Cultivating Clarity, Compassion, Wisdom and Resilience for Challenging Times
Whether you are a newcomer to meditation or a long-time practitioner, this retreat is the perfect opportunity to settle into a week of deep meditation and reflection.
In a safe and supportive environment, we will examine the ways in which fear and survival-based habitual patterns get in the way of realizing happiness and fulfillment in our relationships, careers, and life. We will explore simple yet powerful tools for connecting with our innate goodness and wisdom, allowing us to shift self-limiting habitual patterns and create the life we want.
This program is based on Acharya Maull’s work in the areas of social activism, prison work and Dharma, as well as his newest book Radical Responsibility. Please visit the book website to learn more about it.
You can learn more about this program and register here.
It has been said that the cycle of worldly suffering called Samsara is notorious for being endless! In this book Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche offers us a profoundly clear and unrelenting view into how and why we suffer and a practice and path that can break that endless cycle at it's root.
Deceptively simple, these teachings reveal a poignant and deep sophistication and subtlety that can inspire us at every moment of our lives.
You can learn more about this program and register here.
In an increasingly polarized world, Pema offers us tools to find common ground, even when we disagree, so we can build a stronger and broader sense of community.
Sharing never-before-told personal stories from her remarkable life, simple and powerful everyday practices, and directly relatable advice, Pema leads the way in showing us how to become triumphant bodhisatvas (compassionate beings) in even the most difficult of circumstances. Group and individual meditation instruction will be available.
You can learn more about this program and register here.
Cultivate strength of body and calmness and clarity of mind through Taoist practices that integrate movement, breath, and qi (internal energy).
A form of gentle, relaxing exercise, qigong strengthens joints, muscles, tendons, and bones, increases flexibility, stimulates the circulation of energy in our body, and enhances mental clarity. For persons who have physical challenges, qigong is an excellent way to gently introduce mobility and relaxation.
You can learn more about this program and register here.
Many of us who are white surround ourselves with sameness (other white people) while continually asking, “where is the diversity?” We don’t understand the power, privilege and advantages we have. In this series of classes, we will explore the effects of white privilege on our lives and the lives of people without this privilege. We will look at how our blind spots and hidden biases prevent us from creating a more compassionate, enlightened world and create further harm and inequities even though that is not our intention.
We will use film, documentaries, articles and experiential practices to deepen our awareness and unravel our biases and prejudices that are under our conscious radar. Within the view of basic goodness of all beings, we will support each other in this journey.
You can learn more about this program and register
here.
Drop in anytime or for the whole day to celebrate the songs and stories of the Kagyu lineage as we read aloud from The Rain of Wisdom, a long time tradition in our sangha for 40 years. We will be warmed and sustained by limitless cups of chai.
You can learn more about this program and register
here.
The history of tea is long and storied, filled with artists and poets who find tea their companion through sorrow and joy, and contemplatives who see the ritual of life played out in the tea ceremony. Likewise, the history of poetry is filled with tea-lovers, yogis, and sages, whose cups overflows with perceptual and expressive richness—steeped to perfection through the practices of reading and writing.
Here we have the opportunity to explore Dharma Poetics and the many facets of the culture of tea, and to treat these sacred mediums as reason to gather. We will drink tea, meditate, read, and write poems.
You can learn more about this program and register here.
We're pleased to offer a one-day program introducing the Sadhana of Kindness, a short liturgy invoking the moon of kindness in our heart as the basis for establishing enlightened society. This practice is short, delightful, and a primary avenue into mahayana practice within the Shambhala tradition.
During this program, participants will receive the reading transmission for the Sadhana of Kindness and a copy of the sadhana for personal use.
You can learn more about this program and register here.
Please join us for a day of practice, contemplation, and discussion exploring the teachings on basic goodness as presented by Chogyam Trungpa in his book,
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior.
You can learn more about this program and register here.
