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A Buddhist Approach to Politics: An Interview with Chogyam Trungpa
This article on Buddhism and Politics originally appeared in the Shambhala Review of Books and Ideas, Vol 5, Winter 1976. It in included in the Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa, Volume 8. Shambhala Review: To most people who are trying to follow some sort of spiritual path, politics poses a very difficult problem. Many just decide to give up, to bypass it. This doesn’t seem to be a very legitimate way of dealing with such an important part of our...
Dudjom Rinpoche’s Interview about Guru Padmasambhava
The following article appeared in Volume 5 (Winter, 1976) of the Shambhala Review of Books and Ideas, a magazine that was part of Shambhala Publications (unaffiliated with Shambhala International or the Shambhala Sun), a magazine that ran a few issues in the mid 1970’s. This interview with Dudjom Rinpoche was conducted by Shambhala Publications’ staff with the assistance of Tulku Sogyal who was present at the time. For more information, see our Dudjom Rinpoche’s author page for articles, videos, books, and more. Additionally,...
The Bodhicitta Effect
A Healing Power by Radhule Weininger, author of Heartwork A Surprising Discovery Recently, during a one-year mindfulness facilitator training, our team of teachers made a surprising discovery. As part of an exercise, students were taught how to guide each other through mindfulness and compassion meditations. Afterwards, students shared their experiences of how this had been for them. One of those who shared was Anne. She told us that this exercise had helped her to understand the depth and subtlety of...
From Fire to Mud | A Journey Through the California Fires
The Lotus of Mutual Belonging by Radhule Weininger, author of Heartwork “If the world is to be healed through human effort, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for life is even greater than their fear. People who can open to the web that called us into being.”—Joanna Macy The Flames of the California Fires From the top of our roofs we could see the fires crawling over the hills closer and closer towards us....
Happy Birthday Pema Chödrön!
We are proud to be Pema Chödrön’s publisher, and we want to give you the chance to wish her a happy 82nd birthday this July 14th. Leave a comment below with your birthday wishes. If you’d like to make a donation to the Pema Chödrön Foundation, you can do so here. PEMA CHÖDRÖN TITLES
Bonus Recipes from Everyday Ayurveda Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind
Four Recipes for You to Enjoy We are excited to share with you four bonus recipes developed by the creators of Everyday Ayurveda Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind, Kate O’Donnell and Cara Brostrom. Carrot & Green Bean Palya This versatile recipe can be used to prepare all sorts of fresh vegetables. The combination of hing and cinnamon lends a south Indian flair that tastes amazing but is quite simple to prepare. Serves 2 1 Tbsp coconut oil 1 tsp...
Embodied Freedom
The Traditions of Passover by David Jaffe, author of Changing the World from the Inside Out The Passover prayer book, or Haggadah, that my family used when I was growing was in English, Hebrew, and transliteration of the Hebrew. The story told is that when I was nine years old, I cut out strips of white paper and taped them over the English and transliteration, wanting only to read the original Hebrew language. A sure sign of a budding zealot...
An Everyday Approach to the Ayurvedic Diet
Practical Aspects for Success by Kate O’Donnell, author of Everyday Ayurveda Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind & The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook Natural, Seasonal, and Dosha-Specific Diet Helping clients understand the medicinal aspects of food is one thing, while inspiring them to purchase, prepare, and enjoy beneficial foods can be another challenge altogether. Based on personal experience and observation of clients, I am a firm believer in the importance of a natural, seasonal, and dosha-specific diet. Twenty years ago, my first...
Thomas Merton, “Honorary Beatnik”
Thomas Merton’s Influence on the Beats by Robert Inchausti, author of Hard to Be a Saint in the City Thomas Merton, “Honorary Beatnik” It’s hard to say exactly when Thomas Merton became an “Honorary Beatnik.” One could chase the association all the way back to the mid-thirties when, as an undergraduate at Columbia, he first became friends with the hipster Seymour Freedgood, the bohemian poet Robert Lax, and the painter Ad Reinhardt. But it wasn’t until much later that Beat “icons” Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Kerouac, and Gary Snyder all...
