CANCELLED

PREREQUISITE:  Completion of Scorpion Seal Assemby.

Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend.

DATE: Saturday, April 28, 2012

TIME: 2 PM Atlantic  (Halifax, NS Time)

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection. A webcam and/or microphone is recommended. If you will be alone when attending the live class, please have earbuds/headphones/headset available.

RECORDINGS: For those who cannot participate in the live broadcast, but wish to participate at a later time, there will be a streamed video recording (internet required) and a downloadable audio recording (internet not required) available after the program. If you would like to participate after the actual program, please follow the same registration procedure as for live participation.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Coemergent Wisdom and Space in Sadhana Practice, Part 2

NOTE: Part 1, which took place in November 2011, is also available as a recording which you may register for here.

PREQUISITE: Open to all students who have received the Vajrayogini Abhisheka.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

If you wish to offer a "Heart Gift", you may do so here.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC - Vajrasattva: Indestructible Purity and the Path of Purification

This talk will explore the Vajrasattva practice that we have been given by the Sakyong. As well the issue of purity and purification is at the heart of our Scorpion Seal path. Please prepare for this talk by making a strong relationship with this practice, and come with personal experience and questions. You are also requested to write a short poem as Vajrasattva, based on what is coming up for you in this practice.  

REMINDER: Please bring your Dawn of Vajrasattva text to the talk, which will begin with a short practice.

PREREQUISITE: This talk is open to all Scorpion Seal Assembly 3 practitioners. Although everyone receives this practice at Scorpion Seal Assembly 1, it's not really emphasized as a practice and central theme until Scorpion Seal Assembly 3.

Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

If you wish to offer a Heart Gift, you may do so here.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

With the Dorje Loppon Lodro Dorje

Deity Mantra and Wisdom

An introduction to an unusually profound discussion of development stage practice, by the great Nyingma masters Jigme Lingpa and Patrul Rinpoche, translated in the book Deity, Mantra and Wisdom (translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Snow Lion Publications).

Topics include: 
*  Practicing development and completion stages as a unity, 
*  the three samadhis, 
*  visualization instructions, 
*  the four stakes that bind the life force (meditative absorption, unchanging realization, essence mantra, and emanating and gathering.

From the book info:

Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798) was one of the great saints of eighteenth century Tibet. His profound spiritual revelations (Including the Longchen Nyingthig cycle) and writings have proven to be some of the most enduring classics of the Buddhist tradition. 

Patrul Rinpoche (1808-1887) lived his life as a wandering yogi devoted to the practice of meditation. A prolific writer, he has won the hearts of many with his rare ability to present profound philosophical thought in a manner directly applicable to personal practice. 

Getse Mahapandita Tsewang Chokdrub (1761-1829) revitalized the tradition of the Nyingma School through his commitment to the study and preservation of the Ancient Tantras and the revival of many Nyingma monasteries. Among his extensive literary works, his commentaries on the development stage have become central reading for numerous practitioners of Buddhist Tantra.

PREREQUSITES: Werma, Vajrayogini, Cakrasamvara and Vajrakilaya practitioners. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

PLEASE NOTE: Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

This is the fourth course in the Way of Shambhala I series.

As the path continues, we learn to work with anxiety, so that we are not blocked by fear. Through an exploration of the traditional Buddhist teachings of mind and the nature of reality, we learn to see clearly. We dare to face life and death as they are. The meditator, open to uncertainty, goes beyond hope and fear.

PREREQUISITES: Joy in Everyday Life course. Shambhala Training Levels I- IV recommended but not required.

Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend.

Each class allows for open discussion of the challenges that meditators face in their practice. The online class includes periods of guided meditation, talks, and discussion among the online participants.

The course consists of four pre-recorded classes and one “retreat day” that included two “live” sessions.

Participation Options

1) With your centre or group. As these courses are interactive, it is strongly recommended that you attend the Way of Shambhala courses with others. Please contact your local centre or group to determine whether they will be offering this online program. More support and guidelines will be offered to you by taking these courses at your centre.

2) As an individual. You are welcome to participate at home, by request, if you are unable to attend with a group. Please use the comment field on the registration page to describe your situation.

SUGGESTED FEE: $40 per person for centre/group registration, $75 for individual participation. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Ngondro talks (with Q&A) are offered online every other month. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Ngondro practice intensive.an

TOPIC - Transcendent Generosity: Mandala practice and the practice of making offerings

NOTE: The talk begins with the following chants:

• Supplication to the Shambhala Lineage
• Homage
• Invocation for Raising Windhorse

PREREQUISITES: Limited to Shambhala Vajrayana students.

Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

PLEASE NOTE: Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

Werma talks (with Q&A) are offered online bi-monthly on Saturdays. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive.

TOPIC - Expansive Sacredness: Offering and Praise in Sadhana and in Life

NOTE: The talk begins with the following chants:

• Supplication to the Shambhala Lineage
• Homage
• Invocation for Raising Windhorse

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

If you would like to participate after the actual program, please follow the same registration and payment procedure as for live participation.

PLEASE NOTE: Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: Shambhala Household

PREREQUISITE: Open to all who have received the "The Letter of the Golden Kalapa Key" text.

Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

PREREQUISITE: Completion of Scorpion Seal Assemby Year One.

"Going to the Source: The Scorpion Seal Terma."  

For this program, we will be looking at the source and inspiration for our Scorpion Seal path altogether.  In preparation for our time online, please read, re-read, and contemplate the shorter and complete Scorpion Seal terma texts.  Please write a short poem or song of gratitude, realization, and/or supplication to the Dorje Dradül and the Jampal Dradül and express what this path has given you and what it has inspired you to do in your life.     

Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Ngondro talks (with Q&A) are offered online every other month. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC: The Profound Four Reminders

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Limited to Shambhala Vajrayana students. Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

Werma talks (with Q&A) are offered online bi-monthly on Saturdays. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive. 

TOPIC: "Radiating Confidence"

Within Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche's Answer of the Golden Sun he notes: "The Dorje Dradül's presentation of the Shambhala teachings clearly highlights the necessity for the borders of spiritual isolationism and individual liberation to dissolve."  Within the context of the Werma sadhana the relaxed expansiveness of basic goodness inevitably expresses itself as dynamic energy, penetrating insight and uncontrived compassion. "Radiating Confidence" explores how Werma practice gives rise to all the qualities which inform an enlightened society. 

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. Participation with your centre or group is recommended, however, individuals are also welcome to attend.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Drala Principle in the Yidam Mandala - the Body, Speech and Mind Domains

Just as the meaning of the drala principle is overcoming aggression,  the meaning of the heruka principle is subjugating and transforming confusion.

The essence of the drala principle is that, starting from primordial purity, there is an emanation into action. This joining of primordial purity with our ordinary experience manifests on mental and emotional-energetic levels, as well as in physical lungta. Therefore we say in the Werma sadhana “I offer  my body speech and mind as your throne.”

Parallel to this, the yidam mandala of Chakrasamvara represents inherently pure vajra nature, mahamudra. This fundamental nature extends its action into the domains called the Body, Speech and Mind mandalas. 

In Vajrayogini practice, this aspect is sometimes discussed as the 'dakinis of the three levels'.

This presentation takes the view that the Body, Speech and Mind mandalas can be seen as the presence of the drala principle within the yidam mandala. In particular we will consider Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and Gesar as expressions of the three mandalas.

(The presentation begins with the lineage supplications and the Long Werma Lhasang.)

PREQUISITES: For Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara practitioners.

PLEASE NOTE: Only an audio recording is available for this talk.

PREREQUISITE: Completion of Scorpion Seal Assembly Year Three.

TOPIC - Inner White Lotus: Visualizing and Purifying

Preferred online participation will be given to Shambhala centres and groups. Individuals are encouraged to attend with your centre or group. You are welcome to participate at home, by permission, if you are unable to attend with a group. Please use the comment field on the registration page to describe your situation.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Shambhala Online offers monthly Vajrayana programs, focusing on Vajrayogini, Chakrasamvara, Six Yogas of Naropa or Vajrakilaya.

TOPIC: Shambhala, Vajrayana, and the Four Karmas: Part Two

This is the second of a two-part presentation discussing Shambhala and Vajrayana practice. The September 10 presentation emphasized the Pacifying Karma (a recording is available). This presentation will focus on the enriching, magnetizing and accomplishing karmas:

• how they are reflected in the Shambhala practices of the Werma sadhana and for instance the text of the Golden Key
• how they are activated in the Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara sadhanas
• relative and absolute aspects of the karmas in both of these contexts

The presentation will begin with a short practice of the Dharmasagara Guru Yoga.

PREREQUISITES: Open to Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara sadhakas, who have also received Werma sadhana transmission.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

If you wish to also register for the recording of Part One of this program, you may do so here.

Are you thinking about taking a week or month to do an intensive meditation retreat? Shastris Dan Hessey and Holly Gayley discuss the benefits of group retreat practice, what to expect and how to prepare for retreat in this three-class series. This series of classes will be especially helpful to anyone interested in attending part or all of the winter dathun with Dan and Holly from December 10th to January 7th at Shambhala Mountain Center.

Talk 1: The Virtue of Simplicity
 
In the first talk of the winter dathun series, Dan and Holly discuss why we take time out of the business of our lives to meditate in general--and especially to do a one-month meditation retreat like dathun. What do we gain by simplifying our schedule and taking a break from the speed and entertainment of daily life? Dan and Holly give an overview of dathun, explaining how it deepens our experience of meditation and helps us access our own inner resources, vitality and strength.

Talk Two - Settling into Our Own Being

In the second talk of the winter dathun series, Dan and Holly delve further into the effects of meditation in a retreat setting. How does the mind, which is so easily distracted in our day-to-day activities, settle over the course of a month-long meditation retreat? What kind of transformative takes place as a result? Dan and Holly describe how intensive meditation practice allows our innate qualities to blossom--the mental clarity, creativity and personal radiance that each of us has already. We discuss the culture of dathun and how it offers a rare opportunity for mentorship and support along our meditative journey.