Dungse Jampal Norbu is the son and dharma heir of Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. Rinpoche is the founder of Mangala Shri Bhuti and a lineage holder of the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingtik tradition. Dungse la's anecdotal style and first-hand curiosity about how Buddhism relates to actual experience imbue his teaching with a fresh perspective, and reveal a natural wisdom and humor.
You can learn more about this program and register here.
This group has been meeting for over ten years! We begin with sitting meditation. We watch videos or read from Pema's books, and then discuss the teachings, exploring together how we can apply them to our everyday lives. There are no prerequisites, and newcomers are always welcome.
Please join us as we show Pema Chödrön videos on our large screen TV or read from one of her books. Discussion and light refreshments follow at 8:30 if you choose to stay.
Please join the Shambhala Community in celebrating the life, teachings, and remembrances of our founder, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, on the 33rd anniversary of his passing from this physical realm.
Check your local center's website for details.
Nyinthun—A Full Day of Meditation Practice
Join the Shambhala community for a full day of meditation practice—both sitting and walking. By gathering in this way, we take time to deepen our practice and our understanding of the teachings, and strengthen our connections to one another.
Sunday Meditationbegins 10 AM. First Sundays feature Welcome to Shambhala with meditation instruction. Other Sundays include opportunities to practice the Sadhana of Mahamudra, the Shambhala Sadhana or mixed Vajrayana. Weekly Open Sitting: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 7 PM. Wednesday sitting includes meditation instruction and a discussion. DIY Meditators, Thursdays, 7-9 PM.
Open Sitting: Sundays, 9 AM; Every Weekday, 7 AM; and Tuesdays, 7 PM. Rising Suns Children's Program, first Sundays, 8:45 AM to 10:15 AM. Meditation Instruction is available Tuesdays, 7 PM and Sundays, 9 AM.
Wednesday Lunchtime Meditation, from 12 noon to 1:30 PM. Sit as long as you like with any meditation method you prefer.
If you come early, meditation instruction is available during Sunday Morning Sit, 10 AM to 12 noon with talk and discussion; Young Meditators Night, second & fourth Thursdays,
Regular public sitting has ended because the sangha closed their center in the Masonic Lodge. There continue to be public programs offered from time to time. Please consult Santa Rosa's website for more information.
Open House Tuesdays, 7 PM to 8:30 PM; Third Tuesday is "Pema Night;" Sunday Morning Meditation, 10 AM to 11:30 AM.
Sadhana Practice
Students at all levels are warmly invited to participate in three monthly sadhana practices. Please check your local center's monthly calendar for dates and times.
Sadhana of Mahamudra
This sadhana was composed by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in a cave in Bhutan. It is the result of Rinpoche's exposure to both Western spiritual materialism and the wisdom of the traditional Buddhist approach to reality.
Shambhala Sadhana
The Shambhala Sadhana is powerful in its direct approach to basic goodness. It is a profound yet simple chanting and visualization practice that deepens our personal and societal connection with Basic Goodness. We connect more fully with our hearts, each other and the world.
Sadhana of Kindness
Newly available in Northern California, this short liturgy invokes the moon of kindness in our heart as the basis for establishing enlightened society.
An extensive path of training in authentic meditation practices and wisdom teachings, it is recommended for both new and experienced meditators as well as those looking to enrich their spiritual path and social engagement.
The Way of Shambhala consists of five Shambhala Training weekend meditation intensives, five classes of the In Everyday Life series, and the Basic Goodness Series.
Not yet ready to take the plunge into membership, but wish to receive more
frequent community updates?
Contact your local center
and ask that your status be
updated to Friend of Shambhala. Or, email friendofshambhala@gmail.com and ask to switch from non-member.
A Parting Thought
Discovering real goodness comes from appreciating very simple experiences. We are not talking about how good it feels to make a million dollars or finally graduate from college or buy a new house, but we are speaking here of the basic goodness of being alive—which does not depend on our accomplishments or fulfilling our desires.
