Friday
Mudra: A Tool for Chaos
By Craig Warren Smith
“Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news…Chaos is the great space of emptiness that occurs before genesis. … This space provides an opportunity to reconnect with what lies under the chaos and negativity — inherent awakened nature. Another way chaos is good news is that when things seem very bad, there is a big opportunity for something good to take place.” – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche1
Mudra is for NOW
In 1974, the same year Trungpa Rinpoche introduced Mudra Space Awareness (Mudra) to us hippies, he uttered the iconic phrase, “Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news.” It was not just a bumper sticker. It was a prediction. He warned us that chaos was coming within the scope of our own lifetimes. Trungpa wasn’t just prophesying capitalism’s demise. He conveyed a kind of Dante’s inferno in which one would enter the gates of hell and then resurface the better for having gone through.
Trungpa wasn’t just prophesying capitalism’s demise. He conveyed a kind of Dante’s inferno in which one would enter the gates of hell and then resurface the better for having gone through.
Anticipating the breakdown of modern society, he transmitted two upayas (skillful means in Sanskrit) that are fierce and intense enough to transmute the chaos now triggered by Covid-19. These tools are the evocative, haunting poem “The Sadhana of Mahamudra” and Mudra Space Awareness, which is the embodiment practice of the Sadhana of Mahamudra where the words of the Sadhana become postures. Thriving on groundlessness, Mudra must come out of the shadows of Shambhala Buddhism as an essential response to the imbalances that lie at the root of this dark age. The end-goal is to activate transformational “gestures” (“Mudras”) within ourselves and through those gestures, uproot materialism embedded into our lifestyles and by extension, all social institutions that define business-as-usual in the 21st century. Continue…
Entries filed under Community Articles
Shamanic Practice Meets Shambhala Culture – HIGHLIGHT
Commemorating Earth Day A conversation between Shambhala Times Editor Sarah Lipton and Leila Bruno, Nancy Sherwood and Patricia Hayward The 4th Nova Scotia Grandmothers Shamanic Convergence is coming to Dorje Denma Ling September 27-30, 2012. This annual gathering celebrates and explores how shamanic practice can be used for ... continuePosted April 29, 2012 by
The Earth Is Always Rising In Shambhala – HIGHLIGHT
Commemorating Earth Day by David Wimberly The Earth is always rising in Shambhala. This iconic photograph, taken from space, of the lushly living blue-green earth rising over the starkly lifeless moonscape so vividly changed the consciousness of humanity about what we are in this universe. Today the teachings ... continuePosted April 28, 2012 by
Cultivating Service with the Merit Exchange – HIGHLIGHT
Commemorating Earth Day by Ryan Thompson founder of the Merit Exchange Spring came a bit early this year in Chicago, but on Saturday morning it was clear that winter wouldn’t let go without a fight. Only a handful of volunteers made it to the Iron Street Urban Farm, including ... continuePosted April 27, 2012 by
A Slightly Different 99 Percent – HIGHLIGHT
Commemorating Earth Day GreenFaith Fellowship: Chapter 2 Reports on an Environmental Justice Retreat click here to read the first story by Irene Woodard Newark International is the airport I generally leave from to go on Shambhala retreats and send my kids to Sun Camp. This past November, I went on ... continuePosted April 21, 2012 by
Finding Balance: On the Cushion and Off – HIGHLIGHT
An Interview with Hope Martin by Debra Hiers Hope Martin will be leading a weekthun in Atlanta April 22-28, 2012 teaching the principles discussed in the interview below to intensive meditation practice. I take my seat on the cushion, settle into my sit bones. Hands resting ... continuePosted April 18, 2012 by
Checking In From the Mukpo Institute @ Karme Choling – HIGHLIGHT
by Lawrence Jordan, Mukpo Institute student at Karme Choling This note originally went out to the mailing list of my home Sangha. I would like to extend it out to the entire Shambhala community. I’m sorry I haven’t had the opportunity to write sooner, but my days ... continuePosted April 17, 2012 by
Celebrating Warriors in the World – HIGHLIGHT
When we as Shambhalians highlight and celebrate warriors in the world, we are reminded that the tradition of warriorship is timeless. In this article by Shastri Charlene Leung, Chairperson of the Shambhala Diversity Working Group, we look through a window at Shambhala community events that are ... continuePosted April 16, 2012 by
Reflection on Warriorship and Enlightened Society
by Susmita Barua The goal of warriorship is to express basic goodness in its most complete, fresh and brilliant form. As warriors, we train ourselves to rest in basic goodness, in a state of complete simplicity. What the warrior renounces is anything that is a barrier between ... continuePosted April 12, 2012 by mita
Reflections from the United Nations Headquarters
Reflections on the “High Level Meeting on Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm” at the United Nations Headquarters, April 2, 2012 by Bob Gailey I walked down First Avenue on a sunny spring morning and saw the line forming to enter the visitors gate on the ... continuePosted April 12, 2012 by
Acharya Dale Asrael Reviews the New Book – HIGHLIGHT
Letter to the Shambhala community from Acharya Dale Asrael, in anticipation of the forthcoming book by the Sakyong I have just finished reading an advance copy of the Sakyong’s new book, Running with the Mind of Meditation, and I feel excited about the potential it holds. This ... continuePosted April 8, 2012 by
On Aging: Let Things Flow – HIGHLIGHT
The wisdom of Ann Cason article by David Whitehorn This is the third in an ongoing series of articles on Aging in Shambhala. The first consisted of remarks by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on aging (click here), the second examined a Shambhala ‘Statement on Aging’ (click here). This ... continuePosted March 14, 2012 by
Rigdens at an Exhibition | Shambhala Times Community News Magazine
Rigdens at an Exhibition | Shambhala Times Community News Magazine. From: Pioneer Valley Shambhala News continuePosted March 13, 2012 by
Rigdens at an Exhibition – HIGHLIGHT
by Dan Glenn, Director of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Boston The Boston Museum of Fine Arts opened its exhibit, Seeking Shambhala early last Monday morning. The exhibition features a set of newly-conserved 17th century thangka paintings of the Rigden (or Kalki) Kings of Shambhala and is ... continuePosted March 12, 2012 by
Celebrating the Lineage of Milarepa – HIGHLIGHT
Today is Milarepa Day! On the first full moon of the New Year we celebrate the enlightenment and life example of Milarepa by reading the songs of the lineage fathers in The Rain of Wisdom. This text consists of stories of the great meditators of the ... continuePosted March 7, 2012 by
Shambhala 2011 The Year in Review movie closed captioned in eight languages
The wonderful Shambhala 2011 Year in Review movie was captioned and translated into eight languages thanks to the valiant efforts of many translators who worked tirelessly to have the translations ready for Shambhala Day. Thanks to their efforts may more Shambhalians were able to see the ... continuePosted February 28, 2012 by Hamish_MacLaren
RSS feed for the Community Articles category
View all posts from authors in Community Articles: alexvangils rguest John_Smith Travis_May Shambhala_Portland_1
