Shambhala Level II: Birth of the Warrior

Nov 10-12, Friday: 7:00-8:30pm & Saturday/Sunday 11:00am-8:00pm EST

About the Course

Deepen your meditation practice, and continue along the path of the Shambhala teachings on warriorship, in this weekend retreat.

Shambhala Training Level II: Birth of the Warrior builds on the presentation of basic goodness in Shambhala Level I, and explores how habitual ways of thinking, known as “cocoon” in Shambhala Training, obscure the raw brilliance of ourselves and the world we live in.

With the guidance of a senior Shambhala teacher and a group of experienced meditation instructors, you will learn a meditation practice that builds upon the mindfulness-awareness technique of Shambhala Training Level I, and explore real techniques for working with fear and habitual patterns of thought and behavior.

By opening to our own genuineness and tenderness, we begin to notice, and learn how to work with, our deep-seated habits and defenses. We begin seeing through obscurations of habitual patterns that we have created over time.

This weekend retreat will include guided meditation instruction, periods of both sitting and “Zen-style” walking meditation, talks, silent periods, and group discussions.

Shambhala Training Level II is the second retreat in a progressive series of weekend retreats, meaning each weekend is a requirement for the following weekend.

The point of Shambhala Training is to get out of the cocoon, which is the shyness and aggression in which we have wrapped ourselves… A Shambhala warrior is someone who is brave enough not to give in to the aggression and contradictions that exist in society…who is able to step out of the cocoon--that very comfortable cocoon that he or she is trying to sleep in.

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

About Shambhala Training

Shambhala Training is designed to help us develop fearlessness, confidence, openness and gentleness towards ourselves and our world. These qualities arise out of meditation practice and the study of Shambhala warriorship principles. 

Developed by Chögyam Trungpa in 1976, Shambhala Training offers teachings based on the vision that every human being has a natural source of innate wakefulness that we can discover, cultivate and express in our life.

This path is open to anyone seeking to develop gentleness and strength through meditation. Shambhala Training is a series of contemplative workshops suited for both beginning and experienced meditators. The simple and profound technique of mindfulness-awareness meditation can benefit people of any spiritual tradition and way of life.

Meditation practice helps us to examine our states of mind without trying to change them. This practice encourages openness to oneself and what’s around us, and transforms the way we habitually see our life and our world. Our old habits and patterns become more transparent, leaving room for a more direct appreciation of situations.

The “Heart of Warriorship” curriculum consists of five weekend retreats that include meditation training and practice, talks by senior teachers, personal interviews, and group discussions.

Levels I-V provide a strong foundation in mindfulness-awareness meditation practice, emphasizing the development of genuineness, confidence, humor, and dignity within the complexity of daily life.

About the Teacher

Holly Gayley is a scholar and translator of Buddhist literature in contemporary Tibet and Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research areas include gender and sexuality in Buddhist tantra, ethical reform in contemporary Tibet, and theorizing translation, both literary and cultural, in the transmission of Buddhist teachings to North America. Her most recent book is Inseparable Across Lifetimes: The Lives and Love Letters of Namtrul Rinpoche and Khandro Tāre Lhamo, and her new edited volume, Voices from Larung Gar: Shaping Tibetan Buddhism for the Twenty-First Century, is coming out in April 2021. For two decades, she has regularly led meditation workshops and retreats and serves as a senior teacher in the Shambhala tradition.