August 2017 Denver Monthly Newsletter
Sangha News
We are pleased to announce that Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche will be visiting Denver on October 20th and 21st. This event is the first of three on the North American Tour supporting his new book, The Lost Art of Good Conversation: A Mindful Way to Connect with Others and Enrich Everyday Life. The weekend will include a public talk on Friday night and a day-long retreat on Saturday led by the Sakyong, Lodro Rinzler and Susan Piver.
As a newsletter subscriber, you have access to a special early bird sale beginning today. Get tickets!
Denver Sakyong Visit – Call for Volunteers
We’re still looking for support before and during the event – street marketing teams, culture and decorum teams, setting up, take down, ushers, registration, AV assistants, and runners. Learn more and apply.
New Satellite Location in Stapleton
We are pleased to announce that we will be offering “pop-up” meditation and open house sessions in the Stapleton area. These four dates are an experiment. Through community forums we have received many responses expressing interest in learning about meditation and the Shambhala community. We are excited to see how these preliminary sessions go. Please join us and invite your friends!
Location: Sam Gary Library, 2961 Roslyn St Denver, CO 80238
Thursday August 3rd: 6:30 – 7:30pm
Saturday August 12th, 19th and 26th: 10:00 – 11:00am
If you have any questions, please contact us at:
Phone: 303-369-2807
Email: [email protected]
Featured Programs
Learn to Meditate with Martha Hildreth on August 5th
The Center is pleased to announce that we’re holding a one day meditation workshop that is suitable for those who want to begin a practice with in-depth instruction, as well as those who just want to refresh their practice and view. Learn more and Register.
BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE YOURSELF: A Social Meditation Retreat with Shastri Nick Kranz on August 18 – 20
Open to all, this weekend program brings the wisdom of meditation into the vibrancy of social interaction. Learn more and Register.
Meditation in Everyday Life: Daytime with Shastri Janet Solyntjes on August 23rd—September 20th
This course is open to all and covers peaceful abiding meditation, basic goodness, and the challenges one faces in bringing the awareness of meditation into our daily life. Learn more and Register.
Playful in the Present on August 27th
Shambhala Meditation Center of Denver Children’s and Families Programming is hosting a gathering at a local park (location TBD). Stay tuned to the Center Calendar for final location and more details after August 6th when Amy returns from China!
Parenting as Path – Fall Semester with Dr. Andra Brill, Gwen Pollara, Juliette Banerjee on September 3rd—December 3rd
We are pleased to offer PARENTING AS PATH, along with programs for your children. Please join us! Learn more and Register.
Transforming Aggression Into Wisdom with Melissa Moore on September 6th—September 27th
Cultivate kindness, harmony, and inclusion in situations of difficulty, conflict, and aggression. Learn more and Register.
Shambhala Training Level I – The Art of Being Human with Shastri Jeffrey Stevens on September 15th—September 16th
This program includes meditation instruction and conversation with experienced teachers, along with the opportunity to learn and practice in a community that honors kindness and generosity. Learn more and Register.
SMCD Wish list: We could use your help!
Can you donate a sandwich board sign for the Center? It would generally look like this sandwich board sign, but advertise our free meditation instruction on Sunday mornings and be placed outside on the sidewalk in front of the Center. If you can help, please contact Glenn Austin, Center Director at [email protected] or 303.369.2807.
Kasung Contemplations
Roots of Kasung Practice
The way in which the practice of the Dorje Kasung discipline brings greater mindfulness and awareness follows the path of the three yanas. The three yanas, or vehicles, are the Hinayana–working with one’s own suffering and applying individual discipline (discipline, decorum, and meditation practice); the Mahayana–seeing the emptiness of oneself and all phenomena, and putting the well-being of others before one’s own (service and selflessness); and the Vajrayana–recognizing indestructible wakefulness and working directly with the basic energies that make up the world (awareness and gentleness). The Dorje Kasung practice provides an energy to encourage further wakefulness in practitioners.
Excerpt from “True Command: The Teachings of the Dorje Kasung” by Chogyam Trungpa
Learn more about the Dorje Kasung.
Rocky Mountain Region News
Yeshe Tsogyal: A Celebration of Feminine Principle with the Sakyong Wangmo
September 22-23, 2017 @ Shambhala Meditation Center of Boulder
Friday 7:00-9:00pm – a public talk by Acharya Holly Gayley
Saturday 9:00am-6:00pm – for Vajrayana Students Only
Registration:
Full weekend for Vajrayana students only
Friday only open to all
The Boulder Shambhala Center is pleased to host a weekend on Yeshe Tsogyal, the celebrated eighth-century Tibetan princess who renounced a life of privilege and endured tremendous austerities to attain awakening and become a legendary practitioner and spiritual master. Yeshe Tsogyal is a central figure in the terma tradition and the transmission of Dzogchen or Great Perfection. This program also celebrates feminine principle, which will be explored experientially on Saturday.
This year is particularly significant as 2017 marks the international year of feminine principle, as embodied in the great warrior dakini Yeshe Tsogyal.
The event opens on Friday evening with a public talk by Acharya Holly Gayley on the “The Life and Liberation of Yeshe Tsogyal.”
On Saturday, The Sakyong Wangmo will offer song, practice and blessings. Acharya Melissa Moore will lead an exploration of feminine principle in the Vajrayana context, including Yeshe Tsogyal as Queen of Samsara and Nirvana and consort to Padmasambhava.
The day will conclude with a blessing line and celebration. There will be an opportunity to offer a heart gift to the Sakyong Wangmo.
We are pleased to share the following upcoming Colorado events featuring authors Pema Chödrön, Anyen Rinpoche, Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche, and more. See all upcoming events near you.
If you have any questions or comments about the newsletter, please contact the Newsletter Editor, Arleen Garcia-Herbst, at [email protected]. Submissions for the newsletter are due to the Editor by 5:00 pm on the last Friday of each month for publication on the first Monday of the following month.
