Susan Chapman

SUSAN CHAPMAN was empowered as a Shastri by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in July. To learn more about her, go to Susan Chapman: Our New Shastri in Vancouver! on the Vancouver Shambhala Centre’s blog.

CULTIVATING GENUINE DIALOGUE
By Susan Chapman

If we want to create a space that welcomes the soul, we must speak our own truth to the center of the circle and listen receptively as others speak theirs. We must also respond to what others say in ways that extend the welcome, something that rarely happens in daily life.

―Parker Palmer

In the fall of 2008, when I first moved to Vancouver, I started a Monday night dharma study group that focused on the experience of dialogue. Although I formed this group in response to a request to offer a program for beginning meditators, it was also a way of meeting my own need for a sense of community after having lived at Gampo Abbey for the previous seven years. When I lived in Boulder in the early 80’s I loved the delek system that the Druk Sakyong created, groups of about 25 people who got to know and care for one another through conversations about the dharma. So I gravitate towards these kinds of situations.

Last year, in 2009, we launched the Way of Shambhala in Vancouver and I was delighted to realize that this format encouraged the kind of dialogue I’d come to appreciate so much. When we create the conditions for people to turn towards each other and genuinely share their experience of the teachings, a special kind of group lungta is raised. David Bohm, the quantum physicist who also worked with Krishnamurti to explore transformational communication, describes this. He says that when the conditions are right, we can experience “a stream of meaning that flows among, through us and between us.”

According to Bohm, genuine dialogue can occur even when we’re alone. In Way of Shambhala we accomplish this by introducing contemplation as well as short dyad exercises. In Bohm’s view, dialogue is not the same thing as a discussion. I think most participants in Way of Shambhala would agree. The experience of dialogue is more than educational, it is transformative. It can moves us beyond knowing into the wisdom of not knowing. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the fifth in a series of Kootenay Shambhala member interviews conducted by Bobbie Ogletree to explore the notion of “creating enlightened society,” a central theme of Shambhala, and celebrate our community’s diversity. Click here for all member interviews.

LYNN DRAGONE is a longtime Nelson resident, a movement educator, and the Kootenay Shambhala Centre’s current Director. She is employed as a caregiver.

Lynn Dragone at Gampo Abbey

Bobbie Ogletree: You recently returned from Gampo Abbey. How long were you there?

Lynn Dragone: Nine months. Three months as a lay person plus six months as a monastic.

What motivated you to leave here and go there?

I was looking for a strong practice environment. I had kind of scouted that out by doing different programs at Shambhala Mountain Center, Karme Choling, and Dechen Choling in France. I felt like the big land centres have so many programs with a lot of people coming and going. You work more like an eight-hour day. You do have practice at different hours, like I am used to at home. At Gampo Abbey, the workday is four hours and there are at least four hours of practice a day, usually five or six.

Did being at Gampo Abbey meet your expectations?

It did. It was exactly what I wanted. I had a curiosity, though, about monasticism as a way of life, and I found that it is not for me. Our lineage is the only one that offers a temporary experience of monasticism. It is a great thing to do for a period of time. It’s really good practice to be in a strong environment with 30 people where you are faced with what kind of world you are creating, noticing and working with that and being dedicated to that. It matches up with the Shambhala vision.

Did you have periods of silence and interaction with community members?

Yes, from 7:30 pm until 12:30 the next day, we were in silence. 12:30 is lunch time and lunch is the main meal. It is a social time. The work period follows. During this period, we are also encouraged to be silent. The silence helped us examine what makes speech mindful. We brought the social atmosphere to awareness. Some people were bothered by small talk, but others felt it is part of human nature. The social atmosphere provoked different things in different people.

What kind of hindrances arose from doing so much practice and being in community?

The first week I was there, I noticed the people I didn’t like. I decided right away to move towards them because I was there to examine this kind of thing. They didn’t become people I loved, but I noticed taking responsibility for my attitudes, for my thoughts was the theme of being there. Doing so really helped me change my attitude towards parts of myself that I don’t like. It helped me be more accepting. Sometimes I could feel the karma burning (laughs). There were cycles of opening to difficult stuff, clearing, feeling new growth, and again the experiencing of difficult stuff.

Did anything there really surprise you?

Sometimes it was my reaction to communication from the outside. It could really provoke me. I went through a period of time where I couldn’t have this communication. I needed to rest in the immediate space. I felt it was the gift of being there to allow myself that luxury. In nine months, I only went to town two afternoons.

Was re-entry difficult?

No, not at all. I had planned to visit ten households before I came home. I thought it could be overwhelming. It was fine, but I had to work with noticing what I was anticipating. I didn’t want to be a hothouse flower. That is what I felt vigilant about in relation to monasticism. I want the practice to encourage the Shambhala vision of more turning to the world, more openness, more flexibility.

