I completed the Shambhala Training Level 1

LoveWins

I took the Shambhala training level 1: The Art Of Being Human.. It was a whole weekend that taught us about getting in touch with one 's Basic Goodnes. Anyone on here heard of this or ever done it? We did alooooooooooooooooooot of meditation. Lol. It was great.

Cinorjer

I've never heard of it. Glad you had a great time! So tell us what it was like (unless there's secret rituals or something).

Nek777

I have thought about it... Never did it though and wound up with a kagyu sangha. The Shambhala peeps in DC are a nice bunch.

How was it? Did you take the other class too? Plan on going to level 2?

Chaz

LoveWins said:

I took the Shambhala training level 1: The Art Of Being Human.. It was a whole weekend that taught us about getting in touch with one 's Basic Goodnes. Anyone on here heard of this or ever done it? We did alooooooooooooooooooot of meditation. Lol. It was great.

I did levels 1 & 2.

It is a TON of meditation.

I was still pretty new to meditation when I did level 1. By the end of the weekend I was so sore, I was wondering if I'd be able to walk out to the car.

Do a couple more levels and then come out to Colorado for a Dathun :rockon:

Chaz

Cinorjer said:

I've never heard of it. Glad you had a great time! So tell us what it was like (unless there's secret rituals or something).

Shambhala Training is a program created by the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It draws on teaching found in Trungpa's book, Shambhala - the Sacred Path of the Warrior. They're two or three-day intensives - a lot of meditation with teachings.

Nothing secret or esoteric. Anyone can take these trainnings - you don't even have to be a Buddhist. All are welcome.

LoveWins

Plan on going to level 2?



Yes! It's just in 4 weeks though. I will need to mentally prepare myself though! Lol. The meditation is really intense.

LoveWins

@ Chaz


I did levels 1 & 2.

It is a TON of meditation.



Yes... I almost felt duped a little. And pissed and tired! I was like why didn't they just tell us.

I was still pretty new to meditation when I did level 1.

Me too. Only been doing it off and on for about a year.

By the end of the weekend I was so sore, I was wondering if I'd be able to walk out to the car.

Lol

Do a couple more levels and then come out to Colorado for a Dathun

I plan on it. And also coming for some new touristy things that are out there to see and experience.....so I've heard... You know y'all been on the news and everything. :0)

jae

@LoveWins...never heard of it, but it sounds really interesting. I'm going to a zen group meeting thursday evening (first Zen meeting for me), at the end of the month they have The Venerable Myokun from the Shobo-an Zen temple in London has anyone heard of him/her? (not sure what gender not that it makes alot of difference I suppose).

Chaz

LoveWins said:

Yes... I almost felt duped a little. And pissed and tired! I was like why didn't they just tell us.

Because you didn't ask, perhaps?

I had a similar reaction as you.

After thinking on it, I came up with the following: It's Shambhala Training, not Teaching. Trungpa was all about practice. He wanted his students to practice and was always coming up with ways to get them to practice. Shambhala training is no exception. Shambhala is about meditative warriorship. So, to take these trainnings and have to undergo hours upon hous of meditation makes perfect sense. Perfect training.

While I don't remember the content of those trainnings - it was a years ago - they benefit me greatly when on retreat or other meditation intensives. It didn't make me into a medatative machine, but it did instill in me the patience to sit and practice for long hours when the situation demanded it. For that I am most grateful.

So, instead of sitting and stewing about when the Umdze is gonna ring the frikkin gong, or how sore I'm getting, I sit and stew about that and use it as practice.

LoveWins

@Chaz yes!!! At the end of it all I was like duhhhhhhhhh, I guess there telling me I need to sit more and be more consistent with my practice. But yes, during the training I was like c'mon umdzeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Ring the &@$;: gong already! Lol

LoveWins

While I don't remember the content of those trainnings - it was a years ago -

The main thing to remember is Basic Goodness. If you at least remember that, then you've remembered 99% of it. :0)))

Chaz

LoveWins said:

@Chaz yes!!! At the end of it all I was like duhhhhhhhhh, I guess there telling me I need to sit more and be more consistent with my practice. But yes, during the training I was like c'mon umdzeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Ring the &@$;: gong already! Lol

@LoveWins Yes, I rermember that part VERY well !

After two levels of trainning, a 3-hour Nyinthun on Sunday or a two-hour session on retreat is nothing.

Say what you will about CTR, but he was good at getting people into deeper, stronger practice.

DharmaMcBum

Chogyam Trungpa appears to be the Charlie Sheen of Buddhism if you listen to the myths and legends, doesn't make his teachings bad though. I'm slowly making my way through Crazy Wisdom.