MILWAUKEE

SEPTEMBER2013N  E  W  S  L  E  T  T  E  R

milwaukee.shambhala.org

T!" H#$%"&' () P"#*" - Nyida Day Celebration is an opportunity to practice together, to share food, to socialize, and to appreciate our connections. All friends, families and children are invited to join us for our annual celebration of the richness of our Shambhala culture and community.

The

Harvest

Peaceof

Program Details10:30AM: Shambhala Sadhana. +e Sakyong has decided to continue the tradition of making this wonderful practice open to everyone on this special holiday12:00PM: Potluck Lunch (please bring a dish to share)12:45PM: Movie–An Uncommon King (72-minute) +is documentary follows the life of head of the Sham-bhala Linage, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. Shot over 17 years in Tibet, India, China, Europe and North America. +rough verity footage we are with Rinpoche at home in

Nova Scotia, on retreat in India and in the studio recording music. We see him running marathons, promoting his books on tour and building a school in a remote region of Tibet.. +rough interviews and archival footage we meet his family and learn of his early years in India, how he came to west to live and train with his father in America at a time when Buddhism was just taking root.12:45: Bodhi School will be hosting special activities for children during the movie.2:15 Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche’s Harvest of Peace Address to the Community (recorded)2:45: Community Salons – hosted conversations with Mil-waukee sangha members about their experience at Shambhala Land Center programs and Sangha Retreats.3:30: Tea and Desserts - Giving and O,ering Wealth our an-nual fundraising drive.

SUNDAY SEPT 22, 2013

Community CelebrationEveryone is welcomed!

CORE PATH OF MEDITATION CLASSES

The Way of Shambhala

REGISTER ONLINE

MILWAUKEE.SHAMBHALA.ORG

MEDITATION in Everyday Life

Five Wed EveningsOct 16, 23, 30 and Nov 6and13 (7-9pm)Price: $55 Member; $65 Non-Member

Meditation in Everyday Life provides introductory tools and teachings for working with meditation in everyday life. With simple instructions and sup-port, mindfulness meditation practice can become part of one’s life, revealing our innate stability, strength and clari-ty. !is course is the companion to the weekend intensive called “!e Art of Being Human.” !is is the "rst course in our core program, !e Way of Shambhala, which provides a strong foundation in mindfulness-awareness meditation. !is series is designed to be applied to the complexity of our daily lives, and to develop courage and sanity in these troubled times of uncertainty.

Level I: The Art of Being Human

Fri Nov 15 (7-9pm) & Sat Nov 16 (8:30am -6pm) Price: $95 Member; $110 Non-MemberWith Debbie Zarate

!is course is the weekend companion to “Meditation in Everyday Life.” It is the "rst of the "ve weekend work-shops that include meditation training and practice, talks by senior instruc-tors, personal interviews and group discussions. Levels One through Five provide a strong foundation in mind-fulness-awareness meditation prac-tice, emphasizing the development of genuineness, con"dence, humor, and dignity within the complexity of daily life. !e workshops are recommended for new and experienced meditators, as well as for those looking to enrich their existing spiritual path.

!ese weekend workshops are com-panion classes to the Everyday life se-ries. !ey are recommended for new and experienced meditators, as well as for those looking to enrich their exist-ing spiritual tradition.

C-#&&"& )($ B"./00"$&

WISDOM in Everyday Life

Five Wed EveningsSept 11, 18, 25, Oct 2 & 9 (7-9pm)Price: $55 Member; $65 Non-MemberWith Bill Hebbert & Debbie ZaratePre-requisite: Fearlessness in Everyday Life

No longer deterred or depressed by obstacles, we can include everything as part of the path. +e challenges of dai-ly life become opportunities for both contemplative practice and social ac-tion. +e practitioner is introduced to the Vajrayana teachings of Buddhism which look at the sacredness of the phenomenal world. Students receive essential instruc-tions for transforming confused emo-tions and situations into wisdom as they arise. No longer deterred or de-pressed by obstacles, but with tremen-dous forward vision and strength, the Dragon includes everything as part of the path. In this way the warrior skill-fully bene1ts the world.

+e Way of Shambhala series o,ers a structured path of meditation and an in-troduction to all that Shambhala o,ers. It also o,ers a glimpse of the Shambhala vision of enlightened society by emphasizing the ways in which meditation can impact our daily lives, and from there how the sanity of meditation can expand to impact our whole society.

Dear Friends, +is is just a short note to let you know of some future changes to Mil-waukee Center Leadership:

Out of concern for the overall well-being of centers and individuals, it is the Sakyong’s wish that Governing Council positions including Center Director have a term limit of 3 years. A term can be extended to two consecutive terrms, (6yrs), with the consent of the council.

