believed by Shambhala Buddhists to have received these teachings directly from the [[Rigden]] king, an assertion confirmed by the esteemed Nyingma master His Holiness [[Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche]].
 
The Shambhala dharma practices derived entirely or in part from these texts include those of ''[[werma]]'', ''[[drala]]'', ''[[windhorse]]'' (Tib. ''lungta''), and meditations on four "dignities of Shambhala": tiger (tib. ''tak''), lion (Tib. ''seng''), garuda (Tib. ''kyung'') and dragon (Tib. ''druk''). Ju [[Mipham]] the Great, a great 19th century Nyingma lama and the predecessor of [[Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche]], wrote about many of these practices and concepts as well.
 
===The Kalachakra, the Rigden Kings and Gesar of Ling===
The [[Kalachakra]] tradition is central to Shambhala Buddhism. Trungpa Rinpoche requested that the Kagyu Kalachakra master [[Kalu Rinpoche]] perform the initiation for the Shambhala Buddhist community, which he did in 1982 in [[Boulder, Colorado]]. The Rigden Kings of Shambhala are central figures to the community, and a [[thangka]] of the Rigden king is the centerpiece of all public Shambhala Buddhist shrines. [[Gesar of Ling]], a mythical Tibetan king, is also an important figure to Shambhala Buddhists, to whom he represents an example of enlighted wisdom manifesting in the world as a leader.
 
===Zen and Japanese arts===
Trungpa Rinpoche was highly influenced by his friend [[Shunryu Suzuki]] Roshi, a [[Zen]] master who was one of the first accomplished teachers to present [[dharma]] to Westerners. As a result of this influence, certain attributes of form in Shambhala Buddhism are derived from Zen rather than Tibetan Buddhism. The shrine rooms in Shambhala Buddhism, reflecting the Zen aesthetic of [[kanso]] (simplicity), tend to be sparsely furnished and decorated, whereas traditional Tibetan Buddist shrine rooms are eloborate, ornate, and colorful. As in Zen but unlike in Tibetan Buddist practice, meditators engage in group practice of [[shamatha-vipashyana]].
 
In addition, Shambhala Buddhists have adopted the practices of [[kyudo]], [[ikebana]] (kado), [[tea ceremony]], [[oryoki]], [[calligraphy]], and other traditional Japanese arts as a means of extending the mind of calm-abiding and awareness to more active practices.
 
===Elements of Bön, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto===
To a lesser extent, Trungpa Rinpoche incorporated other elements into Shambhala Buddhism that he thought would be beneficial to practitioners. From the [[Bön]] religion, the lhasang ceremony is performed; other elements of shamanism play a role. From [[Confucianism]] comes a framework of heaven, earth, and man for understanding the proper relationship between different elements of compositions of all kinds. From [[Taoism]] comes the use of [[feng shui]] and other incorporations. From the [[Shinto]] tradition comes the use of [[kami]] shrines to honor natural forces in specific locales.
 
===Dorje Kasung===
The [[Dorje Kasung]] are a paramiltary organization within Shambhala Buddhism not unlike the [[Salvation Army]] in that they use the trapping of military life as a support for a very different sort of objective—in this case, meditation practice.
 
===Maitri and Mudra===
Maitri is a therapeutic program that works with different styles of neurosis using principles of the [[five buddha families]]. [[Mudra]] practice, first explored by the Mudra Theater Group, is based on traditional Tibetan monastic dance training and the teachings on [[mahamudra]].
 
===Other Practices===
Trungpa Rinpoche experimented with many different innovations of practice, including practices of elocution and other disciplines which are still utilized in the community today.
 
 
==History of Shambhala Buddhism==
The term "Shambhala Buddhism" as used to describe the larger tradition of the community founded by Trungpa Rinpoche came into use in around [[2000]]. The community itself first began in [[1970]] with the arrival of Trungpa Rinpoche in North America. The first established center of his teachings was "Tail of the Tiger" in [[Barnet, Vermont]] (now [[Karmê Chöling]]). When Rinpoche began teaching at the [[University of Colorado]] in [[1971]], a second branch of the community began to form there. In the early 1970s the community grew rapidly and attracted the involvement of such notables as [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[Anne Waldman]], [[W.S. Merwin]], and many others.
 
In 1981, the community hosted a visit of His Holiness the [[Fourteenth Dalai Lama]] to Boulder, Colorado. In 1986, Trungpa Rinpoche moved the international headquarters of [[Vajradhatu]] to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he died the following year. A large number of his disciples emigrated from the United States to Nova Scotia along with him.
 
The Vajra Regent [[Ösel Tendzin]] (born Thomas Rich) assumed leadership of the organization until his death in 1990 (of AIDS, amid controversy over admissions that he had unprotected sex with students while knowing he had AIDS)(Butterfield 1994, pg 183, and Los Angeles Times, 1989), whereupon Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (then Sawang Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo) became spiritual head. In 1995 he was recognized as the reincarnation of Ju Mipham by Penor Rinpoche and enthroned as Sakyong.
 
