Winter 2012 Schedule

Venez méditer, écouter de brèves causeries et partager avec d'autres méditants francophones. Le déroulement de chaque soirée sera différent d'une fois à l'autre et dépendra beaucoup de ce que les participants désirent.

Les soirées francophones pour l'année 2011-2012 auront chacune pour thème un texte du Sakyong Mipham Rinpoché traduit en français. Ces textes se trouvent dans le document suivant: Textes_du_Sakyong.pdf

25 janvier              Je crois en l'amour

29 février              L'esprit du dragon et le pouvoir du non-soi

28 mars               Quatre manières de régner sur notre monde

25 avril                La pratique personnelle

23 mai                 Voir que l'essence des phénomènes est la sagesse

Bienvenue à tous et toutes. Entrée libre.

S'inscrire

Lojong (literally, “mind training”) slogan practice is a way to bring compassion, clarity and peace into all of our relationships. This course explores the mahayana slogans of Atisha, a 10th-century Indian Buddhist master, in conjunction with the practice of exchanging self for other—tonglen.

Recommended readings: (on sale at the Shambhala Centre):

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche: Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving Kindness

Pema Chödrön, The Compassion Box (includes Lojong cards, CD and book: Start Where you Are)

Instructor : Suzanne Côté

Open to all. This course is part of the Way of Shambhala II curriculum.
Suggested donation: $50.

Jan. 12: Can We Bring Our Mindfulness to Work?

Apr. 12: iMeditate: Can Technology Help Our Practice? 

All welcome.

In this third weekend of Shambhala training, we work in a deliberate way to bring the mindfulness and awareness we cultivate during meditation practice into everyday life. Alive to our sense perceptions, we can venture in the world with a vulnerability that is fearless, gentle, and awake.

For more information please email:  wos1@shambhalaottawa.ca.

Instructor : David Fowler

Prerequisite: Level II.
Suggested donation: $145. ($195 for Level III and Course III when you register for both at the Level).

This course expands the meditation experience by cultivating the noble-heart of the mahayana teachings, opening the path to the virtue and celebration of compassion. Through practical methods, we further develop kindness toward ourselves and others. We emphasize the joy and invigoration that comes from discipline. The Lion represents the qualities of cheerfulness, health, and freedom from doubt.

For more information or to register, please email: wos1@shambhalaottawa.ca.

Instructor : David Fowler

Prerequisite: Contentment in Everyday Life Course (completion of Shambhala Training Level III is recommended).
Suggested Donation: $75 ($195 for Level III and Course III when you register for both at the Level).

What makes art, art? What is the source of creativity? How is meditation connected to the creative process? In Shambhala Art, we learn to use clear perception to realize direct expression. We discover that our perception of art, if not also everyday life, is connected to our ability to pacify our mind and let go of fixation to appreciate all the details of our life. Our aim is to experience the joy of genuine expression.

Workshop taught by Stéphane Bédard, Ikebana Master and Shambhala Art Senior Instructor.

Please note that there are no prerequisites for this Program: everyone is invited, artists and non-artists alike.

To register, please email art@shambhalaottawa.ca

For more information, please send your email to: art@shambhalaottawa.ca

Open to all: no prerequisites.
Suggested donation: $145 (includes teas, reception and materials).

This course will delve into the richness of the wisdom lineages of Shambhala Buddhism, introducing central figures in our tradition, and how their lives and teachings serve as up-to-date examples for practitioners.

The course will explore how teachers play a central role in transmitting the paths of study and practice to their students. It will consider the student/teacher relationship from various aspects: trust in the teacher and teachings, faith in our own innate wisdom, and the resulting devotion that sees the world as teacher.

Instructors : Heather Alinsangan and Shastri Henry Chapin

Readings: Lineage and Devotion Sourcebook (on sale at the Shambhala Centre)

Prerequisite: Shambhala Training Level III
Suggested donation: $50.00 (or $10.00 per class)

In Shambhala Training Level IV, we learn how to awaken and open our heart so that we can communicate fully with our world. Through trust in basic goodness and the daringness to experience the sharp edges of reality, we move forward with gentleness, increased awareness, and inquisitiveness about the world, as it is.

For more information please email: wos1@shambhalaottawa.ca

Instructor : Suzanne Côté

Prerequisite: Level III.
Suggested donation: $145 ($195 for Level IV and Course IV when you register for both at the Level)

Fearlessness in Everyday Life mixes meditation with the vastness of space beyond concept. Through an exploration of the Buddhist teachings of emptiness, the meditator opens to groundlessness and uncertainty, learning to soar fearlessly beyond hope and fear like the mythical bird known as the Garuda.

For more information please email: wos1@shambhalaottawa.ca

Instructors : Mark Frutkin and Suzanne Côté

Prerequisites: Shambhala Training Level IV and Joy in Everyday Life
Suggested Donation: $75 ($195 for Level IV and Course IV when you register for both at the Level)

A five week course on how to train the mind through the practice of mindfulness, or “peaceful abiding”, meditation. Ideal for beginners as well as students who would like to stabilize and deepen their practice.

The course will give students a basic grounding in the principles of meditation, as well as contemplative techniques to gain insight into the state of our mind and the state of our life.

Instructor : David Fowler

Readings: Turning the Mind Into an Ally by Sakyong Mipham (on sale at the Shambhala Centre).

Open to all.
Suggested donation: $50.00 (or $10.00 per class)

The four dignities are introduced as a path and a process, which describe a warrior's maturing and widening sphere of benevolent engagement in the world. The training in the dignities allows one to maintain awareness and delight at each stage. Meek is a study of the grounded, humble and gentle beginning stages of a warrior's journey. Here one trains to overcome arrogance, and to understand the effects of one's actions. Perky focuses on cultivating sharp, vibrant and uplifted energy through natural discipline. Overcoming the trap of doubt, the warrior of perky is able to accomplish his or her activities with a sense of nobility and ease.