Have you noticed anything different about the Centre or do you feel a sense of continuity?

Summer is a quiet time. I just feel very happy to be back here. I love the sangha so much. I feel its preciousness. I think I had to reconnect with what it means to be going back as Director with a renewed sense of what I have to offer as who I am.

Below is an adaptation of an email message sent to Kootenay Shambhala members and friends today by Candace Batycki, who organized the refugee sponsorship meeting that took place at the Shambhala Centre on Wednesday, July 7th.

Hello dear sangha,

The meeting Wednesday night went well, with about 20 people attending. Thank you to everyone who sent emails of interest and support.

It was very informative and a bit heartbreaking learning more about the Karen people in particular―hill tribe people from Burma forced into refugee camps in Thailand whose only hope of ever leaving is through private sponsorship. It was great to see the short film about the people that have been resettled into the East Kootenays. The refugee support group there has been active for 26 years and has settled a family every year, many from Burma but also from Colombia and Eritrea. They have made such an impact on so many lives.

Some of the attendees were there because they have already formed a local group and have been gathering resources for a while now; they are ready to welcome a family but have hit some bureaucratic walls, which the East Kootenay people will now help them break through. They hope to welcome a family here by late 2010. They are loosely affiliated with the United Church, which has a long history of doing this work, helping with the bureaucracy.

We decided that the best approach will be for us (interested sangha) to join forces with them. I think this is quite exciting! For now I will be the liaison to their committee. We can appoint somebody from the sangha either to actually join the committee (which would be great) or to continue as liaison (after I leave for Halifax August 31). Or, if nobody wants to step forward, I can just forward the email addresses of interested sangha members to their committee chair and people can proceed on their own. Thoughts?

Thank you!
Candace

P.S. It felt good to have these folks in our centre; many commented on how beautiful it was and some took bookmarks with the practice schedule.

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This is the fourth in a series of Kootenay Shambhala member interviews conducted by Bobbie Ogletree to explore the notion of “creating enlightened society,” a central theme of Shambhala, and celebrate our community’s diversity.

STEVE CAUTHERS describes himself as “a semi-retired postal worker, father, husband, and aspiring meditator.”

Steve Cauthers

Steve Cauthers: Six years ago.

Did you have other practices or another path before you became involved with Shambhala?

In my early twenties, I was having a rough go of it emotionally, and I was abusing drugs and alcohol. So, I went to AA and learned about a higher power. I hadn’t been raised with any religion and I investigated this idea on my own. I became involved with prayer and I prayed on a daily basis for about twenty-three years.

What attracted you to the Shambhala Centre?

There was a man at work who went to the Centre. I was attracted to his centered energy. I was coming out of a divorce and my mind was very discursive. I really like to read, but my mind was so discursive that I couldn’t concentrate on reading. I also thought that I wasn’t getting enough out of prayer and that I needed a shift.

How has the Shambhala practice helped you?

I am a fairly anxious type of person and the practice has helped in this area. I can still be quite anxious, but the practice has reduced the level of the anxiety, if only a little at times.

What kinds of hindrances do you experience in your practice?

I tend to be very busy in my life. I wake up very early, go to work, stop off at home, get on the computer etc. I sometimes really fill up my life so that I feel I don’t have enough time to practice. Another obstacle I experience is maitri/self-love. I sometimes have trouble being gentle with myself. But the practice has increased my ability to do that. So that is also a benefit of the practice.

Do you practice regularly?

Kind of semi-regularly. I have a shrine set up, and I will go a few weeks practicing for an hour daily. I feel the positive effects of this quickly. But then I let the practice go for awhile and that can make it hard to resume it. I do try to remember to bring my practice into my day even if I am not sitting.

How do you apply your practice to living the Shambhala vision in our seemingly chaotic world?

I see people’s pain and suffering; I see their anger and their lashing out. I can be affected by this. However, more and more I can see where they are coming from. The practice has helped me develop more empathy. My outlook is that we are all on the planet together.

What is an aspect of your Shambhala vision?

I see Shambhala as a place where everyone opens doors for each other.

Click here for all leadership-related posts

This article is adapted from a Shambhala governance document on preventing leadership burnout and working with it if it arises. The ideas are presented here to make them more accessible to leaders, volunteers and others anywhere.

Other leadership resources include the book The Six Ways of Ruling: A Resource for Leaders and Shambhala’s Governance as Path webpage, where the original document is posted.

WORKING WITH BURNOUT

Working beneficially with burnout involves recognizing factors that can lead to it and bringing them to the meditative path. Key is developing a willingness to relate with one’s own mind in a gentle and tough way.

Factors leading to burnout (and ways of working with them) include:

• Avoiding practice
Balance your life so that meditation practice remains central. If you’re too busy to practice, you’re too busy.