I was appointed Center Director in October 2007, and it does not take exceptional math skills to see that my term needs to end. As well, our generous and hardworking, Director of Practice and Education, Bill Hebbert will complete his term on Shambhala Day. We are both looking to “retire” from these positions by Shambhala Day, March 2, 2014. +ere are o2cial descriptions of these roles as well guidelines that govern the recruitment and appointment process. Membership can look for-ward to receiving more complete information about this transition soon.

Appreciatively,Debbie Zarate

You are invited toA Special Kasung Squad Meeting

Upcoming Changes in Center Leadership

What is the Dorje Kasung?

AT THIS MEETING, YOU WILL

the path of kasungship

-tions

Kasungship

We will end with the kasung tradition of a “mess,” a social time and experi-ence of the special camaraderie of the Dorje Kasung. So that we can plan food and drink, please RSVP your intention to attend by emailing rusung@milwau-keeshambhala.org. Click here to read about the Dorje Kasung on the Mil-waukee Shambhala website.

If you’ve seen the Dorje Kasung in ac-tion or just heard of them and won-dered, here is an opportunity for you to 1nd out who and what the Dorje Kasung are. Current members of the Shambhala Center of Milwaukee are warmly invited to a special open kasung squad meeting.

Thurs Sept 126:30-8:00pm

Shambhala Center (lower level)

Open to Everyone!

Sept 3 - The Four RemindersUsing a practice written by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, +e Elixir of Life, this class considers the four reminders (precious human life, impermanence, karma, and samsara) as contemplations that help us to appreciate our life as the path to awakenment.With Steven Shippee

Sept 10 - Compassion+is discussion will center on key aspects of the core teachings on compassion: Is it simply “kindness”? How do we access that innate quality? Can we avoid “idiot compassion”? When our wisdom is not panoramic? Do the teachings inevitably lead to direct action? +is class is a part of the center’s participation in the Milwaukee city-wide Compassion Games International.

Sept 17 - Chogyam Trungpa and the LineageA Glimpse into the Lineage and Legacy of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the Founder of Shambhala. One of the most creative, inspiring and compassionate of teachers, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was the founder of the Shambhala lineage as well as a pioneer in bringing the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Known as a Mahasiddha, the Vidyadhara and the Druk Sakyong, he described his “family business” as “caring for others.” He truly lived with an open heart and mind with no arti1cial boundaries between himself and those he met and worked to inspire, coax and challenge people into genuine spiritual practice. He was a master at bringing the most profound teachings down to a completely practical level. Please join us in a class on the founder of Shambhala and his in3uence on our lineage.With Debbie Zarate

September 24 - Who’s In Charge Here, Anyway: The Shambhala MandalaIn Shambhala, the classic model of the mandala is used to organize ourcenter and its projects. Coordination is provided at the center withsupport from our members and participants. Join a practical discussion onour various roles and how we work together as a mandala.With Bill Hebbert

OPEN HOUSEuesday

In the last Rime Corner, we re3ected upon how working to help the world is central to all authentic religious and spiritual paths. +e many traditions, though, also have wisdom to o,er on just how we do this work in light of the sheer enormity of human su,ering. How do we stay present and engaged when we feel daunted by the world’s pain and troubles? In his most recent book, +e Sham-bhala Principle, Sakyong Mipham re3ects upon his father’s instructions to him to ‘keep it simple.’ He writes, “+rough overanalyzing the world’s issues, we become depressed and lose faith because we are no longer in touch with windhorse, the ability to attain success that comes from acting virtuously. My father told me, ‘As a warrior, you should clean up your act. Simply work on the spot, properly. Very straightforward’.... When my fa-ther said ‘Keep it simple,’ he was not instructing me to ignore the world’s complications, but simply to be strong and demonstrate the principles I had studied and contemplated.” In the Talmud, an important collec-tion of Jewish, rabbinic thought, we 1nd this injunction, pointing us in the same direction: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work but neither are you free to abandon it.”

!e Ri-Me Corner By Steven Shippee

Like others in our community, I have just returned from a prac-tice retreat. It included ten days

in the beautiful woods of Vermont with 80 people from all over the plan-et. It was held at our oldest retreat cen-ter, Karme Choling.+is has reminded me of the large network of people that make up our Shambhala world. And I’m musing about how we all have a place in this larger society. In our tradition we think of these interconnections as a Mandala.Mandalas are seen in Asian art some-times as a rectangle with opening gates on all four sides. Other times they can look like concentric circles around a central point. And sometimes these individual mandalas overlap showing their interconnection. Our weekly practice programs are like that rectangle with the open gates that invite us in. Even after a few visits we begin to make some ac-

quaintances and become part of that mandala. In our region we intercon-nect with the centers in Madison, Chi-cago, Minneapolis and Windhorse Re-treat Center. And eventually we may get to know, practice and train with others from other centers around the world. Our international mandala is cen-tered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. +is is the home and seat of the head of our lineage, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. From the center of this mandala comes a vast array of teachings, class curricu-lum, programs and training. +is global mandala provides the opportunity for an extensive personal journey. In our life we can, collectively, be of much help to ourselves and the world around us. So I encourage you to join me in thinking about your place in this or-dinary yet expansive mandala. +is is not someone else’s community. It is yours.

