Fredericton Shambhala Center

Reminder: No open house this week. With our holiday retreat in full swing, there will be no open house meditation this week. Consider joining Shastri Campbell for the Sadhana of Kindness. Open house meditation returns Wednesday, January 6th.

SADHANA OF KINDNESS GROUP PRACTICE THIS WEDNESDAY 7:00pm, December 30th, online with Shastri Mary Campbell. An open-hearted holiday practice open to everyone. The Sadhana of Kindness is a practice that helps us engage the kindness that is innate in all of us--and therefore celebrate our shared humanity. Instructions and text for the practice will be provided. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84300822639... Meeting ID: 843 0082 2639 Passcode: fullmoon See more

Acharya Moh Hardin's talk on Gratitude (December 3, 2020) is available here https://youtu.be/p4vOZpV1Pqk

'If you find it easy to meditate on the sky, The clouds are the play of sky, So let the clouds rest within the womb of the sky. If you find it easy to meditate ...on the sun and moon, The planets are the play of the sun and moon, So let the planets rest within the sun and moon. If you find it easy to meditate on the mountain, The grass and trees are the play of the mountain, So let the grass and trees rest within the mountain itself. If you find it easy to meditate on the ocean, The waves are the play of the ocean, So let the waves rest within the ocean. If you find it easy to meditate on the mind, The thoughts are the expression of your mind, So let the thoughts rest within your mind." Milarepa, extract from a song to Lady Paldarbum, in "Milarepa, Lessons from the Life & Songs of Tibet's Great Yogi", Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala Publications, 2017, p164 Milarepa: https://kagyuoffice.org/kagyu-l/the-golden-rosary/milarepa/ Illustration: "Milarepa", Artwork by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa.

Putting in the work.

GRATITUDE ACHARYA HARDIN’S WEDNESDAY TALK TO THE ATLANTIC SANGHA Acharya Moh Hardin will give an online talk titled Gratitude to the Atlantic regional sangha on Wednesday, December 2nd at 7:00pm. Everyone is welcome. The session, via Shambhala Fredericton, will begin with a short period of meditation. Please connect via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85156501898. Meeting ID: 851 5650 1898. Passcode: 156789. When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree - Vietnamese Proverb. Acharya Hardin says, Feeling personally the need to cultivate more gratitude in my life, I would like to share some reflections on gratitude in a nontheistic spiritual tradition. When we wake up to face a new day, to whom or what can we say from our hearts, thank you?

Still time to register! HOLIDAY RETREAT WITH SHASTRI WEBER (online) Looking to slow down over the holiday season and connect with basic goodness? Join Shastri Veit Weber December 27-31. Participate in the whole retreat or just a day at a time. Register here: https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=465629.

ACHARYA HARDIN'S NOVEMBER TALK TO THE ATLANTIC SANGHA (Recording) If you missed Acharya Moh Hardin's wonderful talk "Drala and the Cosmic Mirror" earlier in Novmeber, you can watch the talk here on our youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VQH7X1ePoE

BEGINS ONE WEEK FROM TODAY FIVE WEEKS, SUNDAYS AT 6:30PM; STARTS DEC. 6 Foundations for Freedom: The Hinayana Course IV - The Third Noble Truth: Freedom from Suffering Program price: $40... With recorded talks by Acharya Suzann Duquette and Acharya Dan Hessey, followed by live local discussions each week. Open to everyone. You do not need to have taken the previous Hinayana classes. To register for this program: https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=465069 This is the fourth in a series of five courses exploring the profundity of the Hinayana teachings of the Buddha. Course Outline This class presents the third noble truth, Freedom from Suffering (Cessation of Suffering), and begins with an exploration of the 3rd Foundation of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of Effort. Contemplating cessation of suffering, we first see the accessibility of the third noble truth as the gap. We are basically good. Realizing this to be true is that simple, and we are glimpsing this all the time. Joined with this is the full profundity of its meaning: The third noble truth signifies complete liberation from the entire cycle of samsaric existence itself aging, sickness, death, and rebirth. Its full profundity is four-fold: (1) thecessation of all causes of suffering, (2) the peace of freedom from the suffering of the five skandhas themselves, (3) perfection of complete freedom from suffering and total joy, and (4) definite release - there is no going back to samsara from this state. This combination of these two perspectives - the immediacy of the path and the view of profound transcendence - is essential. Without both perspectives, the path can become inaccessible, distant, esoteric or, on the other hand, Buddhism can be seen as existential humanism. Class 1: Introduction to the Third Noble Truth and Mindfulness of Effort, with Acharya Dan Hessey. Class 2: Non-Struggle, Cessation, and The Gap (Pre-recorded), with Acharya Suzann Duquette Class 3: The Radical Fullness of the 3rd Noble Truth as the end of Samsara (Pre-recorded), with Acharya Suzann Duquette Class 4: Resting in the gap and Vipashyana (Pre-recorded), with Acharya Dan Hessey Class 5: Applying the Third Noble Truth: Remarks and recorded Q&A with Acharya Suzann Duquette and Acharya Dan Hessey See more