In 2001, on a visit to Tibet, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche met for the first time with [[Choseng Trungpa]] Rinpoche, his father's  new incarnation (discovered by His Eminence [[Tai Situ]] Rinpoche in [[1991]]).
 
==The Shambhala Buddhist community today==
 
Today the Shambhala Buddhist community is perhaps the largest community of Western practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. Presently there are a few thousand Shambhala Buddhist practitioners, with the largest communities in Halifax, NS; Boulder, CO; northern Vermont; and [[New York, NY]]. There are over one hundred Shambhala Meditation Centers around the world, mostly in the United States, Canada, Europe and South America.
 
===Shambhala International===
 
The umbrella organization that encompasses many of the distinct institutions of Shambhala Buddhism is called ''Shambhala International''. Shambhala International, which is based in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], links a worldwide [[mandala]] of urban [[Buddhist]] meditation centers, retreat centers, monasteries, a university, and other ventures, founded by the Tibetan Buddhist teacher the Trungpa Rinpoche under the name [[Vajradhatu]]. [[Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche]] is the present spiritual and executive head of the organization, which he renamed and reorganized in 1990.
 
===Spiritual Teachers===
 
* Druk Sakyong [[Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche]]
* Sakyong [[Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche|Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche]]
* Vajra Regent [[Ösel Tendzin]]
* Acharya [[Pema Chödrön]]
* Acharya [[Reginald Ray]]
 
There are presently thirty-two "acharyas", or senior teachers, in the Shambhala mandala, including the two most well-known listed above.
 
===Shambhala Land Centers===
 
The Shambhala "land centers" are retreat centers, generally located in more rural settings around the world.
 
*[[Gampo Abbey]] in Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
*[[Dorje Denma Ling]] in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, Canada
*[[Shambhala Mountain Center]] in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado
*[[Sky Lake Lodge]] in Rosendale, New York
*[[Dechen Chöling]] in Mas Marvent, France
*[[Karmê Chöling]] in Barnet, Vermont
 
===Larger Shambhala Mandala===
 
Many entities are considered part of the larger Shambhala International/Shambhala Buddhism mandala, although they may not be legally part of the organization. [[Choseng Trungpa]], the Twelfth Trungpa Tulku, along with the other tulkus and leaders of Surmang, asked Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche to assume stewardship of [[Surmang Monastery]] and its people. The Sakyong has also been asked to assume responsibility for Weyen monastery, the Gesar orphanage, and the Mipham Institute in Golok, and Khamput Monastery in Kham.
 
*[[Shambhala Training]]
*[[Naropa University]] an accredited, private liberal arts university founded in 1974 by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
*[http://www.shambhalainstitute.org Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership]
*[http://www.shambhala.org/ntc/ Nalanda Translation Committee]
*[http://www.ngedon.shambhala.org Ngedon School of Higher Learning]
*[http://www.halifax.shambhala.org/arts_ike.html Kalapa Ikebana] a school of Japanese flower arranging founded by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
*[http://www.miksang.org Miksang Photography] photography based on the Dharma art teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
*[http://www.maitripractice-international.org Maitri Space Awareness] Maitri Five Wisdom Energies practice
*[http://www.konchok.org Konchok Foundation] supporting communities in Tibet
 
==Related Publications==
 
Shambhala International sponsors a number of publications, and others exist in some degree of relationship to the larger Shambhala International/Shambhala Buddhism mandala. For instance, [[Shambhala Publications]] was founded and is published by Acharya Samuel Bercholz, a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, but has no legal relationship to Shambhala International.
 
*[http://www.shambhalashop.com/dot/ The Dot] Quarterly Newspaper of the International Shambhala Mandala
*[http://www.thebuddhadharma.com Buddhadharma] Quarterly Journal of Buddhist Practice
*[http://www.shambhalasun.com Shambhala Sun] Buddhist-Inspired Monthly Magazine of Buddhism, Meditation, Culture, and Life
 
==Sources==
*Stephen T. Butterfield (1994). ''The Double Mirror: A Skeptical Journey into Buddhist Tantra''. ISBN 1-55643-176-7.
*John Dart, "Buddhist Sect Alarmed by Reports that Leader Kept his AIDS a Secret", Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1989, http://www.american-buddha.com/sect.alarmed.htm
 
==External links==
 
*[http://www.shambhala.org website of Shambhala International]
*[http://www.shambhalashop.com/archives/ Shambhala Archives]
*[http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/sakyong/smr-shambu.html Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on Shambhala Buddhism]

Revision as of 20:38, 23 April 2006


  • Buddhagupta – teacher of Shri Singha in the [sems sde] lineage. Alternate spelling: Bhutakugta (bhu ta kug ta); Butakuta, Butakutam, Buddhaguhya. Early master in the sems sde lineage. [RY]
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