October 25-26

11:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. ET

About Level II

Deepen your meditation practice, and continue along the path of the Shambhala teachings on warriorship during this weekend retreat.

Birth of the Warrior: Shambhala Training Level II builds on the presentation of basic goodness in Shambhala Level I, and explores how habitual ways of thinking, known as “cocoon” in Shambhala, obscure the raw brilliance of ourselves and the world we live in.

You will learn a meditation practice that builds upon the mindfulness-awareness technique of Shambhala Training Level I, and explore techniques for working with fear and habitual patterns of thought and behavior.

By opening to our own genuineness and tenderness, we begin to notice, and learn how to work with, our deep-seated habits and defenses. We begin seeing through obscurations of habitual patterns that we have created over time.

Included

• Guided meditation instruction
• Periods of both sitting and walking meditation
• Talks by an experienced dharma teacher 
• Silent periods
• Question & answer periods
• Group discussions
• Individual meetings with a trained Meditation Instructor 
• Connecting with people interested in meditation and developing more compassion for themselves and the people around them!

Prerequisites

The Art of Being Human: Shambhala Training Level I.

Birth of the Warrior: Shambhala Training Level II is the second retreat in a progressive series of weekend retreats, meaning each weekend is a requirement for the following weekend.

About Shambhala Training

Shambhala Training is designed to help us develop fearlessness, confidence, openness and gentleness towards ourselves and our world. These qualities arise out of meditation practice and the study of Shambhala warriorship principles. 

Developed by Chögyam Trungpa in 1976, Shambhala Training offers teachings based on the vision that every human being has a natural source of innate wakefulness that we can discover, cultivate and express in our life.

This path is open to anyone seeking to develop gentleness and strength through meditation. Shambhala Training is a series of contemplative workshops suited for both beginning and experienced meditators. The simple and profound technique of mindfulness-awareness meditation can benefit people of any spiritual tradition and way of life.

Meditation practice helps us to examine our states of mind without trying to change them. This practice encourages openness to oneself and what’s around us, and transforms the way we habitually see our life and our world. Our old habits and patterns become more transparent, leaving room for a more direct appreciation of situations.

The “Heart of Warriorship” curriculum consists of five weekend retreats that include meditation training and practice, talks by senior teachers, personalinterviews, and group discussions.

These retreats provide a strong foundation in mindfulness-awareness meditation practice, emphasizing the development of genuineness, confidence, humor, and dignity within the complexity of daily life.

About Daniele

Daniele Bollini, born in 1965 in Bellinzona (Switzerland), started to study and practice the teachings of the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1981 with the Lugano Dharma Study Group. In 1987 he attended the first Level 1 of Shambhala Training in Switzerland. After his first Dathün in 1989, he attended the first European Warrior Assembly and Vajradhatu seminary both in 1990. In 1994 he received the Warma sadhana lung from Lady Kunchok at Kalapa Assembly. In 1996 he received Vajrayogini Abhisheka with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and graduated from Ngedön School of Higher Learning. Between 1991 and 1996 he received Mahamudra and Ati teachings from Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche at Shambhala Mountain Center (SMC) and Karme Choling. In 2005, he attended the first Rigden Abhisheka in SMC and received Chakrasamvara Abhisheka. He has been a Scorpion Seal practitioner since 2009. He was Director of the Ticino Shambhala Center from 1990 until 2005 and for some years now he has been a Co-Mentor for the Shambhala communities in Italy. A Meditation Instructor since 1989, and teacher since 1990, he has been teaching, mainly in the Swiss Italian and Italian area. In 2011 he was appointed Shastri for the Milano, Lucca and Ticino Shambhala Centers. He has been working as translator of Shambhala liturgies, practices and texts into Italian for many years and attended several interreligious meetings in Rome representing the Shambhala lineage. In the last years he has been teaching Shambhala Training to teachers in the secondary schools of Cantone Ticino, in South Switzerland. He is married and has a 21-year-old daughter. After finishing his studies in classical archaeology in Fribourg in 1989, in 1990 he began to teach history, geography and Italian in the secondary school in Ticino. He is now active as an expert and consultant in history didactic in the public school of Cantone Ticino and teaches History didactic at the local teacher’s university. He is co-author of a two volume book on Swiss history for secondary schools.