Notice how the person ringing the gong is the central reference point for that practice period and how others support them. In a similar way notice how we may become the central refer-ence point for some activity like setting out the co,ee and tea. And notice how these human clusters with center and fringe join together and become interlocked as a program happens. Still, there is always a person that we can look to for guid-ance and coordination. Sometimes we will be that person and others will look to us. Notice how your role in any giv-en situation can be quite natural and 3uid. We may 1nd ourselves moving from the center to the fringe all the time. +ere is always room to contrib-ute and a need for your human contri-bution. Please be very welcome in the Shambhala Mandala.

CONTEMPLATIONS OF PRACTICE & EDUCATION

Mandala PrincipleBY BILL HEBBERT, DIRECTOR OF PRACTICE AND EDUCATION

Classes begin shortly at Carroll University. One of the courses I am teaching this semester is a

psychology Research Seminar, where stu-dents will work alongside me to conduct an experiment. Our work will build on a pilot experiment my former students and I conducted in a previous Research Seminar, which compared the e,ects of loving-kindness meditation (metta) and concentration meditation (shamatha) in meditation-naïve participants. In this month’s column, I’ll brie3y review that pilot study, describe the follow-up exper-iment that my students will be doing this semester, and say a few words about the signi1cance of this work. Loving-kindness and concentration meditation have dissociable e,ects on cognition, even in those just learning how to meditate. +is was demonstrated by my former students using two tasks—an attentional blink task and the Stroop task. In an attentional blink task, partic-ipants are shown a rapid-1re stream of letters (each appearing and disappearing within 1/33 of a second!), presented in the center of a computer screen. Embed-ded within this stream of letters are two numbers that participants are asked to report after the full stream of letters has passed. With practice, participants are read-ily able to see and report the 1rst num-ber. Participant awareness of the sec-ond number, however, depends on how quickly it follows the 1rst. If the second number follows shortly after the 1rst (up to half of a second), participants tend to miss it. It is as if their attention, still pre-occupied with the 1rst number, “blinks”, thereby missing the second number. I, and others, have shown that di,erent types of meditation can reduce the atten-tional blink, such that you are more like-ly to be aware of that second number. In other words, this is one demonstration

that meditation enables you to be aware of things you otherwise may not be! In the Stroop task, participants are shown color words, like “red” or “blue”, in the middle of a computer screen. Words are written in either congruous font colors (“red” written in red font) or incongru-ous colors (“red” written in blue font). Participants are asked to report the color of the font in which a word is written. +is proves to be di2cult in the incon-gruous condition. Word reading is so au-tomatic for most of us (you don’t choose to read the STOP sign, you simply see it), that reading “red” interferes with say-ing “blue”. +e Stroop task, then, is a measure of how well par-ticipants are able to 1lter out irrelevant information or zero in on relevant infor-mation to perform a task. +e following chart shows the results from this pilot experiment. On average, participants who practiced concentration meditation for just 10 minutes exhibited higher at-tentional blink scores (they missed the second number more often) and lower Stroop e,ect scores (they were better able

to 1lter out irrelevant information/focus on relevant information), compared to those practicing loving-kindness medita-tion for 10-minutes.

This particular result was actu-ally unexpected (for reasons I can discuss with interested folks

elsewhere). +e pilot experiment wasn’t designed in a way that could explain this result. For example, it could be the case the each type of meditation indeed had di,erent e,ects, as it would appear. Or, it may be that only one type of meditation had a signi1cant in3uence on cognition, and the data from the other meditation type is comparable to what you might see if the participants hadn’t meditated at all. To adjudicate between these pos-sibilities, it is necessary to have a control group that does not meditate. +is, in short, is the research my students will be conducting this semester. We will com-pare groups of non-meditators, concen-tration meditators, and loving-kindness meditators, on the attentional blink and Stroop tasks.

L(%/0.-4/050"&& #05 *(0*"0'$#'/(0 meditation have dissociable e,ects on cognition, even in those just learning how to meditate.

