The photos in this gallery help explain why the Nelson area is such a great place to live, work and play! (More images will be added as they become available.)

Senge Ling (”Lion Place”) is the name that Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche gave to our rural retreat land near Nelson. The land features a solitary retreat cabin and rustic group retreat facilities, home to our annual public one-week meditation retreat. For more about Senge Ling and retreats there, go to our Senge Ling page.

The Kootenay Shambhala Centre occupies the whole top floor of a beautiful heritage building in the heart of downtown Nelson. We’ve been on the north half of the floor since 1979. Take this virtual tour of our beloved home. (More images will be added as they become available.)

Pema Chödrön is one of the most prominent women teachers of Buddhism. She is resident director at Gampo Abbey monastery in Nova Scotia and the author of several books, including The Wisdom of No Escape, When Things Fall Apart, The Places That Scare You, and No Time to Lose, a commentary on the classic text, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life.

For the best selection of Pema Chödrön’s teachings available on the web, go to Shambhala Sun magazine’s Pema Chödrön area.

Our new Photo Galleries page aims to capture glimpses of our Centre’s life and present them in a user-friendly way―in themed clickable galleries.

Check it out (and let us know what you think).

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In response to numerous requests for a business card-size version of our weekly public meditation practice schedule, we created one.

Plenty are available at the centre. Feel free to pass ‘em around…

The message below was posted on the worldwide Shambhala email announcement service earlier today.

For information about the Kootenay Shambhala Centre’s environmental activity, click on any of the related subject tags in the sidebar―e.g., protecting the earth―or contact Russell Rodgers, our Touching the Earth liaison, at info@nelsonbuddha.com.

Dear sangha,

A cheerful summer to you! This spring and summer have been exciting times for environmental action within the Shambhala sangha. The Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche offered his mindful instructions on Protecting the Earth in support of Earth Day 2009 and in July urged sangha members to sign the Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change.

Along with the Sakyong’s encouragement, the Touching the Earth working group launched the 2009 Shambhala Green Commitment initiative. We have been delighted so far at the positive actions centers are taking throughout the world and eagerly await responses from the remainder of the mandala. Read the rest of this entry »

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Our updated introductory cards are now ready for distribution at the centre and around town and beyond. The front side of the new card (shown at the left) features as before the slogan “Make friends with being human”.

If you’re wondering what it means to make friends with being human, you might enjoy exploring the fabulously rich related resources available in Shambhala Sun magazine’s archive: Shambhala Sun “making friends with” search

Below is a selection of photos taken at Kootenay Public Weekthün 2009: Touching the Earth, this year’s annual public one-week meditation retreat at Senge Ling (our retreat land near Nelson), which ran from June 27th to July 5th. Many thanks to Tom Baker for sharing his work. More photos may be posted as they’re submitted.

New Kootenay Shambhala member Jane DiGiacomo submitted this striking photo of kokanee (landlocked sockeye salmon) in Kokanee Creek near Nelson. Thanks, Jane, for sharing this shot of life!

Click on the image to enlarge it.