Preview FIRST THOUGHT BEST THOUGHT

The Shambhala Art Show will remain on view throughout April.

In addition to C.G. Jung Center events and weekly Shambhala Meditation Group, the gallery will also be open to the public March 25, 31, an April 28 from 1 to 4pm.

Learn more about the artwork at the panel discussion with the artists on Friday April 13th at 7pm.

Shambhala Arts Festival March & April 2012

The Shambhala Community celebrates Shambhala Arts Day at the Spring Equinox. This year, Buffalo will enjoy two months of Shambhala Arts Festival.

Shambhala Art celebrates the uniqueness of everyday sensory experience and awakens an appreciation for the richness of our colorful challenging world. Find out more about this path at...
Shambhala Art

Several events are scheduled at 408 Franklin Street (back side entrance)...

March 2nd, 6-9pm

408 Franklin Street

First Friday Art Opening

First Thought Best Thought: Jane Bergenn, Michael Morgulis, Kevin Kegler,
Jennifer Fendya, Pat Pendleton, Jenny Bruce, Steven Clookey,
Stephen Paskey, Trudy Stern, Barbara Frackiewicz

This exhibition has been organized in conjunction with the CG Jung Center Gallery

and features work created by members of the Shambhala Meditation Group of Buffalo.

The Exhibit will also be open to the public March 25 & 31 and April 28 from 1 to 4pm

March 11th, 2-4pm

Contemplative Poetry Reading
with Ed Taylor, Teresa Peipins, Trudy Stern
and sign-up for open mic

March 9th, 7pm Film Screening: Himalaya

An epic adventure of survical directed by Eric Valli. The first Nepalese film to be nominated in the Best Foreign Film category at the 72nd Academy Awards. The film is a narrative on both the traditions and the impermanent nature of human struggle to retain and express power in the face of the gods. The extreme environment of the Himalayas is magnificently contrasted to the delicacy of humanity and the beauty of Tibetan culture.

April 4, 11, and 18 from 7:30 to 8:00pm

WRITING PRACTICE AS A TOOL FOR SELF-DISCOVERY with Pat Pendleton
For anyone who would like to explore writing as a practice for wakening to the truth of your experience. This approach is taken from the popular books by Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind (Offererd through The C.G. Jung Center...register at www.apswny.com).

April 13th, 6-9pm
Artists Panel Discussion
Talk begins at 7pm

 

 

 

April 14th-15th, 9am-5pm each day

Miksang Contemplative Photography - Level I Workshop

Presented by John McQuade

$95
(For those who have taken the one day introductory workshop the cost is $75)

Miksang means "good eye" in tibetan. This is the first in a series of weekend workshops, a two-day program introduces the basic teachings of Miksang Contemplative Photography. This introductory training includes instruction, assignments and image reviews. No previous photography experience necessary but you will need to bring a digital camera.

For more information about Miksang and this workshop, visit www.miksang.org or contact John

McQuade: dralaimage@gmail.com.

Please register in advance (space is limited)

Use PayPal button on the sidebar

Contact Trudy Stern with questions and concerns at 716-445-4446 or stern2@aol.com

Generosity Policy: The tuition amount reflects our costs to offer the program. Our generosity policy allows individuals with financial hardship to register with a reduced tuition. Please contemplate how much you are able to offer and contact Trudy.

February 25th - Year of the Water Dragon

Celebrate with us...

Shambhala Day Gathering

Saturday February 25th

Noon - 4:00pm

Please bring something to share (food, drink, poetry, song)

12-1

Meditation

1-1:30

Listen to Sakyong Mipham's Shambhala Day Address

1:30-4:00

Watch film about Visual Dharma,

share food, drink, poetry, song

What is Shambhala Day?
Shambhala Day is a time for us to express the wealth and richness of our spiritual and cultural heritage through feasting, conviviality, elegance and pomp.

As is customary, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche will address the worldwide Shambhala community on Shambhala Day through an online hook-up, which includes centres and groups from six continents and over thirty countries around the world.

This is also the time when members of the Shambhala community are encouraged to make a financial donation to Shambhala in order to help support the activities of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and our worldwide mandala.

In the Tibetan calendar it will be the year 2139 and the Year of the Water Dragon.

True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art

Leading up to the Shambhala Arts Festival in March, the Thursday evening meditation group with begin exploring with Chogyam Trungpa's writings on the subject. We have a few copies available for anyone who wishes to purchase True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art.

Madeline Conacher's Talk on Enlightened Society

Listen to Talk

Way of Shambhala - Path of Study

The Shambhala Path begins with a series of Shambhala Training programs suited for both beginning and experienced meditators. The simple and profound technique of mindfulness and awareness is the basis of a secular path of meditation, which can benefit people of any spiritual tradition and way of life.

Way of Shambhala 

The Heart of Warriorship, a path of nonaggression born from the bravery and gentleness of meeting our world without bias or judgment. This path shows how to take the challenges of daily life in our modern society as opportunities for both contemplative practice and social action.