Sacred Are the Trees
Sacred Are the Trees: A Retelling of Ancient Stories from Biographies of the Buddha by Wendy Garling, author of Stars at Dawn Why Trees? Those familiar with the Buddha’s biography know that all major events in his life took place under trees. He was born under a shala tree (shorea robusta), for example, as his mother Maya stood upright and grasped a branch with her right hand. Young prince Siddhartha experienced his first deep meditation under a rose-apple tree. Years...
The Boy without a Name or The Boy Who Lives by Himself | An Unfinished Story by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
The Boy without a Name or The Boy Who Lives by Himself is an unfinished story written by Chögyam Trungpa at an unknown date. We would like to invite you to read what Chögyam Trungpa wrote and write your own ending to the story. You can post your writing in the comments below. I am the boy who lives by himself. I don’t do anything in particular, I just live—that’s the way I am. I spend my life playing and I make up...
Meditation on the Third Eye
by Tias Little, author of Yoga of the Subtle Body Meditation on the third-eye center is one of the most classic of all techniques in subtle body training. I have been revisiting the potency of this practice and wanted to share a few thoughts. The bridge of the nose is called the Nasya Mula, or Root of the Nose. There is a marma point in Ayurveda associated with this location in the region between your eyebrows. Look at an anatomy...
Breathing Practice
by Tias Little, author of Yoga of the Subtle Body More than anything it is important to come to know the quality of our own breath. In the beginning, I used to strive to expand my breath in the same way I actively stretched in a yoga posture. But I have learned that it is important, imperative really, not to “push the river of your breath.” Rather, it is best to follow the current of your breath—that is to sense...
Coming to Your Senses in Yoga Poses
by Nina Zolotow, author of Yoga for Healthy Aging Asana works to steady the mind through a focus on physical sensation, breath, or drishti (gaze). If we can bring that same focus into our Accessible Yoga practice, we quickly realize that the outward appearance of a pose is not a sign of whether or not someone is practicing yoga. What’s important is the mental focus and engagement. —Jivana Heyman I think this is a very good summation of what practicing...
Children of the Buddha
by Rebecca Hazell The Buddha is well known in popular culture. He is seen as wise, benign, friendly, and peaceful. You can find commercialized representations of him in images ranging from good luck Ho Tai figures to garden statues of him sitting and typing on a laptop. Imagine what a ruckus would ensue if Jesus or Muhammad were depicted like that. It’s taken for granted that the Buddha would laugh at the laptop or smile gently, maybe sadly, and move...
The Phone Fad
by Tias Little My phone is so close to me at all times it is like having a permanent pet. It is like a yo-yo. In my pocket, on the counter, atop the bed covers. When did we decide we would all marry our devices, make the commitment “to have and to hold?” I’d like to think I am not attached. But I’m totally attached. I have gotten into the practice, kind of an anthropological experiment, of watching the way...
Q&A with Kimberly Ann Johnson of The Fourth Trimester
John Spalding & Kimberly Ann Johnson What made you to decide to write The Fourth Trimester? I didn’t set out to write a book, but I have been a harbinger of a message that is to speak about the unspeakable, and I realized that this information had to become common knowledge. When I was a new mother and struggling with a birth injury (although I didn’t even know that was a category), I combed Google to find holistic resources for...
Everyday Ayurveda: Maintaining Balance Through the Change of Seasons
By Taylor Sumner The first days of autumn have come. With the help of Ayurvedic practice and recipes from Kate O‘Donnell‘s Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook, we explore valuable adjustments to our everyday routines that can help maintain balance through this transitional time. As the mornings grow cooler and the heaviness of summer air begins to dissipate, it becomes time to lean into the change of seasons through adjustments to one’s lifestyle and diet. The beginning of the fall season is an ideal time to...
