The Centre is Moving to Heartwood House! / La Centre démenage à la Maison Heartwood! 400 McArthur, Ottawa, ON
(Francais ci-dessous…) Dear all, Good news! At the end of September, the Ottawa Shambhala Centre will be shifting its presence over to Heartwood House on 400 McArthur Avenue in the east-end of Ottawa. Haven’t heard of Heartwood House (H.H)? Well H.H. is a charitable organization which brings together under one roof a variety of other … Continue
The Centre is moving in September! / La Centre déménagera en septembre!
Dear friends and fellow warriors of basic kindness, We are moving at the end of September! After 10 years at our current location, the Ottawa Shambhala Centre shall be picking-up stakes and settling new pastures. As you likely know, in spite of the market, commercial real-estate of many spaces such as ours have remained … Continue
The Buddha and Enlightened Democracy
Dear all, As our community and Centre continues on its ever surprising journey of transformations on this wee Earth, I thought to share a small tale of some very big changes and some very surprising and forgotten history from our deep past. The following is part of a very, very old story – one very … Continue
Passing of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Abbot of Gampo Abbey
Dear all, We are saddened to pass along the news of the passing of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, the longtime abbot of Gampo Abbey Monastery in Cape Breton Nova Scotia. Thrangu Rinpoche was a long-term friend of Shambhala, and his teaching and guidance will surely be missed. We pass on this information from the Chronicles … Continue
Being a Community and the Six Togethernesses
Dear all, In the wake of our lovely retreat in recollection of the Buddha’s parinirvana, I thought that it would be a fine thing to share with you an apropos dharma talk by the late Vietnamese Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh The talk was given in the year 2000 as part of a 21-day retreat, and the … Continue
What is Parinirvana Day?
“The essence of warriorship, or the essence of human bravery, is refusing to give up on anyone or anything.” ― Chogyam Trungpa, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the WarriorWhat is Parinirvana Day? By Jessie-Lee Wallace Parinirvana is a day that we recognize and reflect on the passing of a great teacher— our Vidyadhara, our Founder, … Continue
A Recap of Our Shambhala Day Celebration
Dear friends and members of OSMC, Thank you to those who joined us in person for our Shambhala Day practices and traditions! It was so good to have everyone at the Centre for Losar (Tibetan New Year) to practice and celebrate together! We also had a lovely group show up on Neutral Day – the … Continue
Dealing with Dön Season
“In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, there is a period before the Tibetan New Year in the late winter/early spring when accumulated karma comes to fruition and societal obstacles arise. […] This time of obstacles is known as Dön Season.” ~ Russell Rodgers (Revisiting “Understanding Dön Season”) The obstacles Russell writes about, above, are envisioned … Continue
Winter Solstice and Child Mind
Shambhala Buddhism’s religious year relies on a lunisolar calendar, meaning that our celebration days depend on both phases of the moon and stations of the sun. We call these Nyida Days, from the Tibetan words for Sun and Moon, and they include four seasonal celebrations that mark the solstice and equinox days. Our Winter Solstice … Continue
Autumn Equinox: Harvest of Peace in Ottawa
Shambhala Buddhism’s religious year relies on a lunisolar calendar, meaning that our celebration days depend on both phases of the moon and stations of the sun. We call these Nyida Days, from the Tibetan words for Sun and Moon, and they include four seasonal celebrations that mark the solstice and equinox days. our Autumn Equinox … Continue