• Difficulty saying “no”
Learn how and when to say “no” to others’ requests, and even to your own ideas. Look deeply into the experience of having difficulty setting limits.

• Taking things too personally
Leaders will always draw both praise and blame. Cultivate the ability to receive criticism with equanimity, and to work with pride, ambition and attachment to praise.

• Cognitive dissonance
Learn to accommodate the dissonance between the vastness of Shambhala vision and the sometimes messy reality of living on earth. Can you hold both aspects without being overwhelmed by either?

• Letting “best” undermine “good”
While aiming for excellence can be beneficial, it can become an obstacle if taken to an extreme. Look deeply into the experience of perfectionism.

• Engaging in harmful speech
Explore the impulse to gossip, speak harshly or complain. Learn to relate with others’ harmful speech without reinforcing or escalating it.

• Solidifying things
Explore the experience of seeing only problems and doubting the unconditional brilliance and goodness of things as they are. “We are ruling a dream, and we all share the same dream.” ―Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

Click here for all member interviews

This is the third in a series of Kootenay Shambhala member interviews conducted by Bobbie Ogletree to explore the notion of “creating enlightened society,” a central theme of Shambhala, and celebrate our community’s diversity.

JIM NORTHCOTE, a retired wilderness outfitter, enjoys living in Nelson and serving the world however he can.

Jim Northcote

Jim Northcote: About 15 years.

How long have you been a member of the Kootenay Shambhala community?

About 13 years.

What initially drew you to explore Shambhala Buddhism?

Suffering―I had a history of depression. During that time of my life, I learned from books on Christian mysticism and cognitive behavioral psychology how much my thoughts could influence my sense of well-being. A little later I visited the Shambhala Centre and discovered Pema Chödrön’s books and audio/video recordings. Pema helped me understand what it meant to befriend my experience. She helped me make a deep shift in my worldview. She’s one of my heroes.

You have been a member of the Shambhala community for a long time. What have been some of the major changes in the community since you joined it?

One thing is the number of people involved. In the first course I attended, there were just two students. I don’t think there was much publicity beyond word of mouth at the time. To me, the Shambhala Centre feels a lot more vibrant now and members have more interest in interacting with the greater community. I’d say this has to do with dissolving a false dichotomy between “us” and “them.”

What aspect of the Kootenay Shambhala Centre currently inspires you?

The benefits of the view, practice, and community I observe in myself and others. Nothing special really―just a calling to be fully human.

Could you describe something that keeps your practice invigorated?

I’m aware of the world’s immense suffering, and it touches me deeply. I want to use my life to do what I can to help. My practice on and off the cushion is the best way I know to do this.

The world seems to be getting increasingly more chaotic. How do you reconcile this chaos with your view of creating enlightened society?

Everything depends on one’s point of view. From one viewpoint, the world appears to be getting increasingly chaotic and problematic. From another, the world is worthy of respect and appreciation as it is―chaos and all. I see the latter as the basis for a genuinely kind society.

Click here for all member interviews

This is the second in a series of Kootenay Shambhala member interviews conducted by Bobbie Ogletree to explore the notion of “creating enlightened society,” a central theme of Shambhala, and celebrate our community’s diversity.

Click on the images below to enlarge them.

Bobbie Ogletree: How long have you been practicing Shambhala Buddhism and how long have you been a member of the Kootenay Shambhala Centre?

Maria Stella: I have been practicing for 10 years and became a member of the Kootenay Shambhala Centre in June 2009.

What inspires you at the Kootenay Shambhala Centre?

Being part of Shambhala Training weekends. It really inspires me to see people go through the levels and open up over time, to see them experience the teachings, not only at the Kootenay Shambhala Centre, but also in other Centres.

How do you think this can be enhanced at the Centre?

By being aware of how much volunteers can help. It is not just about how many volunteers there are at Shambhala training levels. It is their presence; the presence of the volunteers and their sharing the meditation space always helps creating openness.

What is one way in which you apply your vision of enlightened society to your work, your family, or a significant relationship?

One way I do this is by watching myself at home to see where I open up or shut down and how to work with all of the situations that occur.

How does the practice help you do this?

The practice is a way of putting a spotlight on whatever state I am in by slowing down and observing and by being with whatever is.

How do you maintain your vision of enlightened society in the midst of our chaotic world?

By slowing down, being mindful and practicing. If I do that, I can recognize how much the energy can change in a positive way. It has a ripple effect.

This is the first in a series of Kootenay Shambhala member interviews conducted by Bobbie Ogletree to explore the notion of “creating enlightened society,” a central theme of Shambhala, and celebrate our community’s diversity.

JILL KELLY enjoys coordinating Shambhala Training programs, life coaching, and homeschooling her children. She is the Kootenay Shambhala Centre’s Membership Coordinator.

