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...
Tania Leontov
Oh great and magical guru, thank you for the lessons imprinted, for the brilliance and accuracy with which you penetrated my confusion and make indelible marks. Unlike the imprints...
Year of the Earth Sheep: Shambahala Day 1979
In this address, Rinpoche talks very movingly about our individual responsibility to benefit everyone and anyone with whom we are connected.
I Urge and I Request
More and more, I think it is just so unfortunate that Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche died so young. If he were alive ...
Laughter and Relief
At the 1981 Seminary at Lake Louise, as the physician I was called to see Rinpoche one morning. The staff were alarmed because he had vomited several times. As...
Totally Free from Agenda
I became a kasung by coincidence.
In 1975, I was a student of Trungpa Rinpoche and working as a waiter at the Canyon Inn restaurant in Boulder. Just before closing...
Four Moments of Truth
I was living in Boston at the time of the Vidyadhara's 1986-87 illness, and we in the sangha there had been doing intense practice because of this on and...
My Very Short Life in Tibet
Here's a short one from Michael Chender in the spirit of Alan Sloan's My Very Short Life with Milarepa
Very early on, I was looking to see if maybe I had...
Birthmark
One day in the early 70s Rinpoche was sitting at his desk, and I pointed to his birthmark. He had a soft brown birthmark on his left forearm. I said something clueless like, “Is that a birthmark?”
Tribute to Jean Claude
Jean Claude van Itallie died on September 9, 2021 in Manhattan. He was a central figure in the experimental theater movement for decades and an early friend and student...
The Parinirvana of Kyabje Mindrolling Trichen
Prominent teachers and thousands of devoted Tibetan and Western students gathered and practiced at Mindrolling Monastery in India to pay respects to His Holiness Mindrolling Trichen Rinpoche, who passed...
Fifty Years Ago
On the anniversary of Trungpa Rinpoche's arrival in India, Carolyn Gimian looks back over the past 50 years.
We’re Here
Qatar Airlines surprised us at the gate with first-class seats. So we arrived in style: row 1, seats A, B and C. Then the wild cab ride to Boudhanath...
Trungpa Rinpoche’s Diary from the Final Days of the Escape
January 24, 1960
Finding the Escape Route
By Grant MacLean
Like many others, on re-reading Born in Tibet, I found that there were spiritual and inspirational layers I'd missed before. But it only slowly dawned on me...
Ah Robin
Boundless brilliance walking around in such a difficult body.
Your mother fed you all those googoo clusters because she wanted her boy round and happy.
Such voracious hunger for everything –
knowledge,...
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Buddhist Rebirth III: Modern Takesby Roger Jackson
Rebirth, or reincarnation, was assumed by most premodern Buddhists – and is believed by many modern Buddhists – to be “the […]
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The Key Points of Trekchö with Gerardo Abboudby Gerardo Abboud
In person at the Halifax Shambhala Centre, and here on Ocean We are very pleased to welcome Gerardo Abboud to the Halifax […]
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Samsara, Nirvana, and the Pathby Jakob Leschly
Samsara represents the painful cycle of dysfunction and suffering, whereas nirvana epitomizes the liberation inherent in our true […]
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The Kagyu Lineageby Jonathan Barbieri
Lineage is the unbroken transmission of wisdom and skillful means that is passed down directly from teacher to student – from […]
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The Interconnectedness of The Mandalas of Taktsang and of the Sadhana of Mahamudraby Lodro Sangpo
In the first class we will present a slideshow and videos of the walk up to the temple complex, as well as the other important […]