Addressing Harm Within Shambhala

We do not condone harmful behavior by anyone, including any leader within Shambhala, and including the Sakyong himself. Our local leaders are actively working to preserve the essence of the Shambhala teachings while making necessary changes. We regret the harm that has happened in the Shambhala community. It is not what Shambhala represents.

Sexual misconduct has occurred within the international Shambhala Community and it is being addressed at the international level by a group called the Process Team that reports to the Interim Board, and is dedicated to addressing:

  1. Community Healing & Learning
  2. Culture Change
  3. Governance Structures
  4. Community Building


Locally, we are already addressing the things we have control over. The work of the international Process Team will affect the structure of our worldwide community and will take time.

In Denver we’ve taken the following actions:

  • We have removed photos of Chögyam Trungpa and Sakyong Mipham from the community room, common areas, and Shambhala (auxiliary) shrine room.
  • We have removed the lineage photos from the main shrine to an adjacent wall.
  • We are researching restorative practices that might be helpful in healing our community and working to implement local policies and procedures if any harm is reported in Denver.
  • Actively working to not normalize harm as a facet of our community culture.
  • We instituted a no alcohol policy for our Center.
  • We are contemplating and discussing the power structures that have led to the harm with an inspiration to create more transparency and accountability for all.
  • We have scheduled many Comunity meetings and conversations since the news first broke, and these will continue. Please give us feedback [email protected].
  • We are working on a survey of our community to assess program needs and support for the meditation practice and study paths of our members and friends.
  • We aspire to have more local members train as teachers.

 

In the spirit of transparency, we are providing the links below to ongoing resources and communications from our international Shambhala organization. Please let us know what is missing or how we might improve access to information. We will work to update this regularly.

Resources:


Letters: 


Articles, talks, and other publications: