| Events
Open
House meditation is always Monday at 7pm.
Tea
will follow at 7:40pm, and class from
8-8:45.
Meditation instruction is available at no cost. If
you would like meditation instruction, please arrive 10 minutes
early.
Thursday
night meditation occurs at 6:30pm.
If you would like meditation instruction, it's better to show
up on a Monday night. If you can only come on Thursday nights,
and want instruction, please email
to request an instructor.
Special note: Our community currently needs
your insights and, even more, your active participation in order
to thrive. Please take a look at the committee
page to see if there's a way for you to help.
Visiting Teacher -- special Tuesday
night talk
Acharya Richard John
"Can Wisdom Change Society?"
Tuesday, May 13, 7:00 to 8:30
Richard John became a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1975.
He has directed all levels of Shambhala Training, several Warrior
Assemblies and Sutrayana Seminary. He completed the first three-year
group retreat at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. The Acharya's teaching
has for many years focused on the union of the Buddhist and Shambhala
traditions, and his talk will take on the outer and inner aspects
of the Shambhalian notion of "Creating Enlightened Society."
Special Event
Shambhala Arts Festival
Friday - Saturday, May 23-24.
Opening reception & exhibition 7 pm, Friday. Shambhala arts
represent a genuine contemplative path; they bring beauty, vividness
and wisdom to our lives and culture. Workshops in the arts all
day Saturday, including ceramics, dance, poetry, mudra space awareness,
Ikebana. All welcome. Performances (poetry, dance, & more)
Saturday evening at 8 pm. ($20 per workshop.) To see the poster
and list of events, click here.
Open
House Topics
Meditation Instruction with Richard Roech
Mondays May 5th, 12th
DVD talks by the President of Shambhala International
on how to practice sitting meditation. Mr. Reoch's full bio can
be found here.
All welcome. Suggested donation $5.
“Working with Emotions
Five talks by Rick Merrill
”
Mondays May
19th-June 16th
Emotions are our greatest joys and our greatest sorrows.
Many of us find ourselves moving from one to the other and back
again, cyclicly, and suffering as a result. Shakyamuni Buddha
taught that attachment to the highs was just as strong a cause
of suffering as our aversion to the lows. He also taught a method
to train the mind to relate directly with our emotions, in a way
that frees us of all suffering and reveals emotions for what they
truly are. All welcome. Suggested donation $5.
Shambala Training
The
Shambhala teachings hold the fundamental truth that all humans
have an innate capacity to lead sane, dignified and confident
lives. Shambhala Training is a secular meditation training that
develops fearlessness, confidence, openness and gentleness towards
ourselves and our world. These qualities arise out of meditation
practice and study of Shambhala warriorship. Shambhala Training
welcomes people of all religious traditions as well as those who
do not follow a particular spiritual path.
Shambhala Training Level V “-
Open Sky”
May 9-11. Fri.
eve, 7 pm.; Sat. & Sun. all day
Director: Paul Warwick. $120 ($90 Bellingham Shambhala members).
Pre-registration recommended: Elisa Shafa at elisa.shafa@gmail.com
or (360) 398-7008.
for questions, contact Elisa Shafa at elisa.shafa@gmail.com,
or by calling (360) 398-7008
(Prerequisite: Shambhala Training Level IV.)
For
more about Shambhala Training see http://sti.shambhala.org
Further Schedule:
TBA
back to top
Shambhala
School of Buddhist Studies
There are no SSBS classes scheduled currently. Instead, we're
offering the following DVD series:
Practicing Peace in Times of War
Six Thursday nights, 4/10-5/15,
7:15 pm.
A series of video teachings by Pema Chodron and Richard Roech,
President of Shambhala International. Videos & discussion.
Co-lead by Joe Mackie and Rosalyn Householder. $8 class.
back to top
Special
Practices
Sadhana of Mahamudra practice (new and
full moon practice)
Monday May 5th, Monday May 19th - 5:30pm
Zijiling shrineroom (immediately downstairs from the main shrineroom)
The Sadhana of Mahamudra
(new and full moon practice)
Friday, April 4th and Sunday, April 20th
This practice was discovered by Chogyam
Trungpa Rinpoche, the founder of the Shambhala lineage of Tibetan
Buddhism, in a sacred cave in Bhutan in 1969. The Sadhana
is a "terma,"
one of the teachings concealed by the great Tibetan teacher Padmasambhava
for the sake of future generations. These teachings are discovered
by tertons, special teachers who are able to find these teachings
during the times when they are most needed. Trungpa Rinpoche was
one of the great modern tertons, and such is the case of the Sadhana
of Mahamudra, a teaching on overcoming obstacles and degraded
spiritual practices in our time. Because it was meant for this
time, the blessings it offers are particularly strong.