Acharya Dan Hessey on samsara's classic bait and switch. Rather than running hard on speed and aggression, Shambhala Buddhist teachings encourage us to place our in a cradle of loving kindness. You can also join Acharya Hessey for an immersive dive into the Buddha's Third Noble Truth, our Hinayana IV five-week class that starts Sunday, December 6th. More info and registration here: https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=465069.

Join us tomorrow for a good jaw. HOLIDAY SANGHA SOCIAL (Online) WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 7:00PM Everyone is invited to join us for a holiday season social. Pour a glass of holiday cheer, plate some tasty snacks and gathering for some informal conversation and social time. Celebrate the season with sangha this Christmas Eve Eve. (This event replaces our open house sitting). Join here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85156501898. Meeting ID: 851 5650 1898. Passcode: 156789.

HOLIDAY MEDITATION RETREAT (online) DECEMBER 27-31, 10am-4pm each day Shastri Veit Weber, senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, hosts this wonderful opportunity to truly relax and deepen our shamatha mindfulness-awareness practice over the holiday period, touching into our basic goodness. To register: https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=465629. Everyone is welcome to participate. Attending the full retreat is encourage, but is possible to atte...nd single days. The only requirement is that participants attend all sessions each day. No partial day participation is available. Each day will offer extended periods of meditation, including guided instruction appropriate for newcomers, contemplations, short dharma talks and discussions. Some lunches will be taken together so we can get to know one another socially. Program fee: $20 per day or $80 for the entire retreat. Our generosity policy applies. Please contact [email protected] if finances are an obstacle.

Open House Tonight 7pm Join Muriel Chaput tonight for open house tonight. Meditation, contemplation and discussion.

SHAMBHALA SADHANA GROUP PRACTICE SUNDAY, 10:00AM, DECEMBER 20TH Open to everyone. Hosted by Shambhala shastris online. Text provided on screen. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89304678535... Meeting ID: 893 0467 8535 Passcode: 426526 See more

LEVEL II SHAMBHALA RETREAT WEEKEND: BIRTH OF THE WARRIOR with Shastri Veit Weber and Linda Kreger DECEMBER 12-13, hosted by Shambhala Fredericton This retreat is offered online using Zoom video conferencing. Registration here: https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=461399.... Having experienced a taste of basic goodness in Level I, we begin to work with the obstacles that arise as meditation practice develops. We explore how habitual ways of thinking and experiencing obscure the raw brilliance of the world we live in as well as our own genuineness and tenderness. Meditation practice allows us to observe how we create a cocoon of habits to mask underlying fear. We begin to appreciate that there is no fundamental obstacle to experiencing basic goodness. Prerequisite: Shambhala Training Level I See more

