Kyudo (Zen Archery)

Kyudo means “the way of the bow,” and can be described as a form of standing meditation. Under the direction of Shibata Kanjuro, Sensei and senior instructors, students learn an ancient form of archery using traditional Japanese bows. Kyudo is a form of meditation practice, not sport, and hitting the target is not considered important. The purpose of kyudo is to purify one’s heart and mind to awaken the natural dignity of being human, beyond the obstacles of ambition, aggression or confusion.

You can explore kyudo as it is practiced within Shambhala here, and view a Kyudo website with upcoming events here.

Miksang Photography

Miksang is a Tibetan word that means “good eye.” A contemplative art, it is based directly on the Dharma Art teachings of Chögyam Trungpa, specifically by his teachings on the nature of perception. The “good” refers to our world, just as it is, is inherently rich and vivid. The “eye” reference is that in working with the practice of contemplative photography, we can tune into these qualities of our world. This journey is to see with our eyes wide open and our awareness right there.

You can learn more at miksang.com and miksang.org, and view Miksang photographs by Chögyam Trungpa (requires Shambhala Archives registration).

Shambhala Art

Shambhala Art is art that springs from the meditative state of mind. As a process, it brings wakefulness and awareness to the creative and viewing processes through the integration of contemplation and meditation. It is based on a collection of teachings by Chögyam Trungpa that appreciate the uniqueness of everyday sensory experience, the art of everyday life.

Mudra Space Awareness

This awareness practice consists of a series of postures and movements adapted from traditional Tibetan monastic dance by the late meditation master, artist and scholar, Chögyam Trungpa. He explains the training for this dance as being “extremely monotonous and boring with no consideration for even minimal human comfort.” This rigor, however, enables one to become and to remain present during even the most intensive situations. Therefore he designed the Mudra exercises so that Western students, living under the pressures of performance and every day life, can meet these challenges with mind, speech and body. With practice, Mudra training will dramatically heighten sensitivity to the interplay of form and space and provide authentic tools for improved awareness and communication.

Maitri Space Awareness

Maitri Space Awareness and Five Wisdom Energies practice was first developed by Chögyam Trungpa and is based on the principles of the five buddha families of Tibetan tantra. Each buddha family emphasizes a particular aspect of enlightened energy or wisdom. These energies also have their confused emotional and environmental aspects, which the practitioner learns how to recognize and transform. The emphasis of the practice is on discovering within these raw and wakeful energies unconditional friendliness (or maitri) towards oneself. This discovery becomes a basis for living one’s life more fully, skillfully understanding and relating with others, and establishing a dynamic and healthy relationship with one’s work, home and natural environments. The Maitri Space Awareness and Five Wisdom Energies practice are practiced in weekend programs at Shambhala Centres or in intensive retreats at Shambhala residential Centres.

Chanoyu (Japanese Tea Ceremony)

Chanoyu literally means “hot water for tea.” The art of Chanoyu, preparing and serving a bowl of tea, is a synthesis of many Japanese arts such as flower arranging, calligraphy, poetry, ceramics, lacquerware, cooking, architecture, gardening, and more. As meditation in action, the practice of tea developed in Japan alongside the practice of Zen Buddhism.

Leaving familiar reference points of the world behind, hosts and guests, following a 500-year-old form, create a gentle moment, without past or future. Preparing and serving a bowl of tea is a discipline of mindfulness and awareness, a celebration of the senses and a journey to open heart.

Contemplative Psychology

First introduced at Naropa University in 1975 by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, contemplative psychology was founded in collaboration with leading western psychiatrists and psychologists who were inspired by the therapeutic and clinical implications of the Shambhala and tantric buddhist teachings in working with others.

Contemplative Psychology is now the pre-eminent psychology in North America and Europe mixing the wisdom and skillful means of buddha nature and inherent healthiness with ordinary situations of helping others.

Contemplative psychology programs are taught by authorized senior Shambhala meditation teachers who are also mental health practitioners with years of clinical experience working with others. Topics explored include transmuting emotions into wisdom, meeting challenging relationships with sanity and bringing mindfulness and awareness practices and techniques to clinical work with clients.

Kalapa Ikebana

Ikebana, the traditional Japanese Way of Arranging Flowers, has its origins in Shinto, where arrangements were made as shrine offerings. Currently, there are many schools of Ikebana. Kalapa Ikebana, initiated by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, mixes the traditional teachings of Ikebana and contemplative meditation practice. Training in joining heaven, earth and man is very explicit in Ikebana: one is dealing with space and form and the three main elements which can be put together in eight different ways or variations. After rigorous training in these forms, one is then introduced to freestyle. By creating an environment which allows us to pay attention to our sense perceptions in a non-aggressive way, we are connecting with sacred world.

Calligraphy

In an essay entitled “Heaven, Earth, and Man,” based on one of Chögyam Trungpa’s dharma art workshops, he emphasizes what he called “art in everyday life.” The cool, peaceful expression of unconditional beauty offers us the possibility of being able to relax enough to perceive the phenomenal world and our own senses properly. The dynamic of heaven, earth, and man (an ancient hierarchy of the cosmos) is basic to any artistic endeavor—painting, building a city, or designing an airplane—as well as to perceiving the art that surrounds us. During the twenty-year period of his teachings in the West, calligraphy was a primary means of this type of expression for Chögyam Trungpa.

Dressage

The art of dressage riding is training for body and mind as well as learning to work with the mind and body of another sentient being. The rider has to be completely present to be able to tune into the horse’s energy. When the rider’s mind and body are working in harmony, this synchronicity immediately manifests in the horse’s gait. The energy is able to flow freely– rider and horse are riding the energy as one. Chögyam Trungpa learned about horses and horsemanship in Tibet and continued to ride throughout his lifetime. His wife, Diana Mukpo, trained in dressage at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and currently teaches dressage.

Bugaku and Gagaku (Japanese Dance and Music)

Bugaku, the ancient dance and music of the Japanese Imperial Court, is more than fourteen hundred years old. This stately dance is performed in richly brocaded and highly stylized costumes, expressing contemplative mind in a cultural context. Gagaku is the oldest existing orchestral music in the world, introduced into Japan from China in the 8th century AD. Bugaku, the dance form, is characterized by its elegance, solidity and space. Together, the music and the dance radiate timelessness and peace. The several active bugaku groups within Nalanda study with master musician and dancer Togi Sensei, a Living National Treasure of Japan. Togi’s family has been part of the Japanese Imperial Music Department for 1000 years. Togi Sensei was a priest-musician at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo before his death in 2009.