Awe and Love in the New Year
by David Jaffe The Jewish calendar, like all religious systems, has particular ways of marking spiritual time. A weekly sabbath beckons us to stop, prayers for the new lunar month remind us of the constant opportunity for renewal, and the High Holy Days bring us face-to-face with our own mortality. These days are spiritual opportunities pregnant with possibility. We stand at this moment between the two most recognizable and holy days of the year—Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Bursting with...
The Nyingma Summer Seminar: Reflections on a Buddhist Retreat
By Sanje Phillips This July, I attended the Nyingma Summer Seminar at the Mangala Shri Bhuti retreat land in Ward, Colorado, with Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche, Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel (wife), and Dungse Jampal Norbu (son). Over one hundred attendees with varied demographics sat daily meditation sessions, participated in the teachings, endured periods of silence and the usual “plain but healthy” retreat food. My experience was resoundingly positive, as we had an opportunity to explore the depths of many traditional and profound Buddhist teachings. All...
Talking with Jan Chozen Bays About Mindful Eating
Food: A Way to Contentedness and Connection An interview on the publication of the expanded edition of her book Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food By Dave O’Neal Shambhala: What, in a nutshell, is “mindful eating”? Jan Chozen Bays: Mindful eating is deliberately paying full attention to what you are eating or drinking, without criticism or judgement. The last part, “without criticism of judgement,” is very important, since so many people are under constant attack by...
Shambhala Editor Dave O’Neal and Author Roger Lipsey Discuss the Legacy of Thomas Merton and His Relationship to James Fox
A Quality of Being By Dave O’Neal We talk with Roger Lipsey about his book Make Peace Before the Sun Goes Down: The Long Encounter of Thomas Merton and His Abbot, James Fox 2018 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the death of the most famous Trappist monk of modern times—or perhaps of all time—Thomas Merton. From his life of extreme silence and seclusion he became a pioneer in the religious dialogue between East and West, a force in the intellectual...
Steve Buscemi and Sam Bercholz Discuss A Guided Tour of Hell
Steve Buscemi and Sam Bercholz on the new book A Guided Tour of Hell: A Graphic Memoir
Lana Wachowski, Writer/Director of “The Matrix,” Interviews Ken Wilber about Brief History
Lana Wachowski: Let’s see . . . always awkward getting started with this kind of thing because there is so much context, so many backstories and memories tucked into various corners of the integral cupboard that would not only help readers understand why I’m sitting on this side of the virtual interview table, but also give them a sense of a relationship that I am grateful for—especially the way every time we talk I immediately feel the same gleeful energy...
The Levels of Study of the Karma Kagyu at Larung Gar
We were very pleased to host a talk with Khenpo Jamyang of Larung Gar in Golok on Monday, April 18th, 2016 who discussed the Kagyu curriculum at the largest center of Buddhist study and practice in the world. The talk is available as a video here. Below is a list of the texts that Khenpo will be discussing and include what is available in English translation so interested readers can read these texts, or in some cases read about...
Dream Yourself Awake
This recent piece from CBS considers that lucid dreaming might actually be possible. But for those for whom understanding the mind on an experiential level is a way of life, lucid dreaming is not only possible, but can serve as a genuine practice on the path of realization. Our book by B. Alan Wallace, Dreaming Yourself Awake, is an instruction manual for lucid dreaming and Tibetan dream yoga. Wallace lays out techniques that trigger awareness in the dream state to...
Omnivore’s Blog: The Experience of A Translator
Sherab Chödzin Kohn, translator of Matthieu Ricard’s new book A Plea for the Animals, gives us a hilarious and poignant glimpse into his experience, as an “unreconstructed omnivore,” of going deep into this call for animal rights. I am an unreconstructed omnivore. I shun food trips and diets. My guide to right eating is the Buddha, whose policy was to eat whatever was put in his begging bowl. Therefore, even though I had translated works of Matthieu Ricard’s before, I...
