History & Storytelling: many homes, many contributors, many phases
Many members of Portland Shambhala gathered to remember our history on a recent Sunday afternoon. Gardner Murphy had collected some of this recollections in advance: General Timeline and History of Portland Shambhala Center Started in 1970’s, met in peoples’ houses, Gardner was one of the originals! (Gardner to insert his remembrances of history here) … Continue
Training to teach and learn the Dharma
The Shambhala project is worth pursuing. So say the cadre of Portland’s authorized Shambhala teachers and almost a dozen members of the Portland Shambhala community who are beginning a teacher training program. Why is this important? Although we are a meditation center, teaching and learning are at the core of Shambhala and a Shambhala center’s … Continue
Moving as an opportunity for community
You may have heard: we’re moving. Moving house is always chaotic, but moving a community is an opportunity for community-sized chaos! First you have to unpack everything, sort it, figure out what to keep, what to discard. It’s a massive undertaking. BUT a big move is a huge opportunity for collaboration and connection. Out of chaos, … Continue
Town Hall – July 25, 2020
The Town Hall on July 25, 2020 invited our community to continue to explore our challenges with polarization and inclusivity. It was intended to ask whether we will be able to hold the diversity of viewpoints and identities that exist in our community. As the conversation unfolded, one person, citing their background in anthropology, described … Continue
Four Years Later: A Look Back (and Forward) at our Societal Health and Well-Being
When I took my leadership oath as council representative for Societal Health and Well-Being at our Harvest of Peace festival in September, 2016, I came into the seat with a number of hopes. I had hoped to expand our repertoire of affinity groups, especially our family group. I’d hoped to see our deleks reinvigorated. I’d … Continue
Community Conversation — July 11th, 2020
So much had been happening in our community and in Shambhala at large that the Portland Shambhala council felt that we needed to stop and check in with each other. On Saturday, July 11th members of Portland Shambhala met online for a community conversation to reflect on a recent letter from several Achyaras who … Continue
Midsummer’s Day Eve Town Hall – June 20, 2020
Fourteen of us joined the Portland Shambhala Center virtual town hall on June 20, 2020. We started with three check-in questions: What have you most appreciated in your experience of society this week?; How are you feeling about our future?; and How are you feeling about Shambhala’s future? The participants had a wide range of … Continue
Leaving the Carnegie Library Building: First Steps
On June 16, members of the Portland Shambhala Council and Relo Team prepared a proposal to our landlord for terminating our lease early. We face some real challenges: our income has been drastically reduced with the pandemic, many members are older and considered at high risk for serious complications from COVID-19, groups of more than … Continue
Council Meeting – 5/5/20
The Portland Shambhala Center Council met on Tuesday, May 5. The general themes of the meeting were our current financial situation, potential future scenarios, and the first steps we need to do to move forward. We are currently paying rent for a space we can not use. To add more to the overall picture we … Continue
What outreach feels like
When I heard that the outreach team was meeting, I asked them if it would be OK to interview them about their experience. They had divided up a list of community members and tried to call them a couple of times since the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine. Their experience varied widely: some people couldn’t … Continue
