Friday
Community ArticlesTonglen Practice on the Shambhala Network
by President Richard Reoch
One of the most potent ways in which our community manifests as a global network of compassionate support is through our constant stream of tonglen practice. Someone posts a request for tonglen and hundreds of Shambhalians respond.
Up to now, most people have done this by posting a message on sangha-announce. The old system reached 3,424 Shambhalians worldwide. When the new Shambhala Network goes completely live on Tuesday 9 October, a tonglen request posted on sangha-announce will reach 4,479 people.
So that’s one way you can post a tonglen request — just go to the Sangha Announce Group on the Shambhala Network and post your message there. There’s a link to the Group at the bottom of every page on the Network. If you have joined Sangha Announce on the Network, you will get the tonglen requests posted there.
Or, you can use a special feature on the Shambhala Network dedicated to Tonglen Practice. It’s the International Tonglen Practice Requests group.
This group dedicated to Tonglen Practice currently has 4,331 people. I just signed up myself and asked that I receive a daily report of all tonglen requests because I try to respond to everyone of these.
Here’s what you do, step-by-step, in six steps.
1. Go to http://shambhalanetwork.org
2. An opening page with an inviting nature photo asks you to bow and enter.
3. When you enter, click on the photo panel at the top right of the page — on the word GROUPS.
4. On the Groups page, use the search bar on the top-right and search for “tonglen.” The “International Tonglen Requests” group will show. Click on the group’s title.
5. If you’re not already a member, under the description of the Group you will find a box: JOIN GROUP. Click on this.
Once you’re a member (or if you’re already a member), you can click the yellow “New Topic” button to post a tonglen request.
6. Underneath the “New Topic” button of any group is a line that says: “Your email status is [Weekly/Daily/All Email/etc] (change)”. If you want to receive notifications of Tonglen Requests each day, click “change” and select Weekly Digest, Daily Digest, All Email (if you want to see them as they come in). Selecting “New Topics” means that you’ll only get each initial request — not any discussion about it that follows after.
I hope you find this step-by-step guide as helpful, and that it will further increase the practice of tonglen around the world.
From: From our President
