The Shambhala Buddhist view of enlightened society

"In essence, the emphasis of the Buddhist path is to help us attain enlightenment, and the emphasis of the Shambhala path is to help us create and maintain a good society. When we put these two together, we have the Shambhala Buddhist view of enlightened society." — Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

Our Vision

The Shambhala view is that every human being has a fundamental nature of goodness, warmth and intelligence. This nature can be cultivated through meditation and it can be further developed in daily life, so that it radiates out to family, friends, community and society.

In the course of our lives, this goodness can easily become covered over by doubt, fear and egotism. The journey of becoming fully human means seeing through those habitual patterns, and waking up to our natural intelligence.

It takes kindness —to ourselves and others— and courage to wake up in this world. Awakening and opening, we discover the world to be naturally sacred —pure and full of beauty. We begin to see clearly the goodness and wisdom of others, and to feel compassion to help them in myriad ways.

Shambhala and Buddhism

Buddhism offers methods to clarify our mind, open our heart, and face the realities of human life, while the Shambhala teachings offer practices for rousing our life force and connecting with the natural power and energy of the phenomenal world. The combination of these wisdom traditions offers a contemporary, effective spiritual path. Following it, we can reclaim our natural birthright of wisdom and compassion, and work with others to bring about the best in human society.

The Origins

In the mid-1970s, in order to provide an environment in which Buddhism could flourish in the West, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche presented the spiritual journey in the cultural context of Shambhala--a personal and social vision of awakening that is accessible to everyone, all the time, even in the midst of busy daily life. They were based on his encounter with the Western world and on the specific wisdom imparted from the Buddha to King Dawa Sangpo, the first sovereign of the legendary kingdom of Shambhala. This land has for centuries been seen throughout central Asia as a source of individual and cultural virtue: a place in which inhabitants led meditative lives of bravery, gentleness and intelligence, where they acted with responsibility and delight in caring for one another.

The Shambhala community is a support for those who aspire to follow this path.

Learn more about the Ottawa Shambhala Meditation Centre, and our lineage and teachers.