Update on Shambhala Mountain Center

Jul 25

Wednesday

Post a Comment July 25, 2012 – 11:50 am | Permalink |

The following update on Shambhala Mountain Center is from Executive Director Michael Gayner.

Dear Friends,

With the containment of the High Park fire, the staff have all returned to Shambhala Mountain Center. Over the past month, we were evacuated, some re-evacuated with the fires in Boulder; we held 5 programs, carried out fire mitigation at SMC, and had staff living in Fort Collins and Boulder. It’s been an amazing experience. People worked incredibly hard, and the Front Range sangha has demonstrated what sangha means by opening, their hearts and homes to us.

At this point, we are taking care of essential work, addressing a massive backlog of data entry in registration, development and finance, and have begun cleaning the land. At the same time, staff are getting some much needed rest. The schedule consists of practice in the morning and work in the afternoon. Acharya Lyon is here to lead staff on a retreat from the 15th through the 17th. Our regular summer schedule of work and practice will start on the July 19th, and Acharya Lyon has generously agreed to stay until August 1st to provide guidance and teachings.

All of the July programs have been cancelled with the exception of Golden Key which will be held at the Boulder Shambhala Meditation Center. During this time, the land will be closed to non-staff with the exception of sangha members supporting the return and reconnection process. Programs are planned to resume in early August, with the first program since the evacuation to be the Magyal Pomra Encampment.

The Sakyong has expressed his deep appreciation for the exemplary warriorship of all the leadership and staff of Shambhala Mountain Center and the Front Range community for their support. In a private meeting with retiring director Jon Barbieri, he personally thanked Jon for his extraordinary service to the lineage and the mandala. As the incoming director, I would like to add my personal gratitude for Jon’s leadership, indefatigable hard work and wacky sense of humour in the face of what might be called challenging situations.