Shambhala Day

SHAMBHALA DAY marks the beginning of the New Year, and represents one of the most important traditions of Shambhala Buddhism. Based on the traditional Tibetan New Year's celebration of Losar, the day is calculated astrologically according to the Tibetan lunar calendar, and changes every year to coincide with the annual lunar cycles.

Shambhala Day is a time for us to express the wealth and richness of our spiritual and cultural heritage through feasting, conviviality, elegance and pomp. Accordingly, Centers are encouraged to plan activities throughout the week following the New Year's Day. As is customary, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche addresses the worldwide Shambhala community on Shambhala Day through a phone hook-up, which includes centers and groups from 5 continents and over 25 countries around the world.

This is also the time when members of the Shambhala community are encouraged to make a financial donation to Shambhala in order to help support the activities of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and our worldwide mandala. We ask that fundraising for Shambhala be given a spotlight at all centers and groups.

Details regarding many of our Shambhala Day traditions are listed below. We will be adding to this site and will make announcements by email about plans for any given year

  • End of the Year Ritual—Recitation of the Mamo Chant
  • new End of Year Ritual–Practice for Families and Children
  • Worldwide Shambhala Day Address
  • Sunrise Ceremony
  • Sadhana of Mahamudra
  • Elixir of Life Sadhana
  • Community Blessing Ceremony
  • Banquets and Feasts
  • Fundraising Campaign
  • Phone Hook-up-How to Register
  • Practice Books
  • Membership Pins
  • Four-Line Lhasang chant
  • Shambhala Dedication of Merit

End of Year Ritual—Mamo Chants

Shambhala Day marks the end of one year's cycle and the beginning of a new one. To dispel the karmic accumulation of personal, social, and environmental chaos at the year's end, all students are encouraged to practice as much as possible in the period just before Shambhala Day. In particular, students are encouraged to recite the mamo chants together beginning eleven days before Shambhala Day. The mamo chant is an elaborate protector offering traditionally recited from the twentieth through the twenty-ninth days of the last lunar month of the Tibetan year. By reciting the chant, we tune into the protector principle of awareness and reconnect with sacred outlook. The day before Shambhala Day is considered neutral and is a traditional time to clean and refresh one's home and shrines in preparation for the coming year.

Read Protector Principle by Dorje Loppön Lodrö Dorje to find out more.

Sunrise Ceremony

The Vidyadhara began the tradition of celebrating Shambhala Day with a sunrise ceremony that includes traditional morning chants, the Sadhana of Mahamudra, and various Shambhala practices such as stroke practice and the Werma Sadhana. A continental breakfast can be offered sometime during this occasion. This ceremony could include the Sakyong's address, depending on the centre's time zone. Traditionally, the broadcast begins at 12:00 noon Atlantic Time.

Sadhana Of Mahamudra

Shambhala Day always falls on the day following the new moon-- it is customary to practice the Sadhana of Mahamudra at this time.

Worldwide Shambhala Day Address

Every year the Sakyong addresses our international community through a telephone hook-up. The broadcast originates from from Halifax, Nova Scotia at 12 pm Atlantic Standard Time. Each centre will need to adjust their morning or evening schedule according to their respective time zone.

An operator will call every group and centre, and commence with a roll call that acknowledges our centers around the world. This includes Shambhalians from five continents and over 25 countries.

Order of Events

  • Community gathers one half hour before the broadcast to practice the Elixir of Life Sadhana
  • Phone link commences with the worldwide roll-call at 12 pm (Halifax time)
  • Opening greeting
  • President Mr. Richard Reoch will address the community
  • Chanting of the Supplication to the Shambhala Lineage, Seven-Line Supplication to Padmasambhava, The Supplication to the Takpo Kagyü (recited slowly,), the Heart Sutra,, the Shambhala Homage, and the Four-Line Lhasang chant
  • Address by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
  • Broadcast ends
  • Shambhala Dedication of Merit

Elixir of Life Sadhana

The Sakyong has requested that everyone throughout the sangha practice the Elixir of Life (Birthday Sadhana) together as part of the annual ritual. People are encouraged to gather approximately one half hour before the broadcast begins to practice the sadhana together.

