Shambhala Teachings

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the Shambhala teachings

Between 1970 when he first moved to North America and his death in 1987, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche gave over 2500 talks and presentations related to many human endeavors: Buddhism, spirituality in general, education, various arts, martial arts, psychology, livelihood/work, sexuality, finances, politics. In his home country of Tibet, Trungpa Rinpoche was not only a spiritual leader as abbot of Surmang monasteries but played a significant role in politics and other secular activities related to governance, arts, and culture. He was a lineage holder of the spiritual jewels of buddhadharma, as passed down by the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, but also the secular jewels of family and cultural wisdom, which he presented in North America and Europe in the context of the Shambhala teachings, dharma art teachings, and other public presentations.

In North America and Europe, Trungpa Rinpoche was well-known as a Buddhist teacher before the emergence of his Shambhala teachings in 1976. These Shambhala teachings, while inspired by Buddhist wisdom and practice, were not and are not limited to those who have interest in Buddhist vows and commitments, or to those who were particularly interested in being his personal students. These teachings provide a platform for any who wish to train themselves in meditation and awareness disciplines in the context of creating a better world, an enlightened society for all beings.

For Trungpa Rinpoche's Buddhist students, practicing and manifesting these Shambhala teachings was a way to transcend selfishness and to fulfill their bodhisatva vows, their Buddhist commitment to put others before themselves, to serve all sentient beings, and to benefit this world. In this tradition, as a "good Buddhist," Trungpa Rinpoche encouraged his senior students to not merely relate to one's community of Buddhists as an in-group, or to use the teachings to accumulate personal power or position, but to work with, be part of, and to serve the greater world.

For students of other Tibetan Buddhist teachers, the Shambhala Training program and teachings were a way to gain access to significant meditation and post-meditation disciplines at the heart of Trungpa Rinpoche's teachings. In the 1980s, for instance, a number of Tibetan Buddhist teachers recommended the Shambhala Training program to their students as part of their broader training. Many people from other religious traditions, as well as those who did not trust any form of religiosity, were also drawn to these teaching and found a home or second home within them. As a body of teachings, these were meant to be available to all, especially those teachings presented through the publicly available books and the Shambhala Training program.

 

The Shambhala teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

The Shambhala teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche were formally presented by him to senior Buddhist students between 1976 and 1985. Early in that process, he empowered Osel Tendzin with the title "Vajra Regent" (fall of 1976) as his dharma heir, and soon after appointed him to be the director of the Shambhala Training program, a vehicle for transmitting these Shambhala teachings and training students in their application.

Dharma Study Group Kalamazoo: the Shambhala teachings
In our current online format, we study original teaching seminars by Trungpa Rinpoche and his Vajra Regent, Osel Tendzin related to these Shambhala  teachings.  As much as possible, we intend to practice these oral instructions and skillful means in the manner that they were originally presented in the 1970s and 1980s, drawing on original seminars and public talks on the Chogyam Trungpa Digital Library timeline (Narop Institute) and the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin Libray and Archive Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin. There are many public seminars and single talk available online on the Naropa Digital Library, the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin websites, and the Chronicles of Chogyam Trungpa website (see Resource section of this website).

Some of these seminars are available as audio, some as video, some with streaming text, and some with transcripts. There are also several books by Trungpa Rinopoche on the Shambhala teachings which we make use of in our study. In past years, when we had in-person programs, we taught and studied the Shambhala Training levels and advanced programs in their original form, as weekend programs, several times over. Following are some of the source materials for such study and practice.

The Shambhala teachings, recommended online seminars and single talks on the Chogyam Trungpa Digital Library at Naropa University website:

--University of Colorado Public Talk, "Basic Goodness", Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Home - Chogyam Trungpa Digital Library

--Warriorship in the Three Yanas (1978), Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

--The Warrior of Shambhala (1979), Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, co-taught with the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin. The talks by Trungpa Rinpoche are included on the Naropa website, the others at https://www.vajraregent.org/

On the website for the teachings Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin, Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin

--The Warrior of Shambhala (1979), audio of talks by both Trungpa Rinpoche and the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin

--Primordial Confidence, a two talk seminar by the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin given in Chicago, 1988.