An Interview with Thubten Chodron
Thubten Chodron is an American Buddhist nun in the Tibetan tradition. A student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan masters, she became a nun in 1977. She is abbess of Sravasti Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in eastern Washington State. She is the author of several books, her most recent being Don’t Believe Everything You Think. Ven. Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in...
A New Perspective on an Ancient Practice: An Interview with Zoketsu Norman Fischer
Shambhala: How did you first encounter Zen, and what was your introduction to practice like? Norman Fischer: I got involved at first through reading-reading and thinking about my life. This was in the very early days, when there were no Zen centers or practice centers of any kind (at least that I was aware of) and the idea that Buddhism could be practiced in the West was not even thinkable. What a difference from today! So, as a young man...
The Way of Judo: An Interview with John Stevens on Jigoro Kano
Shambhala: Why did you want to write about Jigoro Kano? JS: Since I have written books on three of the other most important martial artist masters of the 20th century-Tesshu Yamaoka (kendo), Awa Kenzo (kyudo), and Morihei Ueshiba (aikido)-I felt it imperative to write a book on Jigoro Kano, the founder of Kodokan judo, to round out the picture. Shambhala: How are the masters different? JS: While both Tesshu and Awa based their teachings on Zen, and Morihei was a...
The Unitive Way and the Future of Christianity: A Discussion with Cynthia Bourgeault
Last time Cynthia was in our office, she and her editor, Dave O’Neal, had an interesting conversation about centering prayer, the future of Christianity, her book The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, and much more. Please enjoy these videos from her visit.
Pointing to the Heart of the Buddhadharma: An Interview with Guo Gu, author of The Essence of Chan
Shambhala: Can you tell us something about your background-how you encountered the Buddhadharma? Guo Gu: I first learned meditation when I was in Taiwan at age four. A meditation master named Guangqin taught me how to sit in meditation, and I thought it was fun to copy what he was doing. Later, my family immigrated to the States when I was 11. We studied Chan Master Sheng Yen. He was to become my Shifu, or “teacher-father, ” the most important...
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo’s Pilgrimage to China
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, author of Into the Heart of Life , Reflections of a Mountain Lake, and Cave in the Snow, and who is profiled in the recently released Dakini Power, just returned from a pilgrimage in China, following the footsteps of Xuanzang and visiting the Four Sacred Mountains and four Buddhist rock grottoes. Here she shares some of her experiences of the pilgrimage and observations about Buddhism in China and of nuns in particular. Jetsunma and Xuanzang Shambhala...
Heidi Koppl on the Importance of Rongzom
We recently interviewed Heidi Koppl, author and translator of Establishing Appearances as Divine, about the importance of the great Nyingma scholar Chökyi Zangpo Rongzom’s writings and the inspiration behind her work. Shambhala Publications: What inspired you to take on this text? Heidi Koppl: While I was living at my teacher Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche’s monastery in the Kathmandu Valley in the early 1990s, Khenpo Chöga Rinpoche was teaching there, and I had the opportunity to attend some of his wonderful classes....
Rodney Smith on What it Means to Awaken
An Interview with Rodney Smith, author of Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart Shambhala: In your new book you take on the possibly daunting task of describing what enlightenment is and how it happens. To what extent can it even be described? Rodney Smith: I think the words used to describe awakening can intimate something that we all feel is true though we may not have had the actual experience. When this book speaks of the paradigm shift toward...
About Kazuaki Tanahashi: An Interview with Roshi Joan Halifax
Shambhala: How long have you known Kaz? Roshi Joan: I met Kaz in the mid 1980s when we invited him and other artists to the Ojai Foundation with Thich Nhat Hanh. I felt an instant connection with him, and since that time we have collaborated on many projects and have become good friends and allies in the work of nonviolence. S: How long have you and he been teaching together-and what form does that take? RJ: We have been teaching...
Sitting Still…Like a Kid: An Interview with Eline Snel
Shambhala: How did you first become interested in teaching mindfulness to kids? Eline Snel: I led a training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for a group of twelve principals at my local school board. They asked me to develop a training method for children. So I did, after several tryouts in different schools and age groups. S: How do you explain to a child what mindfulness is? ES: I use the metaphor of a frog to help children become familiar...