 
Talk Three - Bravery & Leaving Home

In the third and final talk of the winter dathun series, Dan and Holly discuss how to prepare ourselves for dathun. Prior to retreat, all of us have feelings of anticipation. What does it mean to live each day being fully alive and present in the context of a group retreat? What will it be like to meet ourselves and others in a new way? Dan and Holly talk about the bravery of leaving home and the rhythm of daily life at dathun. Please bring any questions about what to pack and what to leave behind.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 includes access to all three talks - live or by recording. A generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: "Relaxation in the Details"

PREREQUISITE: Completion of Scorpion Seal Assembly Year Two.

The talk will begin with the "Attainment of Fearlessness" and "Ashe Trekcho" practices. It would be good to have your Ashe Trekcho text available. There will be no Werma Sadhana practice.

Preferred online participation will be given to Shambhala centres and groups. Individuals are encouraged to attend with your centre or group. You are welcome to participate at home, by permission, if you are unable to attend with a group. Please use the comment field on the registration page to describe your situation. Please do not register for this program if you live near a centre that will be participating in this online program.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection. A webcam and/or microphone is recommended.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Ngondro talks (with Q&A) are offered online every other month. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC: DEVOTION AS PATH: Discovering our World Through Opening the Heart

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

Werma talks (with Q&A) are offered online bi-monthly on Saturdays. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive. 

TOPIC - Invoking the Vow: Coemergent Devotion in the Kalapayana

Please have your Werma Sadhana text available for this class.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Topic: Coemergent Wisdom and Space in Sadhana Practice

PREREQUISITES: Open to all students who have received the Vajrayogini abhisheka.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection. A webcam and/or microphone are recommended. 

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: Basic Goodness and Co-creating Enlightened Society

This talk includes group Attainment of Fearlessness practice and a brief review of Werma Sadhana practice for those who have completed Scorpion Seal I. Remarks and discussion focus on how we as Scorpion Seal practitioners can co-create with the Sakyong a culture of loving kindness and enlightened society based on working with doubt, trust, and deep reflection on basic goodness.

PREREQUISITE: Completion of Scorpion Seal Assembly Year One.

Preferred online participation will be given to Shambhala centres and groups. Individuals are encouraged to attend with your centre or group. You are welcome to participate at home, by permission, if you are unable to attend with a group. Please use the comment field on the registration page to describe your situation. Please do not register for this program if you live near a centre that will be participating in this online program.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

If you wish to offer a Heart Gift, you may do so here.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Werma talks (with Q&A) are offered online bi-monthly on Saturdays. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive. 

Topic: Limitless Ayatanas

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Ngondro talks (with Q&A) are offered online every other month. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

Topic: Surrendering and Discovering Pride

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection. Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

SHAMBHALA, VAJRAYANA AND THE FOUR KARMAS - PART ONE

Shambhala practice provides a foundation of blessing, lungta, and protection. The Vajrayana sadhana practices provide a transmission of coemergent wisdom. These two approaches reflect, enhance and support each other in a potent cocktail of transmission.

In this first of a two-part presentation discussing Shambhala and Vajrayana practice, we will look at the first two of the four karmas: pacifying and enriching. The second talk will focus on the karmas of magnetizing and accomplishing.

We will discuss the pacifying and enriching karmas:

• how they are reflected in the Shambhala practices of the Werma sadhana and the text of the Golden Key
• how they are activated in the Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara sadhanas
• relative and absolute aspects of pacifying and enriching in both of these contexts

PREREQUISITES: Open to all Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara sadhakas, who also have Werma sadhana transmission.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Ngondro talks (with Q&A) are offered online every other month. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC: "Abhisekha: Entering the Guru’s Mandala"

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

Topic: The Rigden King and Lungta

This talk can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive. 

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

PLEASE NOTE: The registration process can take up to 24 hours to confirm. Thank you.

Topic: Mahamudra - Some Pith Instructions from the Tradition: Six Instructions on Resting in Open Awareness.

Four Instructions on Resolving Stillness and Movement.

We will begin with the Sadhana of Mahamudra

Following on from the March program, this presentation will focus on four successive approaches to nonconceptual awareness.

In the first approach, we look at whether there is a centralized awareness within or apart from the five skandhas.
 
In the second, we contemplate the interdependence of the perceiver and what is perceived.
 
The third approach looks at whether apparent phenomena are as solid as they appear to instinctive perception.
 
Finally, we practice with the mahamudra approach of inseparable emptiness and luminosity.
 
By meditating on each approach, our understanding of mahamudra will become more profound.

Recommended reading: An Instruction on the View of the Mahayana
Clarifying the Two Truths by Patrul Rinpoche
http://www.lotsawahouse.org/patrul/two_truths.html

Recordings of Part One: Sutra, Tantra and Essence Mahamudra, (February 2011) and Part Two: Progressive Stages of Profound View and Meditation (March 2011) are available in our Recording Library.

PREREQUISITES: Vajrayana Seminary

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

PLEASE NOTE: The registration process can take up to 24 hours. Please allow enough time for your registration to be confirmed.

PREREQUISITE: Completion of Scorpion Seal Assembly Year Two.