Rinpoche suggested that we could do the purification section with a once-around of the vase. There will need to be one substitution to the text: instead of saying "Cheerful Birthday," we'll say, "Cheerful Shambhala Day."

Copies of the sadhana will be made available to centre directors for shrine room distribution. Members are encouraged to bring a copy of their sadhana to this event, or purchase a copy through www.shambhalashop.com. Centers and groups who wish to sell the sadhana to their members will be offered a 20% discount. Write to shop@shambhala.org to place an order.

Centre Directors click here to download the document (a password is required).

Community Blessing Ceremony

  • Shambhala Meditation Centers should construct a simple throne with a back, the seat about 30 inches high, covered with gold or yellow satin. A brocade skirt around the throne is optional. Place the throne on the left side of the shrine where the guru chair normally sits; move the guru chair and side table further to the left. Place a framed photograph of the Vidyadhara, draped with a khata, on the throne. Shambhala Meditation Groups may use the guru chair instead of a throne, perhaps draped with brocade,
  • Set up a lhasang at the shrine-hall door, just inside or outside, so that everyone who enters passes through its smoke. For this you will need an incense burner filled with sand, charcoal, and powdered juniper. Ask one person to continue adding juniper to the lhasang while people are entering.
  • Place a nice tray draped with a khata on a table next to the throne for people to offer their donations. The director or coordinator bows to the throne/chair. He or she will then place a ceremonial scarf over the seat of throne or chair, in front of a photograph of the Vidyadhara and the Sakyong, and touch his or her forehead to the seat of the throne. Others line up, bow and touch their heads on the throne.
  • The assembled participants recite the Four Dharmas of Gampopa throughout the blessing.
Note: Others do not present a scarf. In Shambhala Meditation Groups, the coordinator and others may simply bow to the photograph of the Sakyong.

Banquets and Feasts

Centers are encouraged to plan banquets, elaborate feasts, dances, and other community and family celebrations. It is customary to extend activities throughout the week or two following Shambhala Day.

Fundraising Campaign

To help the Development Office at Shambhala coordinate the annual fund, we ask Shambhala Centre Directors and Shambhala Meditation Group Coordinators to let us know the name of someone in your community-it need not be the Director-who will be responsible for coordinating the raising, collecting, collating and sending back of Shambhala Day gifts from your community. This person could act as both the Shambhala Day representative and contact for the Shambhala Development Office.
To those of you who are not members of a centre or group, we encourage you to make a financial contribution to Shambhala on Shambhala Day. Your contribution will help support the activities of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, help develop and support international programs, curriculum, and other resources, provide support and guidance to centre administrators, and fuel development of our web-based resources and services.

This transcription of the 2008 Shambhala Day Commentary highlights a few of Shambhala's many remarkable efforts and accomplishments this year. Individuals considering a donation - and fundraising coordinators - may wish to view it.

Here's how you can donate to Shambhala:

Shambhala Development Office
1084 Tower Road
Halifax, NS B3H 2Y5
Canada

  • Become a monthly donor to Shambhala by mailing a voided check or credit card information with instructions on how much you would like us to debit from your account each month.
  • Send an email to for one time donations and/or other methods of payment.

Practice Books and Phone Hook-up

Practice Books
To ensure arrival of Practice Books before Shambhala Day, centers need to place their order by at least six weeks before Shambhala Day. The practice book is 7" x 6 3/4" with a month-at-a-glance format

Phone Hook-up Registration
To register for the Shambhala Day phone hook-up contact shop@shambhala.org or phone 902 421-1550, ext. 1. We will send hook-up instructions a few weeks in advance of the event by email to the contact person you provide. (If you need help or have had problems with a hook-up in the past, please contact Gordon Kidd @ (902) 420 1118 ext 21).

The phone hook up fee will be announced early in January, with instructions on how to register.

Shambhala Membership Pins
Shambhala Day is the traditional occasion to welcome new members and present them with their membership pin.

shop@shambhala.org
voice mail 24/7: 902 421-1550 ext. 1
FAX 902-422-3637
www.shambhalashop.com