This year’s Pacific Northwest Winter Retreat―at Camp Pringle, on the shore of Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island―is set to run from December 18, 2010 to January 1, 2011.

The retreat comprises two two-week programs (each with one-week participation options): a Half-Dathun mindfulness-awareness meditation retreat open to all; and, for Shambhala Vajrayana Seminary graduates, a Ngondro and Werma Retreat.

Click on the following links for full descriptions, on the Victoria Shambhala Centre’s website:

• Pacific Northwest Half-Dathun
with Margaret Jones Callahan
Camp Pringle, Shawnigan Lake, BC
December 18, 2010 - January 1, 2011

• Pacific Northwest Ngondro and Werma Retreat
with Brian Callahan
Camp Pringle, Shawnigan Lake, BC
December 18, 2010 - January 1, 2011

Learn more about our regional community on the Kootenay Shambhala Centre’s Pacific Northwest Shambhala Community page.

The Pacific Northwest Winter Retreat resumes this year after a one-year hiatus due to construction at Camp Pringle (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia), the retreat site. The retreat is set to run from December 18, 2010 to January 1, 2011. Stay tuned for details.

Learn more about the Pacific Northwest Winter Retreat―and our regional community―on our Pacific Northwest Shambhala Community page.

Shambhala members from across the Pacific Northwest are gathering in Bellingham, Washington this Saturday and Sunday (March 27 and 28) for the Pacific Northwest Shambhala Leadership Conference. The program includes practice, teachings, workshops and celebration to build our regional community.

Warmest wishes from Nelson to all conference participants!!

If any of you―Amber, Ann, Bonnie, Cynthia, Dan, Dian, John, Katherine, Ken, Lesa, Lisa, Marcia, Mark, Paul, Rick, Shelley…?―want to share your impressions of the conference, you can use the comments section below.

The 100 Mile House Shambhala Meditation Group has just launched a blog, and they’ve wasted no time putting it to work. One post publicizes the Great Eastern Sun - Drala - Windhorse retreat they’re hosting at Mahood Falls, BC from August 30th to September 5th, 2010; another features Mahood Falls photos from a recent retreat.

To follow the Group’s activity, visit their blog: 100 Mile House Shambhala Meditation Group.

May basic goodness continue to flower in central BC!

Retreat at Mahood Falls

“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.

The Pacific Northwest Winter Retreat―a successful, five-year-running annual event that typically includes a dathün (one-month group meditation retreat) and a shorter, advanced program―will not take place in 2009, due to construction at Camp Pringle, the retreat site. The retreat’s organizers look forward to continuing this valuable regional practice tradition in 2010. Stay tuned…

Learn more about the Pacific Northwest Winter Retreat―and our regional community―on our Pacific Northwest Shambhala Community page.

The Kootenay Shambhala Centre lies within the Pacific Northwest region of Shambhala. This region encompasses a vast area in the northwest corner of North America including the American states of Alaska, Oregon and Washington, and the Canadian provinces and territories of Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory.

Learn more on our Pacific Northwest Shambhala Community page.

Below is a selection of photos, including some Miksang images, taken by participants at the (unusually cold and snowy) 2008-09 Pacific Northwest Winter Retreat at Camp Pringle, on Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia. Many thanks to the photographers for sharing their work.

To learn more about our regional community go to our Pacific Northwest Shambhala Community page.