Birth and Death
Shambhala Training Level II is coming up November 10-12. It’s a very rich level called Birth of the Warrior. The initial technique presented in Level I — sometimes referred to as “open technique” — is practiced and discussed, but is also seen as only part of the story. The different dimensions of attentiveness, concentration and presence that the mind moves through naturally are explored and evaluated. That process continues throughout Levels III-V, so that a “meditation toolkit” becomes available to the warrior-meditator. The portability and availability of meditation is thus enhanced and establish more firmly.
The Art of Being Human, the title of Level I, refers to the capacity human beings share to be present to life and, through meditation, free from distraction. The “open technique” of Level I is a more advanced practice than a beginner’s taste of mindfulness as presented in some other contexts and communities. A participant in Level I might have an experience of familiarity; and indeed, this single retreat weekend provides enough material to build a life of subsequent practice. More often than not, it takes more time, and the toolkit proves indispensable to any and every person who meditates.
Level II is called Birth of the Warrior because usually the technique described in this program helps people shine a light on what might have been glimpsed in Level I — a spacious peacefulness, independent of goals and agendas, that pushes the beginning meditator into the world of practice. Resistance can manifest. It usually does, to one extent or another, but the arena of this Level invites that.
In many cases the Heart of Warriorship, which is the moniker given collectively to the first five Shambhala Training Levels, succeeds as a transition — something in the Warrior who has been born and something dies to which the Warrior will never return. This is an unabashed goal of the training — a “goal beyond goal,” if you will. Even if one fails to develop an ongoing practice, the potential for being more present to one’s life sharpens. It will remain, even if sight of it is lost before one truly becomes a practitioner. Many stories are told in Shambhala Training about losing the view and remembering something important that was eventually rediscovered. Becoming more aware of the ways distraction undermines everything from relationships to work endeavors to artistic aspirations is inherently healthy and wholesome. One sees that life is a cascade of birth and death. Moments rise and fall. Children grow up. Parents die. Life is a continual dance of becoming and passing on.
Again, Shambhala Training Level II happens at SMCD the weekend of November 10-12, 2023. It is a perfectly appropriate and acceptable place to either begin or continue developing a meditation practice.
