In 1959 Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche led 300 refugees on a nine-month journey across Tibet to India – a journey now seen to rank among the greatest of history’s great escapes. Among those following him was the Washutsong family and their daughter Palya, aged 15. With music composed and performed by India Gailey and Jeff Reilly, narration by Grant MacLean, Harsh Splendour tells Palya’s story. Through HD satellite images and a flight simulator, we follow the route the refugees took, see the towering mountain terrain they crossed, the fearsome weather they faced. It is a journey to inspire us all.

You Are The Masterpiece

Exploring unconditional sacredness: the display of innate goodness, the worthwhileness of everyday life

21 Years of Tributes from the Mahasangha

Contribute your poems, stories and tributes to this ongoing collection

Four Artists Reflect on CTR’s Visual Dharma Teachings

Photo by George Holmes, used by permission A reminiscence from Jack Niland Here's the story. In 1974 at the start of Naropa, Trungpa told me I had to teach a class..."Just tell them everything I've told you" were his only instructions. The first year I assisted others to learn the ropes. Then, starting in 1975, he had me...

Datun Study Program

Buddhism: View and Path: A 7-month study program from Siddhartha's Intent: January - July 2026. The course is being taught by senior instructors and students of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, along with several excellent guest teachers.

The Passing of Lama Yonten

Lama Yonten passed away in Nepal on February 7. Yonten was Trungpa Rinpoche's attendant during their escape from Tibet, 1959-1960. He also attended Trungpa Rinpoche's root guru, Shechen Kongtrul Rinpoche. Years later in India, he attended Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Here is a recent passage from Rabjam Rinpoche's Facebook page In Loving Memory of Lama Yonten, Personal Assistant to...

50 Years of Dharma at the Philadelphia Shambhala Center

In December of 2020, during the pandemic, the Philadelphia Shambhala Center hosted a virtual gathering with fourteen of the founding members of Shambhala in Philadelphia.  Coming together from coast to coast, some of them had not seen each other for decades.   They talked about the early days of practice, the sangha house in West Philly, the visits...

The Halifax Shambhala Centre: Who’s in Charge? The Mandala Governance System

In 1975, when Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was asked how he saw his lineage continuing in America he replied that “the general plan, seemingly, or general intuitive plan, is that some kind of reign of sanghaship would take place for a while," and "this needs group spirit." The Halifax Shambhala Centre is implementing a new governance model. The...

Journey to Taktsang 57 Years Ago

The Sadhana of Mahamudra was completed at Taktsang in Bhutan on September 6, 1968. Here, in his own words, is the story of traveling to Taktsang and receiving the sadhana.

Lack of Credentials

Excerpted from The Way of Basic Sanity, A Brief Overview of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Perspective on Sutric Buddhism

Why Now?

Tashi Colman's Review of The Sadhana of Mahamudra, a new title from Shambhala Publications

The Halifax Shambhala Centre Announces the Visit of Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche

The Halifax Shambhala Centre is pleased to announce that Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche—the grandson and spiritual heir of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Trungpa Rinpoche’s principal teachers—will be visiting Halifax during the first week of August 2026.

Lady Diana’s Life Story

I’ve been asked by the family of Lady Diana Mukpo to make some remarks today about her life story: who she was, what she did and what her connection is to all of us! It’s difficult to do this for someone of her stature and also for someone who was such a beloved friend of many...

Ringu Tulku on the Sadhana of Mahamudra & the Four Dharma’s of Gampopa

Thank you to Ringu Tulku and his organization, Bodhicharya, for permission to post this talk.

The Passing of Lady Diana Mukpo

Dear Shambhala Sangha, Our community has experienced an incredible loss. We write with heavy hearts to share that Lady Diana Mukpo - wife and widow of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, mother, grandmother, accomplished equestrian, and steadfast protector of the Shambhala teachings and vision - passed away surrounded by family and close friends at her home in Florida on...

Ashoka Mukpo

Twenty years! It seems difficult to comprehend that it has been so long since Trungpa Rinpoche passed away. Even now I feel him more as a living, breathing entity...

Beyond Comprehension

Book Review: From Lion’s Jaws, Chögyam Trungpa’s Epic Journey to the West
by Grant MacLean

The Shrine Blessing

About 15 of us were doing the first dathun at the Abbey in January, 1986. The place was abuzz because Rinpoche was coming up to Halifax for the shrine...

Scattered Pearls

Early 1980's: There was an outdoor patio party at the Kalapa Court in Boulder, for the Court staff. I attended, as I was on the kitchen service staff. I...

Supreme Lord of Compassion

by Steve Roth A glimpse of Avalokiteśvara During the 16th Karmapa’s 1980 third and final tour of North America, he visited Santa Fe, New Mexico and performed the Black Crown Ceremony....

The Big Thud

I'm unsure what year this was, probably the late summer or early fall of 1986, but it was the last time Rinpoche was to be in the States, and...

The Usual

During 1985 and 1986 I attended Rinpoche weekly. Upon entering his room, there was often a vast sense of space. This particular day, not unlike other days, he wanted...

Grandmother’s Audience

As told by Sarah Cox to Elizabeth Richardson Born in 1890, Sarah Louise Buffington, was an unusually self determined woman for her generation. With the onset of the First World...

Bodhicitta, Aspiration, and Merit: an address to the translators

Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche is the youngest son of the Terton Kangyur Rinpoche. At an early age he was recognized as an incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro by H.H...

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."

Pure and All Pervading

KTGR: In the Sadhana of Mahamudra, in the verse that begins, “In the mandala of mahamudra / Shines moonlight, pure and all-pervading …,” Trungpa Rinpoche perfectly conveys his enlightened intention. This verse is incredibly profound.

Karma Pakshi and Two Mongol Emperors: Genesis of the Reincarnate Lamas Tradition

Charles Manson, the Librarian at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, talks about his new book "The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi.

Training: Pema Part Two

That's when he made the famous comment which I've repeated many times: "The monks and nuns should always be horny." He said, "We want real energetic juicy monks and nuns but they should keep their vows impeccably."

Walk Slowly, Arrive Now

Gradual and/or Instantaneous:
A Review of Two Very Different Books That Converge on a Vital Topic