FIVE WEEKS, SUNDAYS AT 6:30PM; STARTS DEC. 6 Foundations for Freedom: The Hinayana Course IV - The Third Noble Truth: Freedom from Suffering Program price: $40... With recorded talks by Acharya Suzann Duquette and Acharya Dan Hessey, followed by live local discussions each week. Open to everyone. You do not need to have taken the previous Hinayana classes. To register for this program: https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=465069 This is the fourth in a series of five courses exploring the profundity of the Hinayana teachings of the Buddha. Course Outline This class presents the third noble truth, Freedom from Suffering (Cessation of Suffering), and begins with an exploration of the 3rd Foundation of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of Effort. Contemplating cessation of suffering, we first see the accessibility of the third noble truth as the gap. We are basically good. Realizing this to be true is that simple, and we are glimpsing this all the time. Joined with this is the full profundity of its meaning: The third noble truth signifies complete liberation from the entire cycle of samsaric existence itself aging, sickness, death, and rebirth. Its full profundity is four-fold: (1) thecessation of all causes of suffering, (2) the peace of freedom from the suffering of the five skandhas themselves, (3) perfection of complete freedom from suffering and total joy, and (4) definite release - there is no going back to samsara from this state. This combination of these two perspectives - the immediacy of the path and the view of profound transcendence - is essential. Without both perspectives, the path can become inaccessible, distant, esoteric or, on the other hand, Buddhism can be seen as existential humanism. Class 1: Introduction to the Third Noble Truth and Mindfulness of Effort, with Acharya Dan Hessey. Class 2: Non-Struggle, Cessation, and The Gap (Pre-recorded), with Acharya Suzann Duquette Class 3: The Radical Fullness of the 3rd Noble Truth as the end of Samsara (Pre-recorded), with Acharya Suzann Duquette Class 4: Resting in the gap and Vipashyana (Pre-recorded), with Acharya Dan Hessey Class 5: Applying the Third Noble Truth: Remarks and recorded Q&A with Acharya Suzann Duquette and Acharya Dan Hessey

A VIDEO INVITATION FOR THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS WEEKEND FROM ACHARYA HARDIN October 16-18 online Acharya Moh HardIn has recorded a vide invitation and introduction to our upcoming weekend program The Four Noble Truths And the Path to Basic Sanity. Please consider joining us for this deep dive into the original teachings of the Buddha. All welcome. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ0cTtSuiLQ&feature=youtu.be... You may reserve your space by registering and paying for the program now: https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=455233. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS AND THE PATH OF BASIC SANITY The first teaching of the Buddha was the Four Noble Truths: the noble truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, liberation from suffering, and the path that leads to liberation. This simple logicsuffering and its cause, and liberation and its causecontains within it the seed that flowered as all of the Buddha’s teachings. In this meditation retreat we will explore these truths, not just as a traditional teaching, but as that which gave birth to all of the teachings of the dharma. A deep exploration of these truths could reveal practical and profound guidance for living life based on waking up to our reality and travelling on the path of basic sanity. The Four Noble Truths and the Path of Basic Sanity with Acharya Moh Hardin.

Join us tonight for Acharya Moh Hardin's monthly talk to the Atlantic sangha. 7:00pm.

A Weekend Study into the Buddha's First Teaching REGISTER NOW - OPEN TO EVERYONE ACHARYA HARDIN'S ONLINE TEACHING ON THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS OF THE BUDDHA - OCTOBER 16-18 Acharya Moh Hardin's annual fall teaching is a highlight of our Shambhala Buddhist calendar. This year's program is called the "The Four Noble Truths and the Path of Basic Sanity." This weekend program will be offered online, and if conditions permit the Acharya may also teach in person. You may reserve your s...pace by registering and paying for the program now: https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=455233. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS AND THE PATH OF BASIC SANITY The first teaching of the Buddha was the Four Noble Truths: the noble truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, liberation from suffering, and the path that leads to liberation. This simple logicsuffering and its cause, and liberation and its causecontains within it the seed that flowered as all of the Buddha’s teachings. In this meditation retreat we will explore these truths, not just as a traditional teaching, but as that which gave birth to all of the teachings of the dharma. A deep exploration of these truths could reveal practical and profound guidance for living life based on waking up to our reality and travelling on the path of basic sanity. The Four Noble Truths and the Path of Basic Sanity with Acharya Moh Hardin. See more

Time to register for next weekend's Level I retreat weekend. A great introduction to meditation practice and the wisdom of Shambhala. Open to everyone, especially newcomers.

