Yearly Archives: 2019

Henry Schaeffer: I saw Rinpoche and Roshi together on four different occasions. The first time was when he gave the talk at Zen Center in May 1971, in the dining room, not the Buddha Hall. The second time was when he blessed Taggie (Tagtrug Mukpo). The third time was when we went there for lunch.…

VCTR story

Tom Pinson is a long-time student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and a dedicated member of the Dorje Kasung, currently living in Montreal. Here is his story of playing the Qualities Game with Rinpoche at the 1984 Seminary. My stories of the Vidyadhara are pretty uneventful. As a kasung, as personal guard, I got to be…

Dzongsar 4

Questions About Other Aspects of Death Grief and Loss The person I love most in the world has just died. What is the best thing I can do for him? We always want the best for the people we love. We want to give them everything they ever wished for and we are often…

Dzongsar 3

The Bardo Instructions Traditionally, Tibetans rely on the bardo instructions that appear in Karma Lingpa’s Great Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo, the Bardo Tödrol Chenmo. The instructions you will find in the following pages are a simplified version of that text. Although Great Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo was originally written for Buddhists,…

Dzongsar 2

Aspiration Practice Friend, hope for the Guest while you are alive. Jump into experience while you are alive! Think… and think… while you are alive. What you call “salvation” belongs to the time before death. If you don’t break your ropes while you are alive, do you think ghosts will do it after? The idea…

Dzongsar 1

Human beings have also developed systems for making sure that society runs smoothly: the police maintain public order, traffic lights control the flow of road traffic, and governments administer social welfare and defense systems. Yet, even though we human beings have put lifetimes of effort into organizing, designing and structuring every aspect of our world,…

Wisdom’s Bestowal

Wisdom’s Bestowal A way to accumulate the recitation of the tantra Chanting the Names of Mañjuśrī, Mañjuśrī Nāma Saṃgīti Composed by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Namo Guru Jñānakāyāya Four instructions can be followed to accumulate recitations of the tantra Chanting the Names of Mañjuśrī, Mañjuśrī Nāma Saṃgīti. I. Recitation as a Praise to Mañjuśrī’s Formidable Qualities…

BEST WAKE UP 2

Craig Morman February 2019 I was participant in Shambhala from 1995 until around 2015. I served in a variety of roles throughout the years. I was the Rusung of Shambhala Mountain Center, a Sergeant in the Dorje Kasung, a meditation instructor, and the Director of Casa Werma in Mexico. I also served as a Kusung…

BEST WAKE UP

UncategorizedBy Elephant Staff March 16, 2019

An Open Letter to the Shambhala Community from Long-Serving Kusung To the Shambhala community: This letter is in regards to Mipham J. Mukpo, also known as Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. For the purposes of this letter, we will refer to him as Mr. Mukpo. In light of the recently concluded investigations and subsequent communications from the…

Guru Rinpoche message

om ah hung benza guru pema siddhi hung oṃ āḥ hūṃ vajra guru padma siddhi hūṃ The Oral Instruction on the Guru’s Gathering of Secrets, a terma revealed by Guru Chöwang states: On the tenth day of the Monkey month in the Monkey year and on the tenth day of all other months, my…

DKR book on bardo Part 2

Questions About Practices for the Dead ∑ If the family doesn’t have the resources to make offerings to high lamas or masters, what can they do to help a dying relative who has no spiritual beliefs? Can the family say prayers and aspire to help their relative themselves? Would that be enough? Yes, absolutely! All…

The Wheel of Sharp Weapons

The Throwing Star Weapon Literal Translation of The Wheel of Sharp Weapons A Mahayana Attitude-Training Theg-pa chen-po’i blo-sbyong mtshon-cha ‘khor-lo by Dharmarakshita I make prostration to the Three Rare Supreme Gems. “The Throwing Star Weapon Striking the Vital Point of the Foe.” I make prostration to forceful Yamantaka. In the case of peacocks Strutting in…

Mala divination

Mala divination: You visualize the deity (often Manjushri) and pray one japa of the mantra. You then hold the mala in your lap, and with each hand grasp a bead at random. You then count off in threes, moving the hands toward each other, until one, two, or three beads remain. You do this three…