This is the second in a series of talks on the Three Courts.

Preferred online participation will be given to Shambhala centres and groups. Individuals are encouraged to attend with your centre or group. You are welcome to participate at home, by permission, if you are unable to attend with a group. Please use the comment field on the registration page to describe your situation. Please do not register for this program if you live near a centre that will be participating in this online program.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Shambhala Art is art that springs from the meditative state of mind. As a process, it brings wakefulness and awareness to the creative and viewing processes through the integration of contemplation and meditation.

TOPIC: Art and Social Change

Acharya Arawana Hayashi brings her extensive background in the performing arts and in contemplative practice into her work and her teaching.

COST: $20 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Group study of Profound with Ashe Acharya John Rockwell

This is the first of a series of talks on the Three Courts. Topic for this talk is Ultimate Court.

PREREQUISITE: Completion of Scorpion Seal Assembly Year Two.

Preferred online participation will be given to Shambhala centres and groups. Individuals are encouraged to attend with your centre or group. You are welcome to participate at home, by permission, if you are unable to attend with a group. Please use the comment field on the registration page to describe your situation. Please do not register for this program if you live near a centre that will be participating in this online program.

We will not be doing the full Werma practice at the beginning of this session.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Mahamudra, Part Two: Progressive Stages of Profound View and Meditation
 
The next two presentations will focus on four successive approaches to nonconceptual awareness.

In the first approach, we look at whether there is a centralized awareness within or apart from the five skandhas.
 
In the second, we contemplate the interdependence of the perceiver and what is perceived.
 
The third approach looks at whether apparent phenomena are as solid as they appear to instinctive perception.
 
Finally, we practice with the mahamudra approach of inseparable emptiness and luminosity.
 
By meditating on each approach, our understanding of mahamudra will become more profound.

Recommended reading: An Instruction on the View of the Mahayana
Clarifying the Two Truths by Patrul Rinpoche
http://www.lotsawahouse.org/patrul/two_truths.html

(A recording of Part One Sutra, Tantra and Essence Mahamudra is now available in our Recording Library)

PREREQUISITE: Vajrayana Seminary. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: Ashe & Devotion

This talk can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive. Werma talks (with Q&A) are offered online bi-monthly on Saturdays.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala students who have received the Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

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Ngondro talks (with Q&A) are offered online every other month. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC: Visualization

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

"Fearlessness and the View"

This program is for people who have already attended a Scorpion Seal Assembly in 2009 or 2010.

Preferred online participation will be given to Shambhala centres and groups. Individuals are encouraged to attend with your centre or group. You are welcome to participate at home, by permission, if you are unable to attend with a group. Please use the comment field to let us know.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

For this talk, the Dorje Loppon invites all tantrikas to join him for this online program.

TOPIC: Sutra, Tantra and Essence Mahamudra -  Part One
Practice of mahamudra, through formless meditation and its integration with sadhana and ngondro practice. The session will begin with Sadhana of Mahamudra.
 
The foundation of vajrayana practice is recognition of the fundamental nature of mind. What is initially just a glimpse - often not even conscious - must be gradually opened to, re-awakened, recognized, and sustained. Cultivating this from the direction of shamatha-vipasyana meditation is sometimes called the 'sutra mahamudra' approach, and the Kagyu tradition has a special transmission of this from Maitripa and Gampopa. Cultivating this through the ngondro, sadhana and yogas is called 'tantra mahamudra.'

PREREQUISITE: Vajrayana Seminary. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

 Acharya Mitchell Levy leads a Werma practice session, followed by a talk and discussion.

TOPIC: "Innocence and Doubt"

PREREQUISITE: This program is for people who have already attended a Scorpion Seal Assembly.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Shambhala Online is offering monthly vajrayana programs, focusing on Vajrayogini, Chakrasamvara, Six Yogas of Naropa or Vajrakilaya.

TOPIC: The roots of blessing, power and compassionate activity: awakening the magic of sadhana practice.

The practices of Vajrayogini, Chakrasamvara and the Six Dharmas of Naropa are progressive methods that 'emanate and gather',  returning over and again to the simplicity of ordinary mind. By contemplating the three roots of the guru, yidam and protector we can access the transformative magic of these practices.  In this talk we'll take a look at the guru yoga and abisheka sections of the sadhanas, the function of yidam practice in general and the role of protector principle.  Though the talk is primarily addressing Chakrasamvara practitioners, we will keep the themes broad enough to include all three levels of practice. 

PREREQUISITE: Open to Vajrayogini, Chakrasamvara and Six Dharmas practitioners.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Werma talks (with Q&A) are offered online bi-monthly on Saturdays. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive. 

TOPIC: Windhorse and the Three Samadhis

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: Ashe Trekcho

PREREQUISITE: Attendance at a Scorpion Seal Assembly.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.  

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Shambhala Online is offering monthly vajrayana programs, focusing on Vajrayogini, Chakrasamvara, Six Yogas of Naropa or Vajrakilaya.

TOPIC: Pitfalls in the Practice of the Six Dharmas

PREREQUISITE: This program is open to Six Root Dharmas practitioners and those who are ready to start this practice.

The Six Dharmas of Naropa are a path of promise – and peril.  Due to the power of these methods, a practitioner can easily be snared by a number of subtle, but serious, traps. This talk will illuminate those traps and suggest how to avoid them. It will also explore the critical distinction between nyam (clinging to experiences) and tokpa (realizing their essence). We will discuss how your body is literally your subconscious mind – psychologically and karmically. As we penetrate and unleash the power contained in the vital points of the body-mind matrix, we should be prepared for the physical and psychic shakeup. The Six Dharmas are sometimes called “forceful methods of liberation” -- which is why they are so advanced, and so challenging to the ego.    

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

PREREQUISITE: Scorpion Seal Assembly.

TOPIC: Acharya Fleet Maull leads a Scorpion Seal practice session, followed by a presentation on "Social Awakenment".

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

 Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

This talk can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Werma practice intensive. 

TOPIC: "Approaching profundity"

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

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Ngondro talks (with Q&A) are offered online every other month. This talk with Andrea Doukas can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students. 

TOPIC: Purity, Offering and Devotion 

A discussion of how the ngondro practices progressively lead us through the steps necessary to meet the guru’s mind at abhisheka.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

Meditation is a natural state of the human mind - at rest, open, alert. The basic meditation technique is simple and predates all religious traditions. Undertaken as a steady practice, meditation allows the mind to relax and the heart to open. It encourages our inherent qualities of warmth, clarity and insight to emerge.

Acharya Suzann Duquette leads an introduction to meditation practice, including detailed instruction, followed by questions.

SUGGESTED FEE: The suggested fee is $20 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: The Three Courts and the Three Kayas

PREREQUISITE: This talk is open to Sadhakas - Vajrayogini, Rigden abhisheka and Scorpion Seal participants. The session will begin with the Supplication to the Shambhala Lineage and Invocation for Raising Windhorse, and end with the Longevity for the Sakyong.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection. 

Please note: recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

Shambhala Online is offering monthly vajrayana programs, focusing on Vajrayogini, Chakrasamvara, Six Yogas of Naropa or Vajrakilaya.

TOPIC -  The Yidam Mandala: The Three Kayas and the Three Mandalas

Restricted to Vajrayogini, Chakrasamvara and Six Dharmas practitioners.

The yidam mandalas arise from the ground of the primordial wisdom and show how to bring that wisdom into relative experience. The Nyingma tradition trains the practitioner in this by means of the three samadhis: the dharmakaya samadhi of suchness; the all-illuminating samadhi; and the seed samadhi. The New Translation tradition trains the practitioner through the modes of bringing death to the path of dharmakaya luminosity, and so forth. These approaches have many points of similarity. All in all, there are mind essence practice, vajra body practice, and visualization and recitation.
 
As practitioners, having manifested the yidam mandala in formal practice, how do we apply such profound wisdom in our daily life? The Three Mandalas of Body, Speech, and Mind suggest one way our practice might be expressed, contained, and protected. In this talk, we will examine a simple outer and inner interpretation of the Three Mandalas practice: Manjushri's prajna, Avalokiteshvara's compassion, and Gesar's lungta.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: Sadhana Practice

PREREQUISITE: Open to anyone in the Shambhala community who has received the Vajrayogini abhisheka.

Acharya Mermelstein presents an overview of why and at what stage we do yidam practice within the vajrayana path, with an additional focus on the main features of visualization practice.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

A discussion of the book Natural Wakefulness with author, Acharya Gaylon Ferguson. Acharya Ferguson instructs both beginners and seasoned meditation students in the fundamentals of meditation and guided contemplations. These teachings are intended to help us experience our innate wakefulness. "If we can trust our natural wakefulness, then we can walk the spiritual path and experience the openness and warmth of life as we were meant to experience it."

Books can be purchased at Shambhala Publications or through Amazon.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

TOPIC: This talk focuses on the Four Praises and the general sense of atmosphere of Werma.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Ngondro talks (with Q&A) are offered online every other month. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC - Integrating Vajrayana Transmission, and Preparing for Abhisheka: Views of Ngöndro

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Ngondro practice intensive.

Topic: Understanding the View and Power of Varjayana as Sacredness.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC: Revisting the Golden Sun of the Great East root text in light of Werma Practice, with an emphasis on Absolute and Relative Ashe.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person, per talk. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection. 

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

PREREQUISITE: This one-hour program with Q & A is restricted to Shambhala tantrikas who have attended a Chakrasamvara abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

This program is for people who have attended Year One or Year Two Scorpion Seal Assembly.

TOPIC: Arising as the Deity

Registration is open to Shambhala Centres and Shambhala Meditation Groups. Please contact your centre or group to see if this weekend program will be offered in your local area.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection

Please note: recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Join Acharya Allyn Lyon as she reviews the process of ngondro from the Four Reminders through Guru yoga.

This talk can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Limited to Shambhala Vajrayana students practicing Kagyu or Rigden Ngondro.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

TOPIC - Mantra: Pure Sound and Seed Syllable 

PREREQUISITE: Attendance at Scorpion Seal Assembly

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities. 