For more information contact: wos2@shambhalaottawa.ca

Instructor : Mark Frutkin

Prerequisite: Level Drala
Suggested Donation: $160 (plus $25 materials fee).

This workshop will be taught by Stéphane Bédard, Ikebana Master and Shambhala Art Senior Instructor.

To register, please email art@shambhalaottawa.ca.

Open to all: no prerequisites.
Suggested donation: $145 (includes teas, reception and materials).

You may be interested in some of this year's program offerings at Juniper Hill Retreat Centre, which is about 250 kilometres southwest of Ottawa. For more information, contact Madeline Conacher or Louis Allen at: conacher.allen@gmail.com  or visit www.juniperhillretreat.org

Apr 20-26 Shambhala Training Levels 1-3

Level 1 Apr 20-22

Level 2 Apr 22-24

Level 3 Apr 24-26

By sharpening our awareness and finding the open clear sky of mind—a delightful source of wisdom and uplifted energy—we trust our nature enough to let go into the present moment.

For more information please email: wos1@shambhalaottawa.ca.

Instructors : Jessica Ouvrard and Shastri Henry Chapin

Prerequisite: Level IV.
Suggested donation: $145. ($195 for Level V and Course V when you register for both at the Level)

This course is an introduction to the principles of vajrayana and provides a direct and experiential picture of the tantric world.

"When we talk about the tantric world, we are talking about this visual, auditory, sensory world, which has not been explored or looked at properly. Nobody has bothered to actually experience it. People just take it for granted. [...] The point of tantra is to reintroduce the world to us. Having developed a calmness of mind already in our practice of meditation, we can begin to re-view the world." (Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche)

Instructors : Bozica Costigliola and Don Adams

Readings: All readings will be from the book "Journey Without Goal" by Chögyam Trungpa (available at the Shambhala Centre).

Shambhala Training Level III, Karma and the 12 Nidanas or at least 2 Buddhist classes.
Suggested donation: $50

Register

This last Way of Shambhala Course looks at the qualities of a master warrior whose vastness of mind and skill in enriching the world are fully manifested. Here the practitioner is introduced to the vajrayana teachings of Buddhism, which reveal the sacredness of the phenomenal world. Students will receive essential instructions for transforming confused emotions and situations into wisdom as they arise.

The master warrior is no longer deterred or depressed by obstacles, but with tremendous forward vision and strength, the Dragon playfully includes everything as part of the path. In this way, the warrior is able to skilfully benefit the world.

For more information please email: wos1@shambhalaottawa.ca

Instructors : Jessica Ouvrard and Shastri Henry Chapin

Prerequisite: Fearlessness in Everyday Life course (completion of Level V is recommended).
Suggested Donation: $75 ($195 for Level V and Course V when you register for both at the Level).

Register

You may be interested in some of this year's program offerings at Juniper Hill Retreat Centre, which is about 250 kilometres southwest of Ottawa. For more information, contact Madeline Conacher or Louis Allen at: info@juniperhillretreat.org or visit www.juniperhillretreat.org

May 18-21 Course II: Contentment in Everyday Life

Wakefulness is our natural state: enlightened, complete, perfect in wisdom and compassion. It is not something outside ourselves that we need to attain or become. But it's also true that some effort is required to get in touch with it, and that effort is what spiritual practice is about.

This course is based on a book by Acharya Gaylon Ferguson which describes that effort in terms of the four foundations of mindfulness: body, feeling, mind, and sense fields.

Instructors : Heather Alinsangan and Mark Frutkin

Suggested donation: $50.00

Register

Acharya Richard John will interview those interested in taking the Shambhala Vow on Friday, June 8th during the day. You will have a specific interview time.

Pre-requisite: Completion of Rigden or equivalent.

Register

Way of Shambhala I culminates in the Rigden weekend. The Rigden is a representation of our basic enlightened nature and embodies the principle of unconditional bravery. Historically, rigdens were enlightened rulers - those who could "rule their world" based on their unwavering experience of basic goodness. This weekend includes a formal transmission of windhorse practice, and study of the Six Ways of Ruling.

For more information please email: wos1@shambhalaottawa.ca

Director: Acharya Richard John

Prerequisites: Wisdom in Everyday Life and Level V, or completion of the Sacred Path program and some introductory Buddhist classes.
$165

Register

Acharya Richard John will give the Shambhala Vow.  Those receiving the vow will have an interview with him on Friday.  The ceremony is open to family and friends.

Open to all.

Register

You may be interested in some of this year's program offerings at Juniper Hill Retreat Centre, which is about 250 kilometres southwest of Ottawa. For more information, contact Madeline Conacher or Louis Allen at: info@juniperhillretreat.org or visit www.juniperhillretreat.org

This program is based on a Shambhala text that works with our relationship to the material world and our sense perceptions. It teaches the practice of enriching presence, the ability to instantly sense the inner wealth within oneself, phenomena, and the natural world. Drawing wisdom from The Letter of the Golden Key, a Shambhala root text that addresses our relationship to the material world and our sense perceptions, we will learn the practice of enriching presence—the ability to instantly sense the inner wealth within ourselves, phenomena and the natural world.

For more information please email: wos2@shambhalaottawa.ca

This program is one of the prerequisites for Warriors’ Assembly.

Instructor : Shastri Henry Chapin

Prerequisite: Outrageous and Inscrutable
Suggested Donation: $160 (plus materials fee, approx. $54).

Register