Shambhala Meditation Center St. Johnsbury, Vermont   Book Previews ~ Shambhalian Titles This page contains previews of books from the Shambhala Buddhist tradition that deal with the wisdom activity of enlightened warriorship in everyday life. For a complete index of all the literary resources available at this site or for a brief overview of this path or to view the schedules of practice and study at the center, please click on the appropriate button at the left

In this practical guide to enlightened living Chogyam Trungpa offers an inspiring vision for our time based on the archtypical figure of the sacred warrior. In ancient times, the warrior learned to master the challenges of life, both on and off the battlefield. He acquired a sense of personal freedom and power, not through violence or aggression but through gentleness, courage and self- knowledge. The Japanese samurai, the warrior-kings of Tibet, the knights of medieval Europe and the warriors of the Native American tribes are some few examples of this universal tradition of wisdom.

Within this book, the warrior's path is made available to contemporary men and women in search of self-mastery and greater fulfillment. Interpreting the warrior's journey into modern terms, Trungpa describes and discusses developing such life skills as synchronizing ones mind and body; overcoming habitual behaviors; relaxing within ones discipline; facing the world with openness and fearlessness and finding the sacred dimension of everyday life.

Above all, Trungpa shows how, having discovered the elemental basic goodness of human life, the warrior learns to project that goodness out into the world for the peace and sanity of others. The Shambhala teachings - named for a legendary Himalayan kingdom where prosperity and happiness reign - reveal the potential for enlightened conduct that exists within every human being. "The basic wisdom of Shambhala" Trungpa writes "is that in this world, as it is, we can find a good and meaningful human life that will also serve others. That is our true richness."

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Ruling Your World

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

"Most of us are living in a haze—sometimes helping others, sometimes helping ourselves, sometimes happy, sometimes sad. We don’t feel in control of our own lives. The ancient teachings of Shambhala rulership show us that we all have the ability to rule our own world and live with confidence. To do this, we need to use our daily lives to be strong, as opposed to aggressive, and to act with wisdom and compassion. This may sound difficult, but when we begin to mix this ancient wisdom of rulership into our everyday life, we have both spiritual and worldly success. We don’t need to abandon our life and become an ascetic or a monk in order to gain confidence and achieve this success. We can live in the world as a ruler no matter what we are doing."
— from Ruling Your World

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is one of the most highly respected young incarnate lamas of Tibet. Educated in buddhist meditation, philosophy, and ritual, he was raised in both Eastern and Western traditions. He is a holder of the Kagyu, Nyingma, and Shambhala lineages and is director of Shambhala International, a worldwide organization of meditation and retreat centers, and teaches thousands around the globe. He divides his time among North and South America, Europe, and India.

210 pages. Hardcover.

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Sacred World

Jeremy & Karen Hayward

This is the first book to offer step-by-step instruction in Shambhala warriorship. Combining Buddhist mindfulness practice and pre-Buddhist shamanic teachings, Shambhala warriorship training teaches ways to call on powerful, natural energies for personal and collective transformation. It shows us how to use everyday situations to unite mind, body, and emotions in a harmonious whole. The Haywards illuminate the powerful and elegant philosophy behind warriorship with practical guidelines, meditations, personal insights, anecdotes, and mindfulness exercises to guide the reader on the warrior's path, which ultimately leads to self-liberation and harmony with the world. The Haywards are uniquely qualified to present these teachings: close friends and students of Chögyam Trungpa, they helped him present the teachings of Shambhala warriorship through the Shambhala Training program, with which they continue to work closely today.

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How to be a Help Instead of a Nuisance:
Practical Approaches to Giving Support, Service and Encouragement to Others

Karen Kissel Wegela, Ph.D.

Despite our good intentions to help others, we often hold back because we don't know what to do or are afraid to intrude. And even when we overcome our hesitations, we sometimes find, to our horror, that we have made things worse with our attempts to help.

Mindful Presence, without Agenda: The author combines the insights of traditional meditative practices and modern psychology to address these problems, concluding that the most important thing we can offer to anyone in distress is our mindful presence, without agendas or expectations. When we learn to cultivate this ability to be open - heartedly, compassionately present, we find that we can intelligently apply a variety of skills and techniques such as listening, being mindful companions or forming supportive teams for individuals and families.

We may find that our actions benefit us as much as they do the people we seek to help. You will learn:

How to really listen.

How to be truly comforting companion to the ill or dying.

How and when to offer advice (and when not to).

How to face uncertainty and pain.

How to give and receive helpful feedback.

How to form effective support teams.

In her step-by-step handbook, Karen Kissel Wegela guides readers through the process of becoming present to oneself so as to be able to offer meaningful help to friends, relatives and clients in distress. She states that a sense of loving-kindness toward oneself will flow naturally toward others as help is offered.

A practice of give-and-take grounded in Buddhism and meditative practices such as tonglen (learning how to breathe in someone else's emotion and breathe out reassurance and compassion) forms the basis of the techniques she presents.

Writing in simple, direct language, she uses brief clinical and personal histories to illustrate her points. Three appendices offer useful information on additional professional resources, the Naropa Institute's contemplative psychology program, and meditation centers.

Karen Kissel Wegela, who began studying with Trungpa, Rinpoche, about a quarter of a century ago, is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, educator, and writer. In her private practice she works with adults and couples. She is director of the M.A. Psychology program in Contemplative Psychotherapy at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
 
 

Circles of Care:
How to Set Up Quality Home Care for Our Elders

Ann Cason, Reeve Lindbergh

Circles of Care is a comprehensive Eldercare guide written from the author's 25 years of experience as a professional caregiver and as a practitioner of Shambhala Buddhism.

Using a practical approach it shows family and paid caregiver how to enter the elder's world, how to catch the rhythm of that life, how to enrich and expand the world and then how to relax into the job of taking care with a more settled state of mind.

It is important for the caregiver to appreciate the importance of the major life transition which the elder is making and to find ways to support the person's strengths.  The book shows how the  elder has a foot in two different worlds:  the everyday, familiar and solid world of doing and the lighter less graspable world of being.  To be of service to someone old, the caregiver needs to support the spirit of the person's being while getting in touch with any obstacles to the expression of one's own way of being.  The book gives practical suggestion and insights to help the family expand their vision of care, find the help that they need and relax into their job of taking care

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