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

TOPIC: Cutting through with Ashe - Ashe Trekcho

PREREQUISITE: Attendance at a Scorpion Seal Assembly.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC: Lineage and our True Nature

Shastri Dan Hessey leads a discussion on the chants that precede our practices, relating the following chants to selections from the root texts and the Rigden Ngondro liturgy:

The Shambhala Lineage Chant

The Homage/Supplication

The supplication to the Rigden Fathers

The supplication to the Mother lineage

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

Werma talks (with Q&A) are offered online on the second Saturday of each month. These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive. 

For this talk, Acharya Eve Rosenthal leads a guided Werma practice (without liturgy) and has provided images to emphasize the feeling sense of visualization.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person, per talk. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed. 

TOPIC: Coemergent Mother--Mahamudra in the Vajrayogini Sadhana

The precious treasure of the Kagyu lineage, the sadhana of the yidam Vajrayogini, holds powerful transmissions for immediate transformation of our lives.  Emotional and conceptual obscurations are burned in her fiery wisdom, and her unblinking gaze awakens our greatest capacities for limitless awareness.  Special attention will be placed on coemergent Mahamudra in this session.

PREREQUISITE: This program is restricted to Shambhala tantrikas who have attended a Vajrayogini abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

The practice of the stroke of Ashe will be guided by Acharya Eve Rosenthal. Please have your materials set up so you can practice during the program.

PREREQUISITE: This session is open to graduates of Warrior Assembly.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed Internet connection.

 Please note: recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: Beauty, Sense Perceptions, and Outer Offerings

(NOTE: The first hour includes a Werma practice session.)

PREREQUISITE: Attendance at a Scorpion Seal Assembly.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Shambhala Art is art that springs from the meditative state of mind. As a process, it brings wakefulness and awareness to the creative and viewing processes through the integration of contemplation and meditation.

Acharya Arawana Hayashi brings her extensive background in the performing arts and in contemplative practice into her work and her teaching.

COST: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed Internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

TOPIC: Shiwa Okar, visualization, offering, and formless meditation.

PREREQUISITE: Attendance at a Scorpion Seal Assembly.

SUGGESTED FEE: $25 per person. $15 per person if participating as part of a group. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

This talk with Acharya Eric Speigel can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend werma practice intensive. 

TOPIC: Absolute and relative - as it relates to Werma Sadhana and all of our practices altogether.

PREREQUISITE: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person, per talk. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

This talk with Acharya Eric Spiegel can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC: The Purifying Nature of Ngondo

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

This talk with Acharya Michael Greenleaf can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Werma practice intensive. 

TOPIC: Aspiration to practice.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person, per talk. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

Please note: Recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

This talk with Acharya Moh Hardin can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend ngondro practice intensive.

Topic: Ngondro as introduction to the nature of mind, entering the Vajrayana, and cultivating the ground in order to receive Abhisheka.

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITE: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

These two talks can be used in a Center or Group's weekend of practice and study. Each recording lasts approximately three hours and begins with a practice session, followed by a talk on Scorpion Seal practice, and general discussion.

PREREQUISITE: Attendance at a Scorpion Seal Assembly.

SUGGESTED FEE:  $60 for individual participation. $20 if participating with a centre or Shambhala group ~ generosity policy will apply. You may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities. Please register at bottom of page.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Teacher Training with Acharya Adam Lobel

For teachers, meditation instructors, Shambhala guides, assistant directors and leadership. This presentation is geared to those who have not heard a presentation on the new path at a Teacher Academy or director training.

Following the presentation, teachers and instructors were invited to participate in a discussion about the Way of Shambhala curriculum and path.

To register for the recordings, please scroll to the bottom of the page.

This program is two 2-hour sessions with Q&A.

ORIGINAL BROADCAST DATE: Saturday, October 2, 2009

SUGGESTED FEE: $10 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

These talks can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Ngondro practice intensive.

TOPIC: Practice and Transcending Confusion

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited to Shambhala centres and groups, and only to Shambhala Vajrayana students.  

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Werma talks (with Q&A) can provide the required study component within a centre or group’s weekend Werma practice intensive.

Topic: This session with Acharya Eric Spiegel focuses on various aspects of Werma practice, followed by a Q&A with discussion.

PREREQUISITES: Online participation limited only to Shambhala students who have received the Werma Sadhana at Kalapa Assembly or Rigden Abhisheka. 

SUGGESTED FEE: $15 per person. Generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Solitary Retreat

with Acharya Eve Rosenthal

This session focuses on the following: why do solitary retreats; how to prepare for retreat, and how to be on retreat.

This program is open to all.

SUGGESTED FEE: $10 per person. The generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Romantic Love

with Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown

This program is open to all.

SUGGESTED FEE: $10 per person. The generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities. 

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Werma Weekend with Ashe Acharya John Rockwell

Please join the Ashe Acharya for two discussions on The Roar of the Werma: The Sadhana of the Warrior. Acharya Rockwell has practiced and taught on the Werma sadhana for many years, and has recently completed the solitary Scorpion Seal retreat under the direction of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

If your Shambhala Centre offers a two-day Werma practice intensive scheduled around these two online talks, full weekend participation will count towards two days of group Werma practice requirements.