The Shambhala Teachings, books:

These books on the Shambhala teachings by Trungpa Rinpoche (through Shambhala Publications) are all based on talks by him, are generally available, and are recommended. They include:

--Shambhala, Sacred Path of the Warrior. This book draws on many of Trungpa Rinpoche's Shambhala teachings, including the Warrior of Shambhala seminar (1979) and other teachings given to senior students. For audio teachings related to this book, see the Naropa Digital Libray website and the websites related to the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin; links are above.

--Great Eastern Sun. This book is an edited collection of "Shambhala Training Level 5" teachings (see below) given by Trungpa Rinpoche.

--Smile at Fear. Awakening the True Heart of Bravery. This book includes edited versions of teachings mostly given at the Warriorship in the Three Yanas seminar (1978) as well as edited versions of teachings given to senior students and students who had completed many levels of the Shambhala Training program and beyond, in what used to be called the Shambhala Training "graduate program". Links to the audio related to this book can be found at the Naropa Institute Digital Library website.

The Shambhala Training Program

Shambhala Training is and was a series of five contemplative workshops suitable for both new and experienced meditators, founded by Buddhist Meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his dharma heir, the Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin. These programs provide a strong foundation in mindfulness-awareness practice, both on the cushion and in everyday life, particularly drawing on the oral instructions of Trungpa Rinpoche. In this approach, the view of basic goodness is the guiding principle -- the unconditional spaciousness, gentleness, bravery and intelligence of the human heart which, because it is primordial, can be connected with in any life situation. This view extends to livelihood, family, education, politics, and community, as well as the basis for working with mind and meditation.

Traditionally, each of these Shambhala Training workshops included group meditation instruction, talks with discussion, individual consultations with a meditation instructor, a discussion group, and mindfulness practice, taught in subtly different ways for the various levels of the program. Originally, these programs began with a Friday evening talk and ended Sunday late afternoon, including Saturday evening, so there was a good deal of sitting and walking meditaiton practice at each program. One of the levels, usually level 3, took place over 2 consecutive weekends.

Much of the curriculum was developed by Osel Tendzin and other students, with the basic ground, path, fruition logics for each seminar level provided by Trungpa Rinpoche. Generally, each of the "levels" included 3 formal talks, one for the ground, one for the path, and one for the fruition logic provided by Trungpa Rinpoche. These were then expanded upon by Osel Tendzin and other teachers of this program, especially Mrs. Lila Rich.

Shambhala Training Level 1: The Art of Being Human  

This first weekend retreat of the Shambhala Training program introduces participants to the discipline of mindfulness meditation and to the basic principles of the Shambhala path of warriorship: bravery and gentleness. It takes bravery to be nonaggressive and gentle, and to come face to face with our basic being. This is a joyful, heartfelt, artful, and genuine way to live, full of appreciation for the ordinary magic of the world. Such discipline, it is said, overcomes depression.

Over the years, this first weekend program has also been called, at various times, "The discovery of basic goodness", "Ordinary magic," and "The discovery of dignity and confidence." Traditionally, the very first talk of the program, which introduces the concept and experience of basic goodness, was free for all and available to the general public.

Basic goodness, in this approach, is the basis for all of the Shambhala teachings, and is the very nature of our being, before any notion of good or bad, accepting or rejecting – before thought itself. Through the practice of meditation, we glimpse unconditional basic goodness as the ground of our existence -- alive, brilliant, energetic. Opening to our own being with gentleness and appreciation, we begin to see our potential as genuine and compassionate human beings and to make friends with and reconcile ourselves with our frailties. This is not just philosophy, but experience, and includes disciplines for connecting with basic goodness in everyday life. Subsequent levels of the program bring greater depth, breadth, and subtlety to the students' journey and understanding. As important as teachers are, it is our discipline and application of the teachings that bring us forward, not just the teacher or the written word or audio.

The first 3 chapters of the book Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior particularly apply to the curriculum of Shambhala Training level 1. The first 6 chapters of the book Smile at Fear:Awakening the True Heart of Bravery, also apply to Shambhala Training level 1, as well as to the Shambhala teachings on the whole.

The audio seminar Primordial Confidence, on the audio/video timeline of the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin, is a particularly good presentation of Shambhala Training Level 1 themes, and beyond. This 1987 seminar can be found at the Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin website.

Shambhala Training Level 2: Birth of the Warrior

Habitual ways of thinking and experiencing obscure the raw brilliance of the world we live in, and of our own genuineness and tenderness. Such habits are based in fear. We create a cocoon of habitual tendencies to mask our fear, which also covers over the liveliness of basic goodness.

