Shambhala Sunday Gathering Podcast

A conversation between Albert Camus and Siddhartha Gautama

A discussion and contemplation based on Ellens most recent book; Buried RiversA Spiritual Journey into the Holocaust

 Meli-Tashi Happy and Alley Smith  May 19, 2024

This talk includes some presentation of art including Audio and Video.  To see the visual pieces please visit shambhala online in sunday gatherings online and look for this talk.

Protector Practice Talk with Q/A and full Protector Chants with Mamos

Solstice presentation and Celebration with music and other offerings 

Intergenerational Trauma is gaining validation in clinical settings where culturally appropriate care for indigenous and oppressed peoples is being critically explored and is changing. Eduardo Duran, Healing the Soul Wound's author, defines a post-colonial approach to healing for Indigenous people

Reality is characterised by impermanence. It is a mark of the Buddhist view that everything changes.  We habitually grasp or push or ignore. These attitudes can be seen as strategies to hold on - to something, anything - and to protect the comforting fiction of our solid and unchanging selves. This mark of impermanence can guide us in our path and our practice. Is our meditation supposed to put us into a desirable, unchanging state of mind? Or is it an opportunity to let go into the unruly flow of life from moment to moment? To join in the impermanence of everything, especially ourselves. This short talk with guided meditation is offered to help us to see the opportunity to relax with impermanence in our practice. And for those who do not yet see that everything changes, I suggest that there is no better way to "road test" this teaching than in one's own meditative experience. 

In this talk, Jonathan will explore how we learn to trust ourselves, how we can extend that trust out to others, and how the path of meditation helps us listen to the experience of those whose voices are silenced by institutional oppression. 

In this Sunday gathering, we will explore the challenges and opportunities when working with the social justice issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within Shambhala. Do we take the dharma of creating enlightened society seriously? If so, what might that look like and what might we want and need to generate to move our community closer to this aspiration? What gets in our way? How do we guard against it becoming aggressive, dismissive, or shaming? With curiosity and openness my hope is that we investigate how this work is dharma, and how we can bring our spiritual practice into our life beyond the cushion.

During our hour together we'll sing three songs, contemplate their meaning, consider alternate translations, and practice meditation.

With the motivation to serve others, we can use rest to generate the creativity and exertion to address the monumental social and ecological challenges of our time. Through settling our minds and bodies, we rouse energy for meditation in action. 

This talk will cover the causes and conditions necessary for a rebirth in Sukavati (Dewachen). I will talk about creating reminders and the importance of habit patterns in case we forget after we die.

A discussion about ways and means to come together around death & dying within our communitiesAlice (along with being tech & admin support for Shambhala) is a community death doula. She will lead a conversation about community deathcare teams, support of one another through the dying process, and creating "home" funerals, at home or at our Shambhala Centers. There will be room to share our own wisdom about caring for death & dying in our communities.

These are the best of times—science offers us incredible power and comfort. These are the worst of times—materialism obscures the wisdom that's the source of genuine happiness and freedom. The Mahayana can free us from this contradiction.

Coordinator and Leader of multiple interest-based groups, SGS board member George Gomez leads a discussion on how form, promote, and sustain Affinity Groups to grow a sense of community and warmth both locally and at a larger scale.

How do our contemplative practices support us as we are challenged and welcomed in different social contexts (which include our vast internet “space” online)? How might our different social identities change as navigate through situations of family, work, community? In this presentation, Elaine will explore how contemplative practice helps us perceive and inhabit personal and interpersonal dynamics.

Be present and connected in your home with feng shui and mindfulness techniques. Meditation is seeing and sensing your interconnection between your inner and outer environments. Join us to learn more about the mindfulness of spaces, an invitation to connect and become friendly with your home, and in turn your innermost self.

From 1970, and for the next few years, Trungpa Rinpoche visited the San Francisco Zen Center quite a number of times.Here are stories from two of those visits.

From 1970, and for the next few years, Trungpa Rinpoche visited the San Francisco Zen Center quite a number of times.Here are stories from two of those visits.

"It is not enough to always abide by the rules."  -- Chögyam TrungpaEvery choice we make, from the seemingly insignificant to life-changing decisions, affects the course of our life and path. We usually make choices according to habits and norms, and as practitioners we also rely on our teachers and institutions. But what truly matters for each of us is our state of mind.The process of hearing, contemplating and meditating is indispensable for gradually taking us from always depending on the advice and instructions of others to having confidence in our innate nonconceptual wisdom.

For many of us the greatest challenges and opportunities in our spiritual development come from working with others. The Shambhala teachings are rich in helpful advice, but how do we apply them?Personal interactions can be challenging as well as inspiring. Drawing on my own experiences I will discuss ways I have found to apply the Shambhala teachings in the everyday interactions of working with those we share our life with. I will discuss how the qualities of the Shambhala warrior can guide us in our interactions with others, and also help us to develop resilience and strength.