This program is open to tantrikas who have received the Werma Sadhana either at Kalapa Assembly or at the Rigden Abhisheka.

SUGGESTED FEE: $35 if participating with a group. $50 if participating individually. The generosity policy applies—you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

PLEASE NOTE: For group participation for restricted programs, we rely on centres to screen participants at your shrine room door, making sure that they are at the practice level required for participation. When participants register independently online, our staff verifies their practice level prior to "accepting" them.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

NOTE: Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

with Andy Karr

This five-class program is an excellent preparatory course for those planning to attend Sutrayana Seminary.  

Participation requirement: Prior completion of at least two weeks of a dathun and one year of Shambhala buddhist study - or - acceptance to Enlightened Society Assembly (formerly Sutrayana Seminary).

Class 1. The Four Truths
Topics: The four truths, the importance of the view, cultivating three types of prajña, gradual and sudden paths, three turnings of the wheel of dharma, the stages of meditation on emptiness

Class 2. Individual Selflessness
Topics: Singularity, permanence, independence, importance, the imputed self, the instinctive self, the impermanence of the continuum, subtle impermanence, deconstructing thoughts, the five skandhas, sorting for a self

Class 3. Mind Only
Topics: Two types of egolessness, proponents of truly existent things, Western science, the science of mind, no objects experienced in common, the “Ask Mr. Fly” test, habitual patterns and karmic tendencies

Class 4. Emptiness
Topics: Existence and nonexistence, the value of reasoning, the five middle way reasonings, the analysis of a nature

Class 5. Buddha Nature
Topics: Beyond freedom from fabrication, nine examples from Uttaratantrashastra, the three trainings and why the view is important

There is one required text for this course.

"Contemplating Reality; A Practitioner's Guide to the View of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism" by Andy Karr available from Shambhala Publications online at: http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-429-7.cfm        

COST: The suggested fee for the five-class series is $60 per person if participating as part of a group, and $85 if participating as an individual. The generosity policy applies—you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities. Teaching gifts can also be submitted online.

Please note: Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Ngondro*

PREREQUISITE: This program is restricted to Shambhala tantrikas who are practicing Ngondro. 

SUGGESTED FEE: The suggested fee is $10 per person. The generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Vajrayogini*

With Acharya Jenny Warwick

PREREQUISITE: This program is restricted to Shambhala tantrikas who have attended a Vajrayogini abhisheka.

SUGGESTED FEE: $10 per person. The generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Working with Meditation Students

This session is designed for MIs, Assistant Directors and Shambhala Guides, to facilitate discussion on some of the issues that come up for students on their path.

PREREQUISITE: This program is open to anyone who is a meditation instructor, Shambhala Guide or Assistant Director.

SUGGESTED FEE: $10 per person. The generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

PREREQUISITES: If you have received the lung and text “The Essence of Amrita” and are practicing the six dharmas according to instructions from Tenga Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsultim Gyatso, or Thrangu Rinpoche, you are eligible to attend this series.

This series will include four online sessions of presentation and discussion on the practice of the Four Root Dharmas that you may participate in from your home. Our intention is to encourage and support discussion among practitioners.

Each session will have a principal host who will lead off with a presentation. This will be followed by a period for comment, sharing, and interactive discussion.

PRESENTERS:

• Loppon Lodro Dorje:  Factors that Support Entering, Containing, and Clarifying Chandali. Originally broadcast January 12, 2009.

• Susan Chapman:  Former druppon of the three year retreat at Gampo Abbey, will be teaching on the relationship between Illusory Form and the Avadhuti Yogin practice (based on the Vidyadhara’s tris). Originally broadcast January 18, 2009.

• Acharya John Rockwell : The Four Mudras and Shambhala. Originally broadcast January 26, 2009.

• Elizabeth Callahan: Senior translator for Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, currently working on The Profound Inner Reality. Topic to be announced. Originally broadcast February 1, 2009.

COST: The suggested fee is $100, which is based on a generosity policy - you can pay as much as you wish—less if necessary, or more if you would like to support Shambhala Online’s efforts to offer programs like this. 

PLEASE NOTE: for group participation for restricted programs, we rely on centres to screen participants at your shrine room door, making sure that they are at the practice level required for participation. When participants register independently online, our staff verifies their practice level prior to "accepting" them.

The Vajrayana Path

With Acharya Richard John

This session will be of interest to Shambhala members who are curious about the Vajrayana path, people thinking of going to Vajrayana Seminary this year, as well as to those who have been to Kalapa Assembly and are doing Werma practice.

PREREQUISITE: Warrior Assembly graduate.

COST: The suggested fee is $10 per person, and the generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities. 

