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Here we are amongst family and friends. We can actually drop our persona and the need to defend it. We might just let go of our sense of struggle and be quite simply who we are.

This natural togetherness and calm is referred to as the warrior's decorum. It comes from being in harmony with ourselves and our environment. It comes from feeling at home.

Now we all have a new home here at the Shambhala Center. This bright, uplifted environment is filled with old friends and fresh faces. Dharmadhatu, Shambhala Training and Nalanda Arts participants can all feel that they belong in this new home. We can simply be who we are; Buddhist or secular, artist or bureaucrat.

Visitors can expect to be made quite welcome here. This decorum naturally extends to the way we relate to each other. It allows us to treat gently with each other and delight in our diversity. Each individual's motivation can be accepted as genuine.

Since practitioners from each of the three gates are respected here, we can all afford to notice the things that we have in common. For some, that will lead to interest in participating in more than one path but others may not feel the interest. In any case we can all enjoy being part of the same society.

So EVERYONE..... open the door on Oakland Ave. Touch in with your own uplifted sense of decorum. Allow yourself to be inspired by this remarkable environment.

Each person who walks into the center is likely to bump into questions like these. The answer will evolve differently for each individual but we all have a place to start from.

We could examine our own natural attraction to situations that are lively, uplifted and real. This seems fundamental to our human nature.

• It is not dependent on any particular religious viewpoint... thus secular.
• It is certainly in common with Buddhists and artists... so the company we keep.
• It may resonate with our individual inspiration to lead a genuine and uplifted life... that's why we may care.

Still a third approach includes the enlightened society referred to in the center's name. Like the popular stories of Shangri-La, Shambhala represents a legendary kingdom populated by gentle citizens. This rich and diverse society includes many artistic and intellectual facets. Its environment is bright and awake. A central element of Shambhala Training involves the possibility of creating this type of enlightened society, starting first with our own situations.

Perhaps these questions seem unimportant and non of this makes any sense. That's just fine. On the other hand it might be of some small help as we relate to new faces at the Shambhala Center of Milwaukee.

Like sun light on Lake Michigan, we may not have noticed, ourselves, this bit of sparkle each week at the center. It has taken our friends from out of town to remind us.

What seems to have generated the interest is the delightful blend of meditation practice, discussion and social decadence. For some it is a simple way to check out the center and the Shambhala teachings. For others it is a regular touch stone to continue to explore their own personal path of gentle warriorship. I also look forward to rolling out of bed a little late each Saturday and joining a group of friends for coffee and tea.

In 1988 this all began because a few of us were intrigued by the Shambhala path and the possibility of bringing this secular discipline into our daily routine. Shambhala Training weekends were few and far between and so were we. We rented the old Dharmadhatu space Saturday mornings on what is now the second floor of Gill's Bongo Lounge on Downer. Afterwards we would cross the street to the Coffee Trader and visit. This later evolution of the meditation hall into Gill's coffee shop had nothing to do with us (that we know of).

Two years ago we moved in with our Buddhist friends at the current Shambhala Center and began brewing our own. In the winter the space is always warm. In the summer we break outside with Tai coffee as an added specialty. Don't let all the international attention obscure what is still a simple and friendly opportunity to spend some time with people of similar interests.

If you drop by the Shambhala Center on any Saturday morning, here is what you would see. From 9:00 to 9:30 there is regular sitting practice. From 9:30 to 10:00 the group circles the cushions and reads and discusses a short chapter from The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa. At 10:00 the "Cafe" part happens with gourmet coffee, tea and pastry infused with friendly conversation. An optional sitting period follows from 10:30 to 11:30. Meditation instruction is always available. Occasional pocket change can be donated.

Who knows what direction Cafe Shambhala will take next year. Some people are talking about espresso and one of those big copper brewers with levers and knobs. What do you think?

Newcomers may find this a simple introduction to the center and the Shambhala teachings. Meditation instruction is always available. Many like the opportunity to engage in the free wheeling discussion while others like the regular touch stone of practice and gentle warriorship. A few of us like the social content of a cup of coffee or tea afterwards.

Starting at 9:00 there is about a half hour of practice followed by a short reading from Shambhala the Sacred Path of the Warrior. An informal discussion ensues, concluding by 10:30. If the buss doesn't drop you off till 9:15 that's just fine. If you need to leave early for an appointment that's OK too. Some people come only once and a while and others more often.

Consider this an invitation to drop by any Saturday. Why not this very weekend?

Let's look at what these weekends are, are not and could be. They are a solid experience with the personal journey of Shambhala Warriorship. They are not intended to be grueling. They could be a weekend remembered for a lifetime.

