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Shambhala Quick Links:
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Community The Kootenay Shambhala Centre is part of the Shambhala global community and home to a lively and diverse local community of about 40 members. We share a connection to mindfulness-awareness meditation and the aspiration to create a wakeful, joyful society. We invite and appreciate everyone's participation!
There are many ways to get involved—a few of them are listed below. To find out how to join in and to stay in the loop, visit our Programs and Events area, subscribe to the Kootenay Shambhala Blog or one or both of our email lists, or contact us at nelsonbuddha@gmail.com or through our Who Does What page. You can learn more about the life of the Kootenay Shambhala community through blog posts tagged community.
Aimed largely at newcomers and suitable for practitioners at all levels of experience, our ever popular weekly Monday night Open House program is one of the best places to plug into the life of our community. For a full program description, go to our Open House page.
One of our most basic and most important community activities is group meditation practice. Each session is an opportunity to experience the power and joy of coming together, however briefly, as a community of practitioners. See our Regular Public Events Schedule for details.
Special programs include Shambhala Training weekends, other Way of Shambhala programs and, even more "special," programs led by Shambhala acharyas and other senior teachers. These are all heightened opportunities to discover the value of community practice and study.
Intended for children of parents participating in our Sunday morning meditation practice, this semimonthly program offers a playful introduction to Shambhala, with developmentally appropriate activities to nurture body, mind and heart. More
This weekly group provides opportunities for parents with infants/toddlers to receive shamatha ("calm abiding") meditation instruction and practice with their infants/toddlers present. Discussion follows practice. More
Volunteering at the Shambhala Centre is a great way to get involved and benefit others. And a great place to get started as a volunteer is our Drala Housekeeping Team. Whatever your knack, we can probably find an outlet for it. Learn more on our Volunteering page.
Our popular Movie Nights combine sharing good movies and preparing and eating good food and generally having a good time together—a natural fit! We started doing this in April 2007 and continue on a roughly quarterly schedule. Whoever coordinates the preparation of a night's meal gets to pick that night's movie(s).
The glossary of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche's book Ruling Your World defines drala as "the blessing energy that arises when we overcome our own aggression." Drala hikes, a mix of meditation and day-hiking, present chances to see how the natural world can stop our minds, open our hearts, and even bless us.
This aspect of our Centre's activity goes way back. It got a big boost in the late 1990s, when Pema Chödrön started leading retreats made widely accessible through the use of video technology. The idea is simple: come together in a friendly, supportive environment for group meditation practice, reading from a particular book or watching a particular video, discussion and socializing. We welcome book and video suggestions.
As part of our response to Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche's invitation to the Shambhala community several years ago to turn the flower outward, we're exploring ways of joining our meditation training with social action, currently focusing on promoting diversity and, through our Touching the Earth group's activity, ecological sustainability.
Whenever the inspiration strikes, someone in our community throws some kind of party. With dancing, playing games, 'potlucking' etc., these parties are fun—it's that simple. In the last couple of years, we've been gathering in this way once every few months. Parties are usually announced through our Members & Friends email list.
The Shambhala community comes together in many ways—to practice, learn, serve others . . . and to celebrate! By joining spiritual practice with the practicalities, challenges and joys of everyday life, we aspire to create a society that expresses the dignity of human experience. You can learn more on the Celebrations page on Shambhala's central website.
Even if you can't participate in person, you can be part of our community! At the Kootenay Shambhala Centre we're very interested in reaching out—by telephone and email and in other ways—to anyone interested in us. |
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Pacific Northwest Shambhala Community 
Open House
Public Meditation
Special Programs
Children in Shambhala
Calm Abiding Together: Parents & Infants/Toddlers Meditation Group
Volunteering
Movie Nights
Book & Video Classes
Social Action
Dance (& Other) Parties 
Celebrations
Extending CommunityLearn more about meditation and buddhism at shambhala.org
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