Mindfulness-awareness meditation exposes our fear and reveals the constructed nature of this cocoon. We could begin to see that it is possible to use that very experience of fear, and the awareness of such habits, as stepping-stones to waking up. This brings appreciation of our lives and the lives of others. It is the way of the gentle warrior. In this second weekend of the Shambhala Training program, precision and heedfulness in meditation practice is emphasized, along with working with obstacles that inevitably arise as we open further to our energetic experience. The confidence which comes out of such bravery, the bravery to face oneself, does not depend upon things going our way in life.

Chapters 4 and 7 of the book Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior, particularly apply to Shambhala Training Level 2, as do Chapters 7 and 9 from the book Smile at Fear: Awakening the Heart of Bravery. These also apply to subsequent Shambhala Training levels.

"Not knowing the nature of fear / It is impossible to realize fearlessness."
--Chögyam Trungpa

Shambhala Training Level 3: Warrior in the World

In order to overcome hesitation and contact the world, daring is necessary. Basic goodness is not a private possession, nor the basis for dwelling on accomplishments, nor to be used an excuse to denigrate oneself. The path of warrior in the world is one of synchronizing body and mind, of joining heaven and earth – inspiration and practicality. This level was also sometimes titled "Joining Heaven and Earth." Beyond holding on to a purely personal experience of basic goodness, the goodness and workability of the world is emphasized in this seminar.

The daring willingness to touch and be touched is experienced further as sensitivity — to our own beings, to others, to sense perceptions. This touch is gentle and unconditional, not pigeonholing ourselves or others. Perceptions and emotions could be more vivid, playful, and accurate. Living like this, the tendency to fixate on our own point of view could relax, and we learn that we can work humbly and confidently with whatever situations arise, free from extreme evangelism or ideological hangups. The steady mind of the warrior is not overwhelmed by the ups and downs of life, or at least trends in that direciton.

Chapters 5, 6 and 8 from the book Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior, particularly apply to the teachings related to Shamblala Training Level 3. In the book Smile at Fear: Awakening the Heart of Bravery, the chapters 10 and higher relate to the level 3 teachings and every level beyond those as well.

Shambhala Training Level 4: Awakened Heart

Going further with the principles of gentle and fearless warriorship in meditation and awareness practice in everyday life we discover that communication is happening all the time. Awakened Heart is about lifting our gaze and opening up to the world further with openness and sensitivity, allowing one's awareness to abide in that space in between self and other, oneself and the world. Abiding with that in-between space allows the warrior to communicate, to send and receive communication free from pigeonholing others or oneself, which naturally expresses itself as inquisitiveness and appreciation of others. The path of "awakened heart," which is a further extension of warriorship in the world, is marked by exertion and patience, never giving up on others and resourcefully discovering ways to connect with others.

Early on, the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin was the main teacher of this Shambhala Training level 4, before other senior students were authorized to teach this. His level 4 talks are excellent examples for students and student teachers to study with respect to these Shambhala teachigns.

Chapters 9 and 10 from the book Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior particularly apply to the teachings of Shambhala Training levels 3 and 4.

“Communication starts with recognizing that there are a lot of things in the world that are asking us to say ‘hello”, begging our acquaintance. And we are being very stubborn about that, extremely stubborn. We don't want to say hello, because we don't want to pollute anything that we have. But on the contrary, if we recognize that this particular sense of being good, feeling good, being sane, doesn't have any authority or doesn't depend on anything, then we can actually shake hands with the world, say hello.”
--Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin, February 1979

Shambhala Training Level 5: Open Sky, Primordial Stroke

Letting go of deception and paying attention to the details of one’s life, one also finds the open clear sky of mind, which is a delightful source of wisdom and uplifted energy. By learning to trust our nature enough to let go into the present moment, the Shambhala teachings help us to soften our hearts and appreciate the sacredness of our daily lives.

Trusting further in basic goodness, the vast space of our being, is like being a monarch with a broken heart. In the simplicity of that vast space, one takes joy in basic goodness, along with great sadness related to experiencing the suffering and confusion of the setting sun world. Based on that, one renounces whatever separates one from one’s own heart, and anything that gets in the way of being available to others. Based on that heightened awareness, one could come to an ever deepening understanding of what is of benefit and what is of harm to the world and to oneself.

The book Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala, is a collection of talks given at Shambhala Training Level 5s by Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche.

