Wednesday

Kalapa Council to Present Strategic Plans

miksang photo by Charles Blackhall

News Update

The Kalapa Council will be holding a series of major conference calls with leaders of the mandala to present the plans it is putting into effect following the strategic planning discussion it opened up with the community following Shambhala Day.

The plans cover a three-fold strategy for the coming period. They involve plans for moving forward with key elements of the Sakyong’s 2020 Vision, making changes within Shambhala to develop our culture and make the whole mandala more economically sustainable, and reducing or changing some of our central services in order to reduce costs.

Following the conference calls, the plans will be shared with the whole community on the Kalapa Council Blog, where many people have participated with comments, suggestions and questions and possibly through Shambhala Online.

Each of the leadership groups in the three pillars will be contacted this week with details and times for the calls.

Who is the Kalapa Council?
In the Shambhala teachings, Kalapa is the capital of the Kingdom of Shambhala. It is the seat from which the Sakyong and the Sakyong Wangmo govern the mandala. In traditional Tibetan paintings Kalapa is depicted as the palace at the centre of the Kingdom of Shambhala. Because Shambhala is a mandala, the kingdom is normally depicted as a complete circle, with the capital as a smaller, inner circle.

In the contemporary Shambhala mandala, Kalapa refers to the core energy of the mandala, and is closely associated with the central role played by the Sakyong and the Sakyong Wangmo.

The Sakyong has appointed a senior leadership group, the Kalapa Council, to assist him and the Sakyong Wangmo in the integration and governance of the mandala. The Kalapa Council is the Lha body of Shambhala Governance. It’s role, described by the Sakyong, is “to disseminate and govern” and is “the structure for the Sakyong to express his direct command and wishes.”

To read more, click here.