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...
A Conversation with Shari Vogler
Shari Vogler served as the head cook to the Vidyadhara, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his family from 1977 until his death in 1987.
Light of Blessings: Supplication to the Eleventh Trungpa Chökyi Gyatso
At the request of Lady Könchok Paldrön (Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche's mother), Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche composed the following supplication to Trungpa Rinpoche.
Light of Blessings:
Supplication to the Eleventh Trungpa Chökyi Gyatso
View...
1978: Children’s Day at the Court
On the first several Children's Days in Boulder...
A Penny for Your Thoughts
During the 1984 Kalapa Assembly in Bedford Springs, the Vidyadhara requested that I visit with him. At one point during the visit there was a long silence. I asked...
Elocution Lessons with Chögyam Trungpa, Part Two: Form as Practice
If you are paying attention to how you speak and how others communicate, you will find that you are paying attention altogether to the environment, to how you sit or stand, to how you hold your hands, to how you look at people — all those things.
The Day My Car Died
When my guru lay dying, I was in Boulder and he was in Halifax, but I had never been closer to him. Every breath he took was another moment...
Glimpses of Tail of the Tiger 1970
Jonathan first heard of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970 when his mother, Nancy Eric, showed him a brochure she had picked up about Tail of the Tiger. Jonathan read...
It Was the Memory of His Kindness
I read something recently that recalled the evening I heard Chögyam Trungpa speak in Toronto in the autumn of 1971. My memories of that evening come back to me...
Parinirvana Day Message from Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
At dawn on April 4, 2020, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche sent this message
Lessons from Milarepa’s Life and Songs
Review of a New Book by Chogyam Trungpa
Celebrating the Return in Colorado
When Yangsi Rinpoche came into the shrine room, we witnessed a kind of scene special to Tibetan Buddhism, where the buddha activity of the previous teacher becomes identified with another, subsequent person.
Touch and Go Premieres in Halifax
Chögyam Trungpa's first book, Born in Tibet, originally published in 1966, is a classic story of a great escape. It is an autobiographical account of Rinpoche's upbringing in Tibet...
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."
Celebrating 900 Years of the Kagyu Lineage
Photograph by James Gritz
James Gritz reports, December 11, 2010:
We are here in Bodhgaya working from dawn to late at night on the film of the Karmapa and the Kagyu...
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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 […]