Further study of the Shambhala teachings, beyond the first five "levels"

The first five programs of Shambhala Training present some basic principles and practices, a complete toolkit of mindfulness-awareness meditation on the cushion and awareness and accurate action in everyday life. In subsequent programs, language and teachings from the original Shambhala root texts are presented. These are broadly addressed in sections 2 and 3 of the book Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior and sections 2 and 3 of the book Smile at Fear: Awakening the Heart of Bravery.

The term "Great Eastern Sun" refers to the power of basic goodness manifesting as vision and discipline. "Windhorse" (Tibetan: lungta) refers to the uplifted energy of basic goodness that can be roused in practice and through everyday life disciplines. "Rigden" principle and "cosmic mirror" refer to unconditional basic goodness as the magic and power of relating to primordial mind, mind before thought.

"Drala principle" is a broad subject which includes basic goodness manifesting in cultural forms and tools, the sacred relationship to one's own being and to the being of great teachers and warriors. Drala is a Tibetan term which literally means "beyond the enemy," the enemy being aggression in all it's personal and interpersonal manifestations. Drala is related to the magic of overcoming aggression and has the function of cutting through obstacles, such as obstacles to discovering sacredness in the world, obstacles to seeing the goodness of other people, and obstacles within one's own being and discipline.

Sakyong (literally "earth protector") is human drala, a kind of human potential which is intrinsic to all.. Sakyong is not just a title, but describes the master warrior, a great leader, as well as being a possibility for any human being,

The education of the warrior is described in broad strokes in chapter 7 of the book Smile at Fear. Such education is one of gradual development, starting with the discovery of fear and fearlessness (echoing the teachings of Shambhala levels 1 and 2), nurturing that mind of fear in the "cradle of loving-kindness," up through gradual levels of training that culminate in joining in with a society of master warriors -- beings of intelligence, bravery, gentleness, and artfulness -- and the vision of the Great Eastern Sun. It is a path of gentleness, bravery, and intelligence, the qualities of Ashé, that brilliant nature that resides in the hearts of all.

Within these post-level 5 teachings, the path of warriorship is layed out -- not as a predetermined path, but as something that one discovers through one's own practice, humor, exertion, and discipline. This is described as the path and realization of the four "dignities" of Shambhala -- the dignity of meek, the dignity of perky, the dignity of outrageous, and the dignity of inscrutable -- meek tiger, perky snow lion, outrageous garuda, inscrutable dragon.

 The Four Dignities of Shambhala

These four dignities – meek, perky, outrageous, inscrutable -- are introduced as path and inspiration, the way Shambhala warriors train and abide with the brilliant energy of the great eastern sun and the sacredness of the world. They are all based on synchronizing mind and body, raising windhorse, and connecting with sacredness. Such manifestation is the key to serving others and creating enlightened society.

An exquisite short teaching on the four dignities of Shambhala can be found in the Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior book, chapter 20, "Authentic Presence."

The Dignity of Meek

Basic warriorship, meek, has to do with being tamed and trained. The meek tiger  overcomes arrogance, has greater vision, and possesses tremendous exertion.

The Dignity of Perky

The Dignity of Perky is connected to discovering joy in discipline and overcoming the anxiety and doubt which come along with relating to heightened experiences of sacredness. The perky snow-lion knows what to accept and what to reject and, with developing awareness, manifests in an elegant and uplifted way.

The Dignities of Outrageous and Inscrutable

These fruitional dignities refer to the extraordinary skill of an accopmplished warrior, as well as aspects of our practice as warriors-in-training. No longer afraid of making mistakes, the unconventional and visionary perspective of the outrageous warrior combines with the skill of spontaneous inscrutability to create benefit for others on a large scale. Although, in their full manifestation, these dignities do describe the qualities of master warriors, they also present vision, clues, and practices for student warriors on the path, such as we are.

Golden Key

These teachings are based on a Shambhala text that works with our relationship to the “material world” and our sense perceptions. It teaches the practice of enriching presence—the ability to sense the inner wealth within oneself, phenomena, and the natural world.

Some introduction to these teachings can be found in the book Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior in the chapter called "Natural Hierarchy", Chapter 17, as well as Chapter 16, "Sacred World".

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Although it is not possible to do full justice to the path of the Shambhala Teachings as presented by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in this brief article, this will hopefully provide some introduction to and enticement to exploring these teachings.