Let’s talk about reconciliation
Dear Portland Sangha, Can we talk? I have had several fruitful conversations with various members in the past 10 days. It’s difficult to talk about sexual misconduct and the Sakyong, but I am heartened at the depth of listening and communication from the heart that I have experienced in just a handful of individual meetings. … Continue
Relo Team Report to Community
Relocation Team Report to Community December 14, 2019 History: The Relocation Team formed in Dec. 2016 to explore purchasing a new Center. We considered several options including the Carnegie Building as well as the property on Glisan. Then the dual impact of the Buddhist Sunshine reports and subsequent investigations plus the sticker shock of purchasing … Continue
Theory U 2x project: Discerning obstacles and raising lungta
A small group of us have applied to be part of the Presencing Institute’s Spring 2020 2x program. Here is what we said in our application (which had to be compressed into a ONE MINUTE VIDEO!): Title: Discerning obstacles and raising lungta in the Portland Shambhala community As a community we have not reached our … Continue
From Ego to Liberation
Ego is a bossy, sultry trickster, constantly corraling us into small mind, hawking the cosmetics of status, recognition, and reward. Self-doubt makes us easy marks, no matter how often we have proven worthy. How many times must we check the mirror, jockey for a compliment, command the last word? And do it all as if … Continue
Margins are good news
This video conversation with Juan Carlos la Puente, a friend of many of us in the Shambhala community, has been working in the arenas of human rights and spiritual awakening for many years, discusses the margins in our own experience, in our own thinking, and in our own being, as well as the margins in … Continue
Conversation as a training equivalent to meditation
In this video, Greg Heffron, who’s giving a free public talk about Relational Meditation: Using Inherent Wakefulness to Unlock Communication on December 3, responds to three questions: What does meditation have to do with communication? What’s the equivalent of meditation training for for communication? How can we use conversations with difficult people (even people we’re … Continue
Connecting to ourselves through meditation is the foundation of a spiritual life
In this discussion with Ricky Porter, a participant in a recent Shambhala Training weekend, we ask what a spiritual connection is and how it’s a matter of being human, beyond all of our labels, religious or otherwise.
Gathering leaders from Portland Sanghas
Last week Mark Douglass and Jane Perlstein invited leaders of several Buddhist sanghas in Portland for a pot luck dinner and conversation about care and conduct questions that all of us are facing. Misconduct and ideas for how to deal with it is a topic that’s on the minds of many people who are responsible … Continue
Talking about racism in our sangha; Opening Our Hearts to Social Liberation
The following was posted as part of a review of our sangha by a person of color, Buddhist practitioner, and former participant at the Portland Shambhala Meditation Center…. “After attending this center for 6+ months, being bullied and made to feel unwelcome, I let the powers that be know of my experience. Despite a tearful … Continue
Misha Drlilkova reflections on people learning to meditate
It was pretty amazing to see over 30 people show up on a Saturday Morning at their community center and spend two and a half hours learning about meditation. Misha Drlikova reflects on what it’s like when a group of people come together to learn to meditate. It’s a great opportunity to witness their learning … Continue