Normalcy at Its Best: An Interview with David Chadwick, Biographer of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Shambhala: Your teacher Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind has now been in print for more than forty years, and is still often recommended as the best first book to read about Zen practice. Why do you think its popularity has endured throughout the explosion of Buddhist publishing the last few years? David Chadwick: Hard to say. It’s just got a unique chemistry that has worked in many ways for many people. ZMBM can be a warm, inviting introduction to...
Sacred Syllables: An Interview with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
QUESTION: Sound is important in the world’s spiritual traditions and is central to many Tibetan healing and spiritual practices. It seems that sound affects us on all levels-physical, mental, and spiritual. TENZIN WANGYAL RINPOCHE: Yes, there are different levels of sound practice. Ancient Tibetan yogis who lived in the wilderness far from medical care used sound and other yogic techniques to maintain their health, for example. We know that in acupuncture, when a needle is placed in a part of...
Translating the Maitreya Treatises: An Interview with Thomas Doctor
We recently interviewed Thomas Doctor, a translator on the Dharmachakra Translation Committee, about the importance of their recent translations of the Maitreya texts and commentaries. Shambhala Publications: The Dharmachakra Translation Committee has now published two of the five Maitreya texts, with a third on the way soon. Can you give a brief overview of why you chose to translate these? Thomas Doctor: There is a set of thirteen classic Indian texts that make up the core curriculum of sutra studies...
Staff Picks: Senior Editor Dave O’Neal’s Top Ten
Senior editor Dave O’Neal took a look back at the entire Shambhala catalog and came up with this list of his top ten titles. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind Shunryu Suzuki Still the best first book on Zen practice and why you’d want to do it. There are so many other wonderful books on Zen now, but I’d still suggest this to anyone just starting to get a taste for it, mainly because it conveys something of the joy of...
Natalie Goldberg Day in Taos
Aligning with the release of her new book The Great Spring and the thirtieth anniversary edition of Writing Down the Bones, February 19 is officially Natalie Goldberg Day in Taos, New Mexico. Writing Down the Bones has sold over a million and a half copies and has been translated into fourteen languages. The deceptively simple writing manual started a revolution in writing practice and continues to inspire, create, and instruct writers of all levels. Mayor Dan Barrone will present Natalie Goldberg with a Proclamation...
Tias Little on the Subtle Body
At the Yoga Journal Conference last month in Estes Park, CO, our marketing coordinator Emma Sartwell caught Tias Little, a master teacher who synthesizes years of study in classical yoga, Sanskrit, Buddhist studies, anatomy, massage, and trauma healing, on the lawn to discuss chaturanga, Zen, yoga butts, the sacrum, and more. Find out more about Little’s new book Yoga of the Subtle Body here: shmb.la/yoga-subtle-body Emma: So I thought I’d start with a little context about you-how did...
Buddhism 101 with Rev. Danny Fisher
Rev. Danny Fisher, MDiv, DBS., is a professor and coordinator of the Buddhist Chaplaincy Program at University of the West in Rosemead, California. An ordained Buddhist minister with the Los Angeles Buddhist Union and the Buddhist Sangha Council of Southern California, he is also certified as a mindfulness meditation instructor by Naropa University in association with Shambhala International. In 2009, Danny became the first-ever Buddhist member of the National Association of College and University Chaplains. A blogger for Patheos.com, Shambhala...
Anne Klein Discusses Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche’s Life and Work
We were pleased to have Anne Klein, professor at Rice University and founder of the Dawn Mountain Buddhist center, pay us a visit and talk about her 2016 work, a translation of and introduction to the great Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche’s Strand of Jewels: My Teachers Essential Guidance on Dzogchen. Also see our interview with Khetsun Sangpo from the Snow Lion newsletter of October, 2006 ANNE KLEIN TITLES