Jill Kelly

Bobbie Ogletree: How long have you been practicing Shambhala Buddhism and how long have you been a member of the Kootenay Shambhala Centre?

Jill Kelly: I did [Shambhala Training] Level I in 1998, but took a break. I started getting really involved in 2002 and I started going to the Centre more regularly. I became a member in 2005/2006.

What inspires you at the Kootenay Shambhala Centre?

The community, definitely the community. Having that kind of basic ground of similar views gives me a feeling of confidence. I am referring to the view of taking responsibility for ourselves and how we are in our world. Also, the view of sacred world and each moment being valuable is inspiring.

Is there a way that this can be enhanced?

I could go more often to the Centre, not because of me personally, but because I think it is the members being present there which brings out the Centre’s amazing qualities!

Is there an aspect of the Centre that you think could be improved?

It would be helpful if the Centre could improve access for people with disabilities. The stairs are a hindrance for people in wheelchairs, those who have trouble walking, etc…. I experienced this when I had my knee surgery last winter.

What is one way in which you apply your vision of enlightened society to your work, your family, or a significant relationship?

My work, family, and significant relationship are all in my home. I placed the shrine room in the centre of my home as a visual reminder of sacred world and the practice. It can be difficult to remember innate dignity. I try to be aware of this innate dignity in everything.

How do you maintain your vision of enlightened society in the midst of our chaotic world?

By sitting. It’s a reminder when I sit. It connects me to the present moment and makes me feel that it is all workable. Being aware of one breath and the next reminds me to take one step after another. Also, I believe that the chaos is part of the sacred world. The messiness of it all is okay.

Click here for all member interviews

One of the wonderful surprises at our Shambhlala Day celebration yesterday was a message and video greeting from Kootenay Shambhala Centre Director Lynn Dragone, who is about six months into a nine-month stay at Gampo Abbey.

The images below, featuring Changchup Garma (as Lynn is known at the Abbey), were selected from the video. Lynn’s message follows.

Dear Precious Sangha,

A glorious and peaceful Shambhala Day to all of you! Greetings from the vast expanse of Gampo Abbey on the cliffs of Cape Breton Island. The ice has come and filled the horizon, and a huge moose galloped across the snow early this morning. We just completed our closing ceremony for Yarne, the seven-week winter retreat yesterday.

It has been a satisfying time to practice diligently and celebrate with immense joy and tenderness for this path so well established by the practice lineage. Ani Pema [Chödrön] is keeping me out of trouble here, as her dedication to awakened heart knows no bounds.

A highlight of Shambhala Day (besides our trip to the hotsprings) has always been recognizing the worldwide sangha we are a part of. In this spirit I am happy to celebrate with practitioners from the breadth of the globe. We send you all heartfelt greetings this year from the extended family at the Abbey that I am a part of this year.

I’m learning a lot about living in a community at close range. As it turns out, it seems that our imperfections are the perfect path to reflect what we most need to learn. So we don’t have to worry, we all have something to offer! I miss all of you perfectly imperfect people. I am so grateful to have been nourished by the sanity of the Kootenay sangha.

There is too much to share now so I’ll wait until I come home and have a feast of relating then. The Yarne guests are leaving on Monday and we are having threeee―count ‘em: THREE―days off when we have to break the boundaries of the retreat. I haven’t been outside the boundaries for 4-1/2 months so I think it’s time. I’ll try to go to the little town nearby to have a donut or something.

On Thursday we will begin a self-designed silent retreat for seven days. This turns out to be a very spacious ‘cooker’ and I should be quite well done when I return in June.

I’ll say goodbye for now… May you all experience deep happiness… Yes! Enjoy your LIFE! in whatever way that expresses itself for you.

With deep appreciation and joy,

Changchup Garma / Lynn

“The success of our community, and its future, is going to depend heavily on the visible and ‘feelable’ kindness that is in our mandala,” said the Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, at the concluding session of the Fourth Shambhala Congress, which took place in Halifax in November. “We can be doing a lot of things right when it comes to programs, but if there is not a feeling of kindness, nothing is really going to stick.”

The Sakyong’s Council has now formally decided that the key strategic objective for the immediate period, in line with the Sakyong’s wishes and the aspirations expressed by the Congress, would be to “deepen community and manifest a culture of kindness.”

The aim of this post is to invite anyone in the Pacific Northwest Shambhala community (or beyond) to participate in a collective contemplation of what it means to deepen community and manifest a culture of kindness.

What inspires you about your local Shambhala community? How does kindness manifest there? What do you find challenging―or even alienating? What else…? Join the discussion in the comments section below. All respectfully expressed thoughts and feelings are welcome.

For related pre-Congress discussion, see the post Exploring community.