Unbiased awareness of what is actually going on, within ones own being and in ones environment, automatically leads to appropriate action. When ones mind and body are synchronized, when what is actually happening is experienced on the spot, actions mesh with situations as they truly are. Developing such basic sanity, such authentic presence in the actual situation, is possible for all of us.

The truth of innate human wisdom and basic goodness does not belong to any one religion or doctrine. Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, developed the Shambhala teachings as a non religious presentation of the most basic of all contemplative practices and the ancient ideal of the sacred warrior, learning to master the challenges of life, both on and off the battlefield.

Here on this page, the section Books, Tapes and Magazines About Shambhala points out several works by Trungpa Rinpoche and his students that discuss the Shambhala path from various perspectives. The following section then introduces the Shambhala Training programs, presented at Shambhala Centers worldwide.

Shambhala Centers offer training in both the Buddhist and Shambhala approaches, and many students are working with both. Trungpa Rinpoche's son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, expressed the relationship between the two in these words: "In essence, the emphasis of the Buddhist path is to help us attain enlightenment, and the emphasis of the Shambhala path is to help us create and maintain a good society. When we put these two together, we have the Shambhalian Buddhist view of enlightened society. Thus the two paths work in tandem, not in competition."

"Shambhala Training is ... the tradition of human bravery, not being afraid of who you are. This path shows how to take the challenges of daily life in our modern society as opportunities for contemplative practice." 

Shambhala Training welcomes people of all religious traditions as well as those who do not follow a particular spiritual path, to a series of weekend workshops consisting of lectures, readings, group discussions, individual interviews and group meditation practice.

Shambhala Training programs are conducted at Shambhala Centers in many parts of the world -- on any given weekend, there is at least one such program happening somewhere in the world. To find a program near you, you can usually view scheduling information on a nearby center's web site. This can be found using the center locater:

Level I, "The Art of Being Human" -- Experiencing the world as sacred and seeing basic goodness as your birthright. 

Level II,  "Birth of the Warrior" -- Recognizing habitual patterns and discovering fearlessness. 

Level III, "Warrior in the World" -- Developing confidence in practice and all aspects of daily life. 

Level IV,  "Awakened Heart" -- Allowing your heart and intuition to open so that you communicate fully with the world. 

Level V, "Open Sky: Primordial Stroke" -- Trusting who you are and genuinely caring for others.

After completing this thorough introduction to meditation practice and the study of Shambhala warriorship one can pursue more advanced training in the graduate levels.