A couple times a year, Acharya Moh Hardin treks from his home in Nova Scotia, Canada, where Shambhala International is located, to spend time with us in Austin. The Austin Shambhala Meditation Center looks forward to Acharya Hardin’s gentle warmth and his humble, but profound teachings about Shambhala and Buddhism. When he comes in February this year, we look forward to a special treat. Acharya Hardin’s first book, A Little Book of Love: Heart Advice on bringing Happiness to Ourselves and Our World, will have come hot off the presses. Acharya Hardin will give a talk about the book on a Wednesday night, February 15th. If you’d like, you can purchase a book at that time, and he’d be happy to sign it. He will also be teaching a one day workshop about the tools and ideas in the book on Saturday, February 18th.

To me, Acharya Hardin’s book is a great introduction to some basic mindfulness tools that can bring more love to one’s life and one’s world. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jacob Lorfing

Here in Austin, Texas, we’ve been teaching Miksang contemplative photography in a local juvenile detention facility for the past eight months. We have now expanded that effort to at-risk teens in one of the public high schools, and we’re having an amazingly good time! Adding to our amazement, both projects, originally funded through generous individual donations, are now supported by the juvenile justice and education systems!

At the Gardner Betts detention facility, we offer five-week classes to groups of 8-10 boys or girls, ages 14-17. We meet the teens on the locked units where they live, dayrooms surrounded by adjoining individual cells. The kids are mostly drug- and gang-involved, poor, failing in schools and in the community. There are four of us Shambhalians involved in the project, and we provide cameras and offer basic tutelage in photography and in Miksang presence and appreciation of the ordinary world. Read the rest of this entry »

By Bree Buchanan

At the Shambhala Lineage Festival in August, sangha members – with mimosas in hand – heard Billy Boyar talk about plans to uplift our Center. And, already, it’s time for a toast to the many dedicated members and friends who have responded to our Capital Campaign with generous contributions.

To date, we have raised $8,800 towards the $15,000 goal! The fruits of that investment are evident throughout the Center: the storage complex is constructed , the ADA renovation to the bathroom is almost complete , and the post-meditation space for the East Shrine Room is being finished out. You may view drawings of these improvements here.

Kristof and Diane Irwin, longtime members, are graciously donating their services as contractors (Kristof and their daughter, Ming, are pictured). Because of their generosity, every dollar raised can go directly towards the cost of materials and labor.

Contributions towards completion of these three projects are still needed! You may donate online here.

by Iektje van Bolhuis

As a student of the dharma and psychology, I get very excited to find that many recent research findings are remarkably consistent with dharma teachings. Recently, I published the following blog on my work website about research findings on self-compassion. This is a term coined by psychologist and researcher Dr. Kristin Neff, a faculty member at the University of Texas in Austin. Self-compassion is very similar to the Buddhist concept of maitri.

In our culture there is a lot of concern for self-esteem. As parents and teachers we are always trying to foster children’s self-esteem, and many of my clients come to me asking for help to improve their self-esteem. But is self-esteem really all it is cracked up to be?

Psychologist and researcher Dr. Kristin Neff from the University of Texas at Austin coined the term self-compassion. Dr. Neff defines self-compassion as kindness and acceptance towards yourself, especially when you experience hard times or failure. Self-compassion is based on a sense of shared humanity. Because you are a human being, you deserve kindness and compassion, like anyone else. Dr. Neff has done a lot of research on self-esteem and self-compassion and has found that self-compassion may actually be a healthier way of relating to yourself than self-esteem. Here are some of the things she found. Read the rest of this entry »

Shambhala Art Parts 1-5 doesn’t teach skills in a specific medium. The goal of studying Shambhala Art is to encourage confidence in our perception and ability to communicate. This communication can be expressed in many different art mediums. Shambhala Arts Parts 1-5 teaches participates a way to work with their mind. Chogyam Trungpa believes

“Our attitude is the key to discovering the world. Obviously, we have a certain attitude in dealing with our world at large. If we haven’t developed the right kind of attitude, it is impossible to connect with the world properly. Art involves relating with oneself and the phenomenal world gracefully.”

Cultivating one’s attitude can help a student break through blockages and neurosis. Read the rest of this entry »