Buddha Teaching the Four Factors

The LobbyThe KangyurDiscoursesGeneral Sūtra Section Teaching the Four Factors Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas! Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in the Sudharmā assembly hall in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, together with a great gathering of five hundred monks,8 and very many bodhisattva mahāsattvas, including Maitreya…

Mind Teachings: Instructions for Dratsün Wangchuk

Mind Teachings: Instructions for Dratsün Wangchuk I prostrate to the holy guru. O son of an excellent father, there’s no point in the activities of this life. Look at the ways people get sick, and look at the ways they die. Look at the ways they deceive themselves; through making plans to remain, they don’t…

The Legacy of Chögyam Trungpa by Ponlop Rinpoche

The Legacy of Chögyam Trungpa: A review of The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche In 1980, I traveled with His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa to the U.S. During this visit, I had the great fortune to meet Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and experience his sharp presence and kind and gentle heart.…

VCTR transcript mahayana

Talk 1 Training the Mind RMDC 8/18/74 Synopsis of themes: What is mind? Who is meditating? Chitta: sense of separateness. Search for other. Search as euphemism for panic. Sense of weakness. Mind as minding. The working ground / the motive: from hopelessness. Ego-process. Trusting first thought. — [VCTR recording starts in the middle of a…

docs from last site

Bezos’ net worth on Jan. 1 was $99 billion. On May 1, it was $132 billion, meaning it rose $33 billion. If you divide that difference by the 120 days in that period, you find that he made $275 million a day. Divide that by 24 hours in a day to get about $11.5 million…

Nagarjuna

All beings consist of causes and effects, In which there is no ‘sentient being’ at all. From phenomena which are exclusively empty, There arise only empty phenomena. All things are devoid of any ‘I’ or ‘mine’. Like a recitation, a candle, a mirror, a seal, A magnifying glass, a seed, sourness, or a sound, So…

Since my father Chögyam Trungpa passed away

Since my father Chögyam Trungpa passed away twenty-five years ago, a generation has grown up exposed to his teachings but having never met him. They have come to know him though forming their own profound connections with his mind and understanding of his teachings in a way that is both relevant to their own experiences…

Bardo From Dudjom Rinpoche

When keeping up with your practice, constantly think of the six bardos. –Bardo of this life The key here is to remember that the only thing that you can take forward is your practice — meaning the good deeds and the bad deeds you have accumulated in this lifetime. Practice bodhicitta, maintain your faith and…

THE RADIANT SUCCESSION OF SHAMBHALA: RIGDEN RAUDRACAKRIN

THE RADIANT SUCCESSION OF SHAMBHALA: RIGDEN RAUDRACAKRIN The core of what follows is an account of the thirty-two rulers of the legendary Kingdom of Shambhala. The first eight were titled Dharma Kings and the latter twenty-five titled Rigdens or ‘Caste Holders’. The eighth Dharma King, Manjusrikirti-Yasas was responsible for the change of social arrangements resulting…

Nectar for the Ears of the Fortunate The Account of Chokgyur Lingpa’s Visionary Journey to the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain

Nectar for the Ears of the Fortunate The Account of Chokgyur Lingpa’s Visionary Journey to the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain by Könchok Gyurmé here is the sixth narration of great wonder, a brief account of Chokgyur Lingpa’s boundless pure perception. Traveling again and again to the realm of Lotus Light in pure visions, he met with…

Living Is Dying by DKR

If you wish, to be without thoughts, you will have a hard time of it, as thoughts cannot be stopped. Since this type of meditation cannot go well, the meditator will tire of his futile effort and walk away. As wood and fire, thoughts provide the fuel that stokes mahāmudrā realization, or nondual, primordial wisdom.…

Complete Set of Instructions for the Bardos

At the feet of the sacred master, respectfully I pay homage! Although you have gained this life of freedom and advantage, it will not last, So keep in mind these instructions for the moment of death. Now, during this intermediate period of the bardo of this life, Decide, with complete certainty, that the wisdom of…

smr letter to get out

To my vajrayana students, I know that this has been an especially challenging time for you. Even though I have stepped back from formally teaching in Shambhala, our bond as teacher and student still exists. I know that this deep bond and level of commitment has made this period especially painful for many of you.…

Brad`s Wake up call