A Letter from the Seattle Shambhala Co-Directors

A Letter from Annica Holder and JoAnn Schindler, April 27, 2019   Dear Noble Sangha, We write to you today newly seated in our roles as Co-Directors of the Seattle Shambhala Center. We are filled with gratitude and humility as we transition into our positions. It is an honor to serve a community that we … Continue 

A conversation with Acharya Susan Chapman and Elesa Commerse, teachers of “End of Suffering”

The Seattle Shambhala community is excited to welcome Elesa Commerse and Acharya Susan Chapman this April for a weekend program to strengthen our connections with one another: The End of Suffering: Claiming our Vulnerability as Strength. These two women have spent many years experiencing and understanding the cycles that we find ourselves in that cause … Continue 

Announcing Seattle Shambhala Center’s New Co-Directors

Dear Seattle Shambhala Community Members, With warm hearts and a feeling of celebration, we are delighted to share with you the selection of Annica Holder and JoAnn Schindler as Co-Directors of Seattle Shambhala and to confirm that Annica and JoAnn have accepted the Council’s offer to serve in leading our community for the next two … Continue 

Community Raises Lungta with Spring Clean

Many thanks to community members who came out on Saturday, March 23 to clean and uplift the garden and inside our center! A group of members joined together to weed and mulch the garden and uplift the community room and office. Special thanks to Claire Oravec and Brad Warren for their garden enthusiasm and expertise. … Continue 

Voices of Courage

by Larry Steele The Boulder Shambhala Center (BSC) is radiating a spirit of warriorship that reaches all the way to Myanmar (formerly Burma) and the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. In a program called “Voices of Courage — Facing extremism in Myanmar…and wherever it arises,” Boulder Shambhala is exploring the use of Islamophobic “hate speech” … Continue 

Shambhala Day Inspires Seattle Sangha into the Year of the Earth Boar

By Andrea D’Asaro Despite a week’s delay from the mammoth Snowzilla storm, Shambhala Day brought out a crowd of attendees on Saturday, February 16. Guests enjoyed a drizzly but spirited lhasang, or juniper smoke blessing, in the front driveway. Then, with a full shrine room, the Director of Culture and Decorum, Ladan Yalzadeh greeted participants. … Continue 

Kindness to Oneself

By Matthew Lyon Many of us are well attuned to the virtues of generosity. I know many people within spiritual communities – and outside of them – who give greatly of their time, money and resources to worthy causes. In the course of writing my columns, which explore the benefits of a generous life, I’ve … Continue 

Thoughts from our Sangha

by Sala Sweet Over the past few months, we as members of the Seattle Shambhala sangha have been faced with many painful revelations about the abuses of the Sakyong and other teachers. The news is painful and affects each member in a different way. Long term members who came to Shambhala as a result of … Continue 

Eastside Satellite Remembered

by Larry Steele The Eastside Satellite, where Shambhala volunteers introduced the dharma to new meditators in the Overlake neighborhoods of Bellevue, has closed for now. The satellite was started ten years ago by Jim Jennings, a student of Chögyam Trungpa and Seattle Shambhala member. The group hosted weekly sitting, discussion, and dharma book clubs, always … Continue 

A Call to Action

by Larry Steele Seattle Shambhala’s volunteer leaders sounded a “Call to Action” in February, outlining our sangha’s commitment to preserving the teachings and community of Shambhala. In an email letter to members entitled “Seattle Shambhala Call to Action”, the Governing Council said, “we believe that many of you share our commitment.” The letter asks sangha … Continue