The practice explains how to transmute the phenomenal world directly
into enlightenment through meditation in action. Its discovery
represented a major turning point in his presentation of the dharma
to Rinpoche's Western students. Prior to finding this terma, Trungpa
Rinpoche still wore the robes of a monk. But afterwards, he gave
up his vows and lead the life of a lay teacher, inviting his students
to dance, awake, within the chaos of ordinary life rather than
aspiring to the special, sequestered life of monasticism.
This practice is full of symbolism which may seem strange. Don't
expect to understand it fully the first time. The chant leader
is available to answer questions and will give a brief explanation
of how to do the practice before it begins. Sadhana practices
are often secret, but this one is public. The practice is done
on full and new moons days, when our moods and thought patterns
tend to be most unruly.
Medicine Buddha Sadhana practice
Wednesdays, 6pm
Zijiling shrineroom (immediately downstairs from the main shrineroom)
Open to anyone, this traditional Tibetan
Buddhist practice focuses, in the broadest terms possible, on
healing. Basic instruction is available to those interested.
back to top
All-day Practice
Sessions
Vajrayana Weekend Intensives
Group practice and study intensive for Vajrayana
practitioners
first weekend of each month
Saturday and Sunday, 9:00-12:00, 1:30-5:30
All
tantra students and sadhakas are welcomed to practice
together. A class will be offered by an acharya or senior student
for students who are graduates of a Shambhala or Vajradhatu Vajrayana
Seminary. Other tantra students are welcomed to continue their
practice sessions. In the future classes open to tantra students
of other lineages will be offered.
Nyinthun
Sunday, May 25
A full day of group shamatha/sitting
meditation, 9:00-12:00, 1:30-4:30.
The Buddhist path is not accomplished through thinking about the
teachings or having uplifted intentions alone. It is absolutely
necessary to have direct experience of meditative insight. The
impact and richness of sitting for an extended period of time
cannot be overemphesized, and nothing will ripen your practice
as much as simply doing it. Be outrageous and try resting
your mind for a full day. Or, just drop in for part of a session
if your schedule is too busy. All welcome.
back to top
Ikebana Flower Arrangement
Thursday, May 22 7 pm
Location:
Shambhala Center Annex (same floor as Zijiling, to the
left of the women's bathrooms.)
Ikebana is the Japanese art
of flower arrangement. It is much more than mere floral decoration.
It is an art like painting, calligraphy or sculpture. It has a
recorded history and specified principles and theories. It requires
technical skills, and is a creative means of expression.
In 1982, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche formed
a new school of ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) inspired by
his own training and vision. Kalapa Ikebana, as this school is
called, promotes the study and practice of flower arranging, often
working closely with masters of other schools of ikebana. All
flowers are provided. Cost is $20 per class.
To RSVP (or for information), contact
Sandra Harper at 738-7525.
back to top
Memberships
Bellingham Shambhala Memberships make it
possible for our sangha to continue to exist.
It helps us:
- Pay rent and utilities
We will soon be the main renters of the current Hall (i.e.
several of the other Buddhist groups are moving to a new
space), and so our monthly financial responsibilies are
increasing substantially.
- Bring in visiting teachers
Including major Tibetan teachers (as well as senior students
of those teachers) who don't just express the buddhadharma,
but embody it. Costs for such teachers include paying
for their food and travel expenses.
- Offer courses, events and
meditation opportunities
There are costs for maintaining audio recordings of classes
(for those that missed them), and our Center is beginning
to offer theater presentations and other unusual explorations
of the Buddhist view as it applies to everyday life. All
of these require small but tangible costs.
- Uplift our Hall
This has recently included patching holes in the walls,
sealing up the windows and purchasing paint. We also need
to install disabled access (for which one member has offered
$1000 matching grant). The costs for these projects, even
if we're very frugal, will be in the thousands of dollars.
We need your help.
While everyone is welcome, regardless
of their contribution, our suggested donation is
$30-40/month. We ask that you consider whether
you receive something valuable from the group, and whether
it's worth as much two meals out per month. If it is worth
this much to you, please join us. Contact Ann Davidge for
membership applications by clicking here. |
Events
Elsewhere in the Northwest
His Holiness the 17th
Karmapa
Seattle, Saturday May 31 and Sunday, June
1
The 17th Karmapa is visiting the U.S. for the first time. He is
giving teachings at the Paramount Theater. For
more information, or to volunteer, contact sangha member, Laura
Woods lolajanewoodsl@excite.com
Want to know more about the Karmapa? Check out the website
www.karmapavisit.org
Bodhisattva vows
with Acharya Jenny Warwick
Vancouver, May 25th
Acharya Jenny Warwick will be giving Bodhisattva vows on May 25th.
If you’are interested, contact Jan Russell: janrussell@shaw.ca.
If you know of other events we should list on our website,
let webmaster Greg Heffron know at gheffron@midline.net.
Email Updates
Click
here to join our mailing list.
Questions?
Contact Bellingham
Shambhala by emailing info@bellinghamshambhala.org,
or by calling (360) 483-4526
back to top |
