Monday

Shambhala Center is open and closed

For most of us, the Shambhala Center will be completely closed from Saturday April 27 to Friday May 3rd!  There will be no sitting, no classes, no office hours, no groups, no meetings, no anything.

But for a group of hardy meditators who have registered for the week-long Spring Meditation retreat (or Weekthun), the Shambhala Center will be completely open in several senses.  Open because participants they will be there for fairly long days (from 8:30 in the morning until 9 pm at night) for a  fairly long week.  But also open in the sense that a Weekthun requires some real effort to be open full time —  to our  own experience, to what comes up in meditation, to a schedule that is full of discipline.  At this point there are 15 people registered for the program so, according to Shastri Rayna Jacobson (who is leading the program), registration is still open.  In addition to the participants, there are many others who have been recruited over the past several weeks to help out as staff, as meditation instructors, and as helpers of various sorts.  There are still some open positions on the roster.

Putting on a program like this requires a participation from a whole community and a lot of improvisation.  There are many elements of a Weekthun that are very traditional.  Shastri Jacobson, for example, has her talks mostly worked out, but still needs time before it starts up.  If you are interested in preparing a meal for the group, for example, you can still contact Nora Nichols, who is the program coordinator, and who is still seeking volunteers to help in several different capacities.  Nora is open to your offerings as to menu, or how and when you might contribute the meal.

For everyone who isn’t in the program or on the staff, my question is: while  the Shambhala Center is closed what will you do?   How will you be open? Please leave a comment here or on our Facebook page.

From: Portland News Magazine