Primordial Stroke: Opening the Heart of Ashe

Live Sessions from 1:00pm - 4:00pm EST

2023: Nov. 5 & Dec. 3,

2024: Jan. 7 & Feb. 4

This four-month course (one session each month) led by John Rockwell will help Shambhala practitioners deepen their understanding and experience of Ashe, or “primordial confidence,” and the practice of raising windhorse. John will present his understanding of the ground, path, and fruition of Ashe and raising windhorse and why these practices are so deeply important to Shambhala and the world. 

During this course, John will talk about Ashe and lungta and how they are two sides of one transmission. He will share the story of how the Ashe was received by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and why he was looking for it in the first place. The details of how the Ashe was “birthed,” received, and then first transmitted is a powerful laying of the ground for understanding these important transmissions.

This series will also explore how we practice and work with Ashe and lungta, and both the peaceful and wrathful aspects of these practices. One of Chögyam Trungpa’s first comments about Shambhala Training when Level 1 was first happening was that “it should make people cry." The notion that Shambhala teachings touch the heart directly and “cut though” come into full blossoming with Ashe and lungta practices, and this will be explored.

This course will also investigate how the fruition of these practices is creativity - both individual and societal. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche referred to “dharma art” as the union of Shambhala and Buddhadharma. In this way, the fruition of Ashe and lungta practices can be viewed as dharma art - not in the sense of a “curriculum” of “fixed path," but in the sense of being generative practices that help us to relate to our world and others with creativity, skillful collaboration, and open hearts.

This is an excellent follow up course of study and practice for people who have attended Warrior Assembly. We invite you to join this tender and open hearted exploration of Shambhala’s most profound teachings and practices.

Prerequisites

Must have attended Warriors Assembly or Kalapa Assembly. 

Translations

Simulatneous interpretation to Spanish will be available for all live sessions. 

About the Teacher

John Rockwell has been on the path of dharma for 47 years. He met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1975 and studied and practiced the Buddhist and Shambhala teachings for 12 years with him, and in particular worked with him on translating Tibetan texts into English. For ten years, he studied and taught at Naropa University in the Buddhist Studies department. For many years, he served as an acharya or senior teacher for Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and also studied intensively with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. His inspiration now is to open the heart and senses on the spot.