ACHARYA HARDIN’S OCTOBER TALK TO THE ATLANTIC SANGHA THE MAGIC OF THIS TIME Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 7th, 7:00pm Acharya Moh Hardin, regional Acharya (senior teacher) for Atlantic Canada, gives his monthly online dharma talk to the regional sangha. Everyone is invited. The session begins with a short period of meditation. The title of this month’s talk is The Magic of This Time. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85156501898. Meeting ID: 851 5650 1898. Passcode: 15...6789 The Magic of This Time The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to seeing them that we call them ordinary things - Hans Christian Anderson. Acharya Hardin says, "I received a request to speak about what a magical time this is. In our modern world, it may seem that magic and miracles are things of the past, clouded in mystery and myth. In contrast, Chögyam Trungpa says by magic we do not mean unnatural power over the phenomenal world, but rather the discovery of innate or primordial wisdom in the world as it is. In this talk and discussion we will explore magic and miracles that are occurring now, in this time. us02web.zoom.us See more

REGISTER NOW - TWO WEEKS AWAY ACHARYA HARDIN'S ONLINE TEACHING ON THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS OF THE BUDDHA - OCTOBER 16-18 Acharya Moh Hardin's annual fall teaching is a highlight of our Shambhala Buddhist calendar. This year's program is called the "The Four Noble Truths and the Path of Basic Sanity." This weekend program will be offered online, and if conditions permit the Acharya may also teach in person. You may reserve your space by registering and paying for the program now:... https://fredericton.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=455233. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS AND THE PATH OF BASIC SANITY The first teaching of the Buddha was the Four Noble Truths: the noble truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, liberation from suffering, and the path that leads to liberation. This simple logicsuffering and its cause, and liberation and its causecontains within it the seed that flowered as all of the Buddha’s teachings. In this meditation retreat we will explore these truths, not just as a traditional teaching, but as that which gave birth to all of the teachings of the dharma. A deep exploration of these truths could reveal practical and profound guidance for living life based on waking up to our reality and travelling on the path of basic sanity. The Four Noble Truths and the Path of Basic Sanity with Acharya Moh Hardin. See more

Acharya Dan Hessey offers "Open Sky" Oct. 31 from Karmê Chöling. https://www.karmecholing.org/program?id=6599

The fire has reached Shambhala Mountain Center (Colorado). My heart goes out to SMC staff, the fire workers and all those who love this land.

A very sad news. I spent the most inspiring 3 months of my life on this land, as countless others. The Stupa may be still standing.

SHAMBHALA SADHANA SUNDAYS WITH SHASTRI WEBER CONTINUE THROUGH OCTOBER 1:00pm-2:00pm Everyone is invited to join in this online group practice of the Shambhala Sadnana with Shastri Veit Weber. Each Sunday till the end of the October (except Oct. 18 for Acharya Hardin’s weekend teaching.... The Sadhana text will be provided on screen. Each session will begin with a short teaching on the Sadhana. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81244335224 See more

ACHARYA HARDIN’S OCTOBER TALK TO THE ATLANTIC SANGHA THE MAGIC OF THIS TIME Wednesday, October 7th, 7:00pm Acharya Moh Hardin, regional Acharya (senior teacher) for Atlantic Canada, gives his monthly online dharma talk to the regional sangha. Everyone is invited. The session begins with a short period of meditation. The title of this month’s talk is The Magic of This Time.... Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85156501898. Meeting ID: 851 5650 1898. Passcode: 156789 The Magic of This Time The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to seeing them that we call them ordinary things - Hans Christian Anderson. Acharya Hardin says, "I received a request to speak about what a magical time this is. In our modern world, it may seem that magic and miracles are things of the past, clouded in mystery and myth. In contrast, Chögyam Trungpa says by magic we do not mean unnatural power over the phenomenal world, but rather the discovery of innate or primordial wisdom in the world as it is. In this talk and discussion we will explore magic and miracles that are occurring now, in this time.

It was nice to see sangha in the flesh yesterday for our Harvest of Peace Corn Boil. Beautiful weather, blazing sunshine, the riches of the season and one of the three jewels (sangha). A basically good afternoon.

A wonderful short video on the ikebana flower arranging tradition practised within Shambhala Buddhism. Canadian master Stephan Bedard explains the view that connects ikebana to dharma practice and presents some spectacular arrangements.