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

Kootenay Shambhala Centre members can keep track of the Centre’s administrative developments by reading the meeting minutes posted on the Meeting Minutes & Notes page in the Members Area on our website.

For the login information, contact Jim Northcote at info@nelsonbuddha.com.

Shambhala Congress 2009, themed “exploring community,” is scheduled to take place in Halifax from November 9th to 11th, and you can play a part.

The Shambhala Congress is the principal mandala-wide gathering for discussion and consultation on matters of concern to the mandala as a whole. Discussions held at previous Congresses have played a major role in guiding the forward movement of the worldwide Shambhala community.

One way you can help shape the Kootenay Shambhala Centre’s participation in this gathering (and simultaneously help shape our Centre’s future) is by sharing your thoughts and feelings―about community, about your concerns, about anything―in the comments section below.

What matters to you??!!

The Shambhala Database (SDB) is a shared, online, secure membership database for use by the entire Shambhala community.

The “Member’s View” of the SDB allows members to review and update their own profiles, to look up fellow members, and also to set privacy settings so that only the information they want visible to other members is visible.

Click on the thumbnail below to access the SDB.

Shambhala Database login

For more information or assistance, contact Jim Northcote at info@nelsonbuddha.com.

There’s an incredible wealth of services and resources available to Shambhala members in the Members Area on Shambhala’s main website.

For example:
• Help Directory helps members get answers to their questions by providing resource person contact information and links to relevant documents.
• Email Services allow members to subscribe and post to a variety of lists.
• Vajradhatu Practice Manual contains practice and procedural instructions from the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

Click on the thumbnail below to gain access to this wealth.

Member Login Help

For more information or assistance, contact Jim Northcote at info@nelsonbuddha.com.

Kootenay Shambhala Centre members can keep track of the Centre’s administrative life by reading the meeting minutes posted in the Members Area on our website. If you need the login info, contact Jim Northcote at info@nelsonbuddha.com.