Learning to Wake Up
We are hungry for knowledge and want to get results immediately and automatically, but unless we give up that speed and urgency, we are not going to learn anything. The problem seems to be basically one of laziness. We are so lazy that we do not even want to bother eating our food; we would prefer to be satisfied just from reading the menu. And that laziness reaches the extreme when it comes to going further into relating with reality. The process of learning to wake up takes time and painful measures of all kinds. The learning process is not an easy matter. It is not easy, because we do not want to surrender our basic security. The teachings of Buddhism are not a source of security, such as “the freedom of nirvana” or something of that nature. The teachings do not present another form of security at all, but bring the absence of any kind of security. Enlightenment is the complete absence of any kind of promises.
Randy spent his life communing with the mystical, exploring the myriad dimensions of consciousness, and on April 12, 2024, at 9:35 pm, he finally transcended, leaving his old and broken body behind. After 12 years struggling with Parkinson’s and...
Review of Pith Instructions from my Teachers
James Gritz has written a profound Dharma book, which he organized in the form of a spiritual memoir.
The Passing of John Odenthal
John Odenthal, a long-time student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and a dear friend to many passed away in Halifax on February 25. Please hold him, and his daughter, Brighid, in your thoughts and prayers.
Surmang shedra completed and in use as a shedra
Starting in 2010, while work on the shrine room furnishings continued, the shedra building complex has been used for various children's programs, for shedra-type study programs for monks, as the temporary monastery lhakang (shrine hall) when the monastery's lhakang was being rebuilt, and as a temporary residence for nuns while the Kyelaka nunnery associated with Surmang Dutsi Til was under construction.
The Passing of Ricky Assaly
A sukhavati will be held on Friday January 26 at 2:00 p.m. in the Boulder Shambhala Center Main Shrine Room.
Father Thomas Keating and Trungpa Rinpoche Talk About Egolessness
This conversation took place during Naropa’s 1983 Christian Buddhist Conference
Mother’s Milk
When you take a leap into the phenomenal world, you may think it is a very bold and heroic thing to do. However, you might awake, as if from a dream, and find yourself in the mouth of a crocodile.
The Passing of Tania Leontov
We stand both in great sadness for the passing of Tania Leontov as well as a reverence and immense appreciation we feel toward a spiritual sister who has been such a pivotal person in the legacy of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the genuine Dharma coming our way!
The Passing of Tulku Thondup Rinpoche
Loving-kindness is the thought of wishing total happiness for others and putting that wish into practice. It is the thought of unconditioned, pure, and universal love towards all beings without attachment, self-centeredness, or expectation of rewards.
— Tulku Thondup
Saraha and Sahaja
In this lecture, Roger Jackson talks about Saraha's songs, with a special focus on his teachings on sahaja – a vital tantric term variously translated as "the coemergent," "the connate," or "the simultaneously arisen."
Dön Season Retreat on Ocean
During the final days of the Year of the Water Rabbit, we will focus our
evening practice on Vajrakilya and Pacifying the Turmoil of the Mamos.
The Star of Bethlehem
You begin to experience the dawn or glimmer of light, which in Western language is called the Star of Bethlehem
The Cremation of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche Notes from Nepal, November, 2023
Many years back, at the time of the first visit of Thrangu Rinpoche to Boulder, Colorado at the invitation of Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Trungpa Rinpoche was asked what code word we could use for Thrangu Rinpoche when communicating the logistics of his transportation, arrival at events, etc.
Vajrayogini Abhisheka Announcement
Dear Vajra Sangha,
Under the Open Umbrella initiative of the Druk Sakyong Wangmo, Diana Mukpo, we are delighted to announce that with the blessing of His Holiness Karmapa XVII, the Venerable Ringu Tulku Rinpoche has consented to confer a Vajrayogini empowerment to our group of suitably prepared students. This request was initiated by the Kagyu ngöndro working group under...
Conversation with Ringu Tulku
An Interview from 2013
The Essential Chögyam Trungpa
An eleven-class course on the essential teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
My Very Short Life with Milarepa
One of the first books I read about Tibetan Buddhism was the Life of Milarepa. I found the story of his life and enlightenment a great inspiration. Reading about...
Hare Krishna
Rinpoche was teaching a college course at C.U. (University of Colorado Boulder) that had been arranged by Brian Grimes. This was probably fall semester 1971. After class one evening...
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi Connections
On the anniversary of his passing
Joni and Rinpoche
Here is Joni Mitchell in conversation with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden after receiving the Gershwin Prize. When asked what themes she might want to explore currently in her songwriting, Joni talked about her connection with Trungpa Rinpoche
Interview with Phil Karl
The following conversation between Phil Karl and Walter Fordham took place at the Trident Cafe and Booksellers in Boulder, Colorado on March 16, 2002.
As a Parent, All You Can Do Is…
In 1975 I brought my son Ben to an interview with Trungpa Rinpoche. I got him as dressed up as I could manage from Berkeley CA's pathetic department-store...
The Visit of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa
Observations From Peter Volz
Preparing for the visit of the Seventeenth Karmapa has been very enjoyable because there are so many different sanghas working together. From one point of view...
Vajradhatu Seminary Lake Louise
https://youtu.be/-hUvblQO-nc
Thank you to Charels Marrow for putting together this slide show recollection of the 1981 Seminary. For more about all thirteen seminaries conducted by Trungpa Rinpoche, listen to ...
KCCL’s Year-end Update and Annual Appeal
With Video by Robert Zimmerman
Still Crazy After All These Years
The 35th anniversary of the founding of the Boston Dharmadhatu.
Video Excerpt from When the Iron Bird Flies
This 5 minute clip from the feature documentary WHEN THE IRON BIRD FLIES: Tibetan Buddhism Arrives in the West follows Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche as he leaves England, lands in...
The Pygmy Farm
In the late 1960s a group of friends from various parts of the country met in San Francisco and (when one of them happened to find a cheap farm...
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Prajna and Upayaby Martin Evans
Three Tuesdays at 7:00 pm Eastern starting September 19. We will listen to Rinpoche’s three talks together and, as always, […]
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Outer, Inner and Secret Levels of Mindfulness Practiceby Lodro Sangpo
Please note: Participants in this course may also be interested in Lodro Sangpo’s course on Abhidharma in the Context of […]
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Kitchen Sink Series: The Path is the Goalby David Nudell
This five-week course will use Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s text, THE PATH IS THE GOAL. Taken from two seminars in 1974, one held […]
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Mind, Symbol, and Word: The Three Levels of Vajrayana Transmissionby Judy Lief
According to the Vidyadhara, our understanding of the three lineages begins with our relationship with the teacher. It begins […]
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Mahamudra Aspiration of Rangjung Dorjeby Gerardo Abboud
Rangjung Dorje’s Mahamudra Aspiration is an extraordinarily pithy and comprehensive text. Not only does the text elucidate the […]