Saturday

ShambhalaNews.org: Turning Outward

article by Shambhala Times Regional Correspondent Travis May

The newest member of the online Shambhala family is ShambhalaNews.org, a website specifically oriented to the non-Shambhala community. This is not to say that the content of the new website would be of no interest to Shambhala members, but according to Communications Director Larry Barnett, Shambhala News is “generally jargon-free, straightforward, and includes reports on the ways in which Shambhala and its members are working to create enlightened society.”

Featuring regular articles about neuroscience and mind, Shambhala members working on the front lines, recently published works by Shambhala authors, and other content covering ways in which Shambhala and the Sakyong are gaining public attention, Shambhala News features an intuitive user interface specifically designed to highlight its content.

“President Reoch and I have worked closely to develop an approach which does not feel Tibetan or overtly Buddhist,” said Larry. “Our goal has been to provide a platform for Shambhala vision that is not dependent upon any particular spiritual tradition.” He added, “Our team has worked to create a site filled with articles and videos that reflects the broad character of Shambhala.” Larry also said that he hoped this website would be recommended as a first resource to non-members of Shambhala who are interested in learning more about us. “Shambhala News is the outward facing companion to the more inward looking Shambhala Times online community magazine,” he said.

In order to help facilitate “spreading the word” about Shambhala News, social media links are associated with each article, making it easy for readers to post articles of interest on their Facebook or Google + pages, or share them on Twitter. Moreover, moderated commentary functionality is also now enabled. New articles are posted weekly.

“I’m particularly pleased with our section offering articles about what Shambhala members are doing in society, what we call, ‘compassion in action,’” said President Richard Reoch. “We have so many people putting Shambhala principles to work, it’s delightful to let the world and our own members know more about it,” he said.

Shambhala members are welcome to suggest articles and information that they feel would be a good addition to the website. The ‘Contact Us’ form allows visitors to connect directly with current editor, Communications Director Larry Barnett. “I hope to see a flood of article suggestions,” Larry said. “I know how hard so many of our members are working to bring Shambhala vision to the world, and Shambhala News is a great way to get the word out.”

Visit Shambhala News by clicking here.