Wednesday

The Passing of Acharya Allyn Lyon

Acharya Allyn R. Lyon passed away on Friday 20 November 2015 at Swedish Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, age 78, surrounded by friends and family. In her role as an acharya, and throughout her decades of teaching, Allyn guided countless students with her heartfelt, unconventional yet clear presentation of the teachings.

She is survived by her son, Chris, and many, many students and colleagues who will long miss her. The Sakyong, when informed of Allyn’s death, wrote from his retreat in Nepal: “Allyn, my love and blessing are with you now, as you travel the great path of warriorship.”

A Shambhala funeral ceremony was held at the Boulder Shambhala Center on Monday 23 November and Allyn’s cremation was held at Shambhala Mountain Center on Tuesday. Her biography follows.

Born in Ohio in 1937, Allyn R. Lyon was raised in northern New Jersey. After two marriages, the adoption of her son Chris and completing an M.A. in Government from the University of Ohio, Allyn’s attraction to eastern philosophy led her to Naropa University in 1974. “Naropa, of course, radically changed my life,” she said.

By 1977, Allyn and Chris were living at Karmê Chöling. As a meditation instructor, Allyn sat five dathuns and began teaching. She attended the 1979 seminary, the first of seven that she would go to as a student, staff member or teacher. Allyn also held various administrative roles at Naropa University and the Boulder Shambhala Center.

In 1992, she directed three Naropa Nepal Programs and two three-month Maitri Space Awareness programs in Crestone, CO. In 1995, Allyn “found herself volunteering” to take on the position of Director of Shambhala Mountain Center, also teaching in Europe, Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere during that time.

In 2000, Allyn was designated an Acharya by the Sakyong and given the name Drukmo Choga – Dragon Lady Dharma Joy. Having finished her tenure at Shambhala Mountain Center, she began teaching full time in Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. She became “resident Acharya” for the Shambhala Center in Los Angeles, Tepotzlan, Mexico, and then Shambhala Mountain Center, also teaching in Brazil and Chile.

Never one to be limited by convention, Allyn’s teaching style was a mixture of meticulously presented doctrine and sassy humor. Each talk was peppered with her throaty laugh, accompanied by insistent nodding (as if asking, “right? right?”), making her audience complicit. Allyn demonstrated bravery with her unhesitating embrace of the Shambhala teachings and late in her life by joining the ranks of the Dorje Kasung. Allyn’s speech could at times be quite sharp; her intention was unfailingly kind.

Allyn described her main interest in teaching dharma as the nature of mind and how it functions: “What is mind? How does practice work with mind? What is real?” But if there’s a bottom line, Allyn said, “it’s that I really enjoy practicing the dharma, teaching and sharing my love of the dharma with students.”