Weekend programs are the delightful core of the Shambhala Training program. They are the legacy of the founder and Tibetan meditation master, Chogyam Trungpa. The Shambhala teachings of gentle warriorship and enlightened society are presented and the warrior's discipline of meditation is precisely taught and experienced. The directors are all senior meditators who are trained and authorized. Traditionally, the weekend begins with a Friday evening talk and concludes with a reception on Sunday evening. Each morning begins with an elegant continental breakfast at 8:30.

They are carefully structured in a sequence, thus the numbers. Look at the level's title for clues to the subject mater. The basic program begins with Level I "Ordinary Magic" and concludes with Level V "Open Sky, Primordial Stroke". These five levels present a complete vision of how we can lead a genuine and uplifted human existence. Yes some people do choose to continue with further programs but you can leap across that bridge ( or not ) when you come to it.

But how can anyone just sit there all day? In simple terms they don't. To be sure, the discipline of meditation has it's challenges but sitting is interspersed with walking meditation. Posture is worked with and can be adjusted at any time. People with physical limitations can even sit in a chair if necessary. Each day is interspersed with meditation instruction, director's talks, discussion groups, meditation interviews and tea breaks.

One other thing weekends are not is money makers. Shambhala Training is clearly a non profit organization. Registration fees are an attempt to cover the actual costs of the program and upkeep of the facilities.

What, then, might a Shambhala Training weekend be? Chogyam Trungpa has been quoted as saying that one of these weekends could be the equivalent of three months meditating in a cave in the Himalayas. He should know. Why not see for yourself?

"Ordinary Magic" will be the topic the Level I weekend here at the Shambhala Center on April 7-9. The Friday night talk begins at 8:00 and is open to the public at no charge. Bring a friend. See for yourself if you are inspired to jump into the rest of the weekend program. Registration for the full weekend is $85.

You take my breath away,
By the scent of your longing,
In the gardens of pleasure we play.

Oh, that story of "O"...
(I should never have read it)
You have everything.

Falling in love is highly recommended,
Especially in the spring and the summer...
Not to forget the winter and fall.
(Especially the kings in the jester's court.)

Pale pink luminescence,
Hot iced lips, biting frost...
The hot summer sun,
baths us in its glow.

A yellow flower adorns your long brown hair...
But if love won't work
try sake,
liquid love.

But it will work,
It takes your breath away,
....unless you're dead.
(But even then it might)

Down through the history of anglicized civilization, human beings have been drawn to tales of a golden age like those of Camelot were everything is bright, noble and just. The legend even leaves us with the hint of a promise. It is that the Pendragon is not gone forever and Merlin is only marking time in a crystalline cave. Who knows, we may even see another elegant queen bringing romance, beauty and peace back into vogue.

Eastern culture is equally drawn to another legend, that of Shambhala. In this Himalayan kingdom we also see a golden age flourishing in a magical realm. The imperial kings of Shambhala are called Rigdens and they too are seen as protectors of their indigenous religion which, as it turns out, is Buddhism. Here too there are strong and beautiful queens and noble ministers who accomplish impossible tasks. Here is also the possibility that this enlightened society could flourish again one day. The Shangri-La of Lost Horizons fame also draws on this ideal of an enlightened society.

Another parallel exists between east and west in the actual epics of King Arthur and Gesar, King of Ling in Eastern Tibet. Both have been passed down from an ancient oral tradition. Bards on both sides of the globe have told these tails over campfires and in castles. Bit by bit the epics reflected the common aspirations of the individual listener. Both have stirred the hearts of peasants and kings, bureaucrats and factory workers.

Gesar is also seen as a great warrior king who was victorious over the forces of materialism rampant in his day. He is therefore also connected to the greater legend of Shambhala. But the term warrior here deserves some attention.

In the forward to The Superhuman Life of Gesar of Ling, Chogyam Trungpa presents the concept of spiritual warriorship. " ... we are not particularly talking about the skills necessary to wage war in the conventional sense. Warriorship here refers to realizing the power, dignity and wakefulness that is inherent in all of us as human beings. Becoming a warrior means that we can look directly at ourselves, see the nature of our cowardly mind and step out of it. Although it has been somewhat influenced by Buddhism, as has virtually all of Tibetan culture, basically the principal of warriorship stands on its own."

Books have been written and movies have been made. There is much that can be studied about these and other legends of human aspiration. Somehow we may be missing the point, though, if we stop here.

What is it that entices us personally to these legends? What is it about this tradition of spiritual warriorship? We seem bound to fellow humans around the world and down through the ages.

