Our Story
Shambhala Publications is dedicated to creating books, audio, and immersive courses aimed at improving lives
—in ways big and small— in the hope of contributing to the development of a thoughtful, kindhearted, and contemplative society. In the words of our first author, Chögyam Trungpa, “Enlightened society has to be real and good, honest and genuine.” We hold these words as a guiding principle and try to reflect its sentiment in each and everything we make and do, from publishing timeless spiritual classics and cultural treasures to contemporary explorations of what it is to live a meaningful and honest life that benefits the people and world around us.
As in our earliest days, we continue to be very selective about what we publish. Authenticity and integrity are paramount. And we aim for each of our books and programs to shine through with genuine personal value. We offer numerous titles on meditation and a wide range of spiritual traditions, from Buddhism and Taoism to contemplative traditions within Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sufism. Sometimes the focus is more physical, with our books on health, wellness, yoga, and martial arts. And often it is simply about day-to-day happiness, with books on psychology, emotional well-being, and mindfulness.
On this site, you can explore numerous resources within our five main imprints:
Shambhala
Our original publishing line and the core of our collection
Snow Lion
Focused on the richness of Tibetan Buddhism and culture
Bala Kids
Our children’s imprint dedicated to encouraging the values of wisdom and compassion for children of all ages
Roost Books
Our creative living imprint which can be explored further at roostbooks.com.
Prajna Studios
Our education and multimedia branch, including online courses, free audio, and video
We hope you can spend some time on our site, finding articles and interviews to read, videos to watch, audio programs to listen to, and books to add to your shelf. And we invite you to see what might be of most benefit to you in your life—with whatever inspires you in this moment.
A team of roughly forty people based in Boulder, Colorado, we are committed to helping bring the wisdom, creativity, and inspiration of our authors and translators to you in a form that is beautiful to read and that you can keep with you forever.
Shambhala has been an independent, family-owned publisher* since 1969 and we have over 1,600 titles in print. We are distributed worldwide through the good folks at Penguin Random House.
To publish books—rooted in wisdom traditions—that focus on inner transformation, enlightened living,alleviating the suffering of samsara†, and countering spiritual materialism‡
† While samsara is an Indic word describing the cycle of suffering described in Buddhism and Hinduism, we use it here in a universal sense with the view that the root of all our suffering can only be alleviated through spiritual development.
‡ In Cutting through Spiritual Materialism, Chögyam Trungpa describes this term as follows:
“Walking the spiritual path properly is a very subtle process; it is not something to jump into naively. There are numerous sidetracks which lead to a distorted, ego-centered version of spirituality; we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are developing spiritually when instead we are strengthening our egocentricity through spiritual techniques. This fundamental distortion may be referred to as spiritual materialism.”
Meet the team
The Team Favorite Reads This week
Sky Dharma is a compelling read because it seamlessly combines the inspiring mystical biography of a thirteen-year-old Tibetan visionary with a clear, practical guide to the profound foundational Buddhist practices he revealed.
Sky Dharma is a compelling read because it seamlessly combines the inspiring mystical biography of a thirteen-year-old Tibetan visionary with a clear, practical guide to the profound foundational Buddhist practices he revealed.
Nikko's favorite
Example product title
The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts is a captivating read because it uses vivid, mythical parables to reveal that true martial mastery relies not on physical technique, but on the profound Zen stillness of the mind.
The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts is a captivating read because it uses vivid, mythical parables to reveal that true martial mastery relies not on physical technique, but on the profound Zen stillness of the mind.