Shambhala Training Level I
The Art of Being Human:  Discovering basic goodness in the world and ourselves (no pre-requisite)
takes place on a weekend, one evening plus one full day.

Meditation in Everyday Life (five-week course of two hours every week or two)--no pre-requisite.

Shambhala Training Level II
Birth of the Warrior:  Cultivating the willingness to observe our cocoon of habitual fear and defense mechanisms (pre-requisite Level I).

Contentment in Everyday Life (five-week course of two hours every week)--no prerequisite

Shambhala Training Level III
Warrior in the World: Developing the bravery to step outside our cocoons (pre-requisite Level II).

Joy in Everyday Life (five-week course of two hours every week)--no pre-requisite.

Shambhala Training Level IV
Awakened Heart: Opening to increased awareness and inquisitiveness about the world, as it is
(pre-requisite Level III).

Fearlessness in Everyday Life (five-week course of two hours every week)--pre-requisites Meditation in Everyday Life, Contentment in Everyday Life and Joy in Everyday Life.

Shambhala Training Level V
Open Sky: Sharpening one’s awareness, one finds the open clear sky of mind—a delightful source of wisdom and uplifted energy. Trusting our nature enough to let go into the present moment (prerequisite ST I-IV).

Wisdom in Everyday Life (five-week course of two hours every week)--pre-requisite Fearlessness in Everyday Life.

Shambhala Training weekends consist of thorough instruction in meditation, the practice of sitting and walking meditation in a group setting, one-on-one interviews to clarify questions, discussion groups and talks by a senior teacher.

There are a more advanced set of courses called "Way of Shambhala II", for which Way of Shambhala is a prerequisite. After that, a student may decide to enter a formal Vajrayana Buddhist path within the Shambhala tradition, for which the Way of Shambhala programs are preparation. Or, a student may decide to continue taking a variety of courses without taking that step.

Other Shambhala groups and centers in our regional area offer a variety of programs. East Aurora is just thirty minutes away. Toronto and Mississauga are about two hours away. Cleveland is a three-hour drive. Please visit these sites to learn more about the variety of classes and programs they offer. A few upcoming programs of interest are:

Shambhala Meditation Group of Buffalo

Shambhala Meditation Group of Buffalo

Shambhala Meditation Group of East Aurora

Shambhala Meditation Group of East Aurora

Shambhala Meditation Group of Mississauga
Shambhala Meditation Group of Mississauga


Shambhala Meditation Centre of Toronto
Shambhala Meditation Centre of Toronto

Shambhala Meditation Center of Cleveland

Shambhala Meditation Center of Cleveland

Shambhala Land Centers

In addition to daily meditation, group practice and Shambhala Training...visiting land centers is a way to experience the Shambhala vision in community, as all aspects of daily living become woven together in a beautiful natural setting.

There are three land centers that our members are able to drive to for special programs:

Juniper Hill Retreat Center is located less than four hours away in Ontario.

Sky Lake is about six hours away in the southeast area of our state.

Karma Choling is nine-ten hours away in Vermont. This was the first Shambhala Center and holds a great amount of history for the lineage.

What is Shambhala Meditation?

Meditation is the practice of taming one's mind and developing the compassion and insight necessary to care for oneself and the world genuinely. The practice of meditation has been taught for over 2,500 years as a vehicle for realizing the beauty and magic of the ordinary world without aggression or manipulation.

The worldwide community of over 200 meditation centres on five continents provide meditation instruction and the opportunity to develop awareness and compassion in everyday life.

Shambhala International was founded during the early 1970s by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who helped to bring Buddhism to the west. The international organization is now directed by son and heir of the Vidyadhara, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

The Shambhala teachings present a unique view that combines the practice of meditation and contemplative arts as a path to living an uplifted life, fully engaged with the world.

Way of Shambhala is a series of programs designed to introduce the Shambhala teachings that were founded on the premise that there is basic human wisdom that can help to solve the world's problems. This wisdom does not belong to any one culture or religion. Rather, it is a tradition of human warriorship that has existed in many cultures at many times throughout history.

Shambhala is a secular meditation program which emphasizes both a deepening experience of meditation and an integration of that experience into daily life. By bringing the mindfulness cultivated through meditation into everyday experience, we are able to change our own lives and the world around us.

Our Buffalo Group

Shambhala Meditation Group of Buffalo has evolved since 1999 and became an official member of Shambhala International in June 2009.


Our Buffalo group is bound by both Lake Erie and the Niagara River. The waterfront city is also just twenty miles from Niagara Falls and home to several colleges, universities, museums and parks...as well as a growing arts community.


We meet in the historic Allentown neighborhood at the The C.G. Jung Center in their victorian era home. This location is distinguished by a three hundred year old sycamore tree that is reported to be the oldest tree in Buffalo. We are happy to be a part of this rich and diverse community, including the network of other local buddhist meditation groups.