Like them we too may be frightened by the chaos around us. The threat of violence and sense of decay can seem quite immediate. From drive by shootings to ancient European cities being reduced to rubble, the world seems to be coming apart at the seams. Aids, world hunger, global warming and thermonuclear war threaten the very existence of humanity. As individuals we feel powerless to help.

In any case, we may be completely overwhelmed by our daily lives. The cold hearted boss, demanding spouse or combative teenager may cause us to wonder if we are capable of meeting the challenges of our own lives.

The important point, however, is that we also share the human aspiration to save our world and uplift our lives and those around us. In fact, we may have the same capacity to approach our lives as warriors who are both brave and gentle. This noble human nature is our birthright. Why not see where it takes us?

Camelot and Shambhala, Arthur and Gesar all may actually have existed in space and time or they may be inspiring metaphors. In ether case they speak most clearly to our potential as individuals. We too can touch in with our own personal nobility, elegance, gentleness and compassion. These qualities belong to us and only resonate with their legendary examples. They are not dependent on time and place or race and religion. 1995, Milwaukee, Polish Christian or nomadic Jew all seem to qualify.

Consider beginning your own personal journey of gentle warriorship and connecting with it's meditative disciplines. Amidst the chaos of our daily lives we may just find the simplicity that allows us to celebrate living.

The Shambhala Center is clearly no utopian ideal but it can be a meeting place for human beings who, from time to time, remember their birthright. It can be a small place where an enlightened society begins to germinate right here and now ( after all, there is no other place or time for it to happen).

Everyone can feel welcome. Whether you are an old friend or new visitor, bring with you the original wonder of your personal magic kingdom.

Welcome home to Shambhala.

"The Canadian premier of the new opera, King Gesar: the story of a legendary Tibetan warrior king with libretto by Douglas Penick."

Was the visualization a little difficult? Was it the attire, Halifax, an opera or a Tibetan warrior king? Perhaps it was the seemingly improbable combination of all of these elements. No matter, Al Anderson and I were there ( ask him ) and this was clearly high Shambhala culture. Even more astonishing was the total lack of dismay at the subject matter by the assembled connoisseurs.

In a booming voice the narrator begins;

"Calling on the Power of Goodness in Men's Hearts:
An invocation to the Imperial Drala, Gesar, King of Ling".

"Gesar and the host of warriors gallop down the bridge of billowing smoke..."

Well, I could see that we were in for the ride of our lives.

I should have expected something like this. Not all of the details were unknown to me regarding this presentation. The composer, Peter Lieberson, I had known for some time as the past Executive Director of Shambhala Training. I had once seen him give an equally shocking transmission at a Level V weekend titled "Open Sky Primordial Stroke". Now he was playing to a much more distinguished audience. It included his teacher's son, Osel Rangdrol Mukpo the Sawang. During his opening comments to the opera, Mr. Lieberson grandly introduced the Sawang as our honored quest and an actual descendent of King Gesar.
 

Part Two: The Birth of Gesar begins;

"His mother, Dzeden is a dragon princess who has changed her form...".

"Drink and by this act a kingdom will be founded and all men will be liberated from their demonic lords".

"We are one in the Kingdom.
We are one in Dignity.
We are one in Courage.
We are one in Battle.
We are one in Gentleness.
We are one in Delight."

The Song of Manene is Part Five and takes place in the prime of Gesar's rein but calls him forth to face the challenge of Part Six: The Battle with the Tirthikas. Without hesitation he leaves the easy life behind and mounts his noble steed Kyang Go Karkar to do battle with the forces of materialism. He calls upon his four elemental Tiger, Lion, Garuda and Dragon Warriors to assail the four gates of the fortress i.e. Hated, Envy, Lust and Pride. There is much shouting of the warrior's cry;
 
 

"Ki Ki Ki" and "Chao Chao Chao"

The operatic epic culminates in Part Seven: Gesar's Song of Completion ( Not a dry eye in the house ) in which he assembles his friends, family and faithful ministers;
 
 

"This is the completion of our time together. Hesitation, depression, fear and doubt are ended. Nothing has power over you. All that is innate in goodness is yours."

On the plain back home, it occurred to me that Shambhala culture here in Milwaukee could be a bit more expansive. Our informal gatherings of friends are excellent, but we could also consider uplifting the cultural environment of our larger Milwaukee community. That first floor would be a great place to host a first class art exhibit or visiting performer some day. Let's see; Shambhala Festival of ..., season tickets, concessions, press releases, membership discounts.........

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Send EMail to: shambhala@execpc.com
Last Modified March 31, 2000