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Vipashyana

with Acharya Gaylon Ferguson

“The Buddha taught that to wake up from the dream of bewilderment and suffering, we first need to sit still and take a deep breath. Peaceful abiding is that deep breath, a way to strip away the chaos of bewilderment and find some basic sanity. But peaceful abiding is only the beginning of the spiritual journey. Simply withdrawing into the stability of our own minds could turn meditation practice into just another way to shop for pleasure. Instead, with this healthy sense of self we can look more deeply into the meaning of our being. We can take meditation further by using insight, vipashyana in Sanskrit, to reflect accurately on our own experience and on the nature of existence."  -Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, in Turning the Mind into an Ally 

COST: The suggested fee is $10 per person, and the generosity policy applies—you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities. Teaching gifts can also be submitted online.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Shamatha and Contemplation

with Acharya Michael Greenleaf

In this session, we will explore Shamatha or Calm Abiding meditation and contemplation practice with an eye toward deepening our understanding and appreciation of each, as well as the connection between them.

COST: The suggested fee is $10 per person, and the generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities. 

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Ask an Acharya about Tonglen 

with Acharya Eve Rosenthal

COST: The suggested fee is $10 per person, and the generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high-speed Internet connection.

Please note: Recordings are made over the Internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

Based on sutrayana teachings and influenced by Shambhala and vajrayana perspectives, these classes will be directly relevant to both sutrayana and vajrayana meditators. Each presentation will include view and specific meditation instructions. Open to all.

The Loppön recommends the following readings:

Longchenpa Great Chariot Autocommentary Chapter VII The Four Immeasurables

Bibliography

UNCONDITIONED MIND, FEAR AND FEARLESSNESS: RECOGNIZING AND TRANSCENDING THE ORIGIN OF SUFFERING
(TALKS 1 AND 2)

An effective approach to practice brings three things together: holding our seat in the moment; acknowledging our habitual patterns of ego-clinging; and drawing on the strength of unconditioned mind.

To overcome habitual patterns we need to gain direct recognition of how ego is triggered and perpetuates itself. In Buddhist terms, this is the direct recognition of the origin of suffering; in Shambhala terms this is practicing fear and fearlessness.

This direct recognition is grounded in our inherent unconditioned mind, the buddha-nature, and so letting go of ego-identifications is also a source of deeper strength.

THE FOUR IMMEASURABLES
(TALKS 3 AND 4)

The Four immeasurable Minds provide a foundation for bodhichitta, taking and sending, and tantric practice. We can approach the Four Immeasurables by developing them as qualities, as well as a way to remove our obstacles and blockages to experiencing the true nature of unconditioned mind.

We develop the Immeasurables as qualities by contemplating both the suffering and the accomplishments of ourselves and others. We remove obstacles to unconditioned mind by opening to pain, vulnerability, and uncertainty in ourselves and others.

In this way the Immeasurables arise not merely as the result of conceptual contemplation, but also as the manifestation of inseparable awareness and compassion.

TAKING AND SENDING (TONGLEN) IN THE LIGHT OF THE FOUR IMMEASURABLES AND THE ASHE PRINCIPLE
(TALK 5)

Continuing with our theme of attending to three things together: holding our seat in presence to inner and outer experience; acknowledgement of our defenses, ego-reactions, and habitual patterning; and drawing on the strength of the unconditioned mind.

Taking and sending practice can involve all of these elements. We start by getting a foothold on liberating our own suffering; from there we extend further.

SELFLESSNESS AND THE FIVE HEAPS
(TALK 6)

Who, where and what is our true self? Where is this "I" who proclaims "I am", "I need", "I must do", "I must defend"? Our physical body is impermanent and has no solid center. Our emotions fluctuate between joy and depression, love and anger, peace and turmoil. The conceptual stories we identify with alternate between success and failure, social and private personas, pride and fear. Consciousness–is it in thoughts or separate from them? Awareness–is it continuous or momentary? We will examine the Buddhist teachings on the five heaps (skandhas) .

Schedule and format

This course offers six recorded classes in total.
We recommend that wherever possible, participants gather together locally for the talks, practice together, dress up, and create a good container in which to receive these teachings.

Program Fees

The program fees listed below are suggested amounts. Please pay what you can—less, or more, than the suggested amount. Your contribution will support our ability to provide online teachings in the future.

Suggested fees: $60 if part of a group. $120 for individual participation.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.

This program with Acharya David Schneider is restricted to those who have attended Shambhala Vajrayana Seminary.

Class 1 will offer a review of the effects of the Primordial Rigden ngondro on the tantrika, and look at what abhisheka is all about.

Class 2 will look ahead to the Shambhala transmission which will be received at the Rigden Abhisheka.

We recommend that wherever possible, participants gather together locally for the talks, practice together, dress up, and create a good container in which to receive these teachings.

If certain individuals are unable to commute to attend some or all of the classes with one’s local group, they may attend those classes from home, being mindful that these are restricted teachings, and that children, family members and friends should not wander in and out of the home “classroom”. Even if joining from home, we encourage everybody to create an uplifted situation in which to receive these teachings.

SUGGESTED FEE: $20 per person if joining the course as part of a group, $40 per person if joining the course individually. The generosity policy applies ~ you may pay less if necessary, or more if inspired to support Shambhala Online activities.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: A computer with a wired, high speed internet connection.

Please note: recordings are made over the internet. Their quality cannot be guaranteed.