By Christopher May

An Experiment on the Effects of Meditation

SPECIAL OFFERING

Refuge and Bodhisattva VowsOCTOBER 24TH, 2013

WITH ACHARYA RICHARD JOHN

There is an up-coming op-portunity to

take either Refuge Vows or the Bodhi-sattva Vow at the Madison Shambhala Center on +ursday evening, October 24th. +e preceptor for these vows will be Acharya Richard John. When one takes the Refuge Vow, you are acknowledging that your liberation from your own con-fusion and su,ering can only come from knowing your own mind and it’s habitual patterns, discursiveness and con3icting emotions - an insight and under-standing derived from meditation. As a result, you mark your life with this truth by taking refuge in “+e +ree Jewels.” You take refuge in the Buddha as your teacher, the dharma as your teachings, and the sangha as your community of meditators to rely on for guidance and support. In doing so, you are acknowledging your own basic goodness and you formally be-come a Shambhala Buddhist. Taking the Refuge Vow is a prerequisite for taking the Bodhi-

sattva Vow. When one takes the Bodhisattva Vow, based on strong familiarity with your own confu-sion and seeing the same in others, you commit yourself to working for the bene1t of others and, ulti-mately, the full realization of their basic goodness and complete elim-ination of their su,ering. We are in the process of orga-nizing preparatory classes at our center for all who may be interest-ed in taking either of these vows. If you are interested or would like more information please email Dan Kaemmerer at dan.kaemmer-er@yahoo.com as soon as possible,

and please put the word VOWS in the subject line. Also, please note: taking either vow will require two trips to the Mad-ison Shambhala Cen-ter - one for the vow ceremony and one for a brief but required interview with Acha-rya Richard John.

About Acharya Rich-ard JohnAn early student of ChogyamTrungpa Rinpoche, Richard was appoint-ed an acharya by Sa-kyong Mipham Rin-

poche. A long-time friend and teacher of the Wellington Sham-bhala Centre, he has for many years also taught Shambhala Bud-dhist programs in North America, Australia, Mex-ico and Chile. He completed the 1rst +ree-Year Group Re-treat at Gampo Abbey, and now teaches full time. Richard and his wife Liz reside in Halifax, Canada.

WHAT IS A FULL MOON ZIJI DINNERAt the +ree Pillar Leadership Gather-ing at Karme Choling in May, which Jessica Bizub, Jon Hamilton and Toby Simpkins attended, the Sakyong issued the following very speci1c homework assignment: “go back to your com-munities and have dinner together, meditate together and have conversa-tion together -- that is the 1rst step in creating an enlightened society.” Being inspired by Sakyong’s social vision of community integration and his desire to make all our Shambhala centers a more relevant aspect of people’s lives, Jessica, Jon, Toby and Paul Shinkle conceived the Ziji Dinner. +e idea was simple: to provide an opportunity for anyone in our community to gath-er and allow for the notion of “ziji”, that inexpressible brilliance to mani-fest. Later, it occurred to the planning team that by having recurring dinners fall on a Full Moon, all villagers would eventually have an opportunity to at-tend regardless of work schedule.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE ZIJI DINNER?+e 1rst Full Moon Ziji Dinner took place on Friday, August 16th -- and the evening included a yummy dinner

provided by the hosts, a group medita-tion led by Dan Kaemmerer, and the conversation centered around these 3 questions: 1) tell everyone something we might not know about you, 2) what is your favorite quote from Chogyam Trungpa or +e Sakyong that you think should be on the wall for newcomers to see and why, and 3) +e Sakyong has stated that “Shambhala Centers should be less like a school and become more like a village with a school in it.” What does it mean for our Center to become more like a village?” +e discussion was genuine and robust and everyone has an opportuni-ty to share their thoughts in a support-ive environment.

WHEN IS THE NEXT ZIJI DINNER?It’s important to understand that the Full Moon Ziji dinner is not an event that is lead by the Council or does not fall under any speci1c role or function, rather, this is a dinner by and for “vil-lagers.” At every Ziji dinner, the next host will be identi1ed. Susan Schro-eder graciously agreed to host the next dinner at her house on the next full moon in October, which turns out to be THURSDAY, October 17th. Stay tuned for more speci1c information to come. And please see Toby, Jon, Jessica or Paul if you are interested in either hosting or attending a future Ziji Din-ner. All are welcome!

A Shambhala Artist!Maliqk received a Sue Dunham Me-morial Scholarship from the art Mu-seum for his abilities and strong inter-est in art speci1cally mix media and sculpting. On Sunday August 18th he was recognized at the art museum. His art work will hang until September 15,2013 and the community can view for free. Just ask where the youth Sue Dunham Memorial scholarship art hangs. Attached are the photos. It was a proud day for me!!! He also co-coordinated Family camp this year as he completed his Rites of Passage when he was 8. He is now 11. His view of Rights of Passage is that it was “Awesome”! Here he is with his proud Mom Tavita Martinez, our Bodhi School Coordinator.

ziji

You are invited!

ZIJI DINNERThursday October 17Everyone is welcomed!

COMMUNITY NEWS

2344 N. Oakland Avenue, Milwaukee. Tel: (414) 277-8020. Email: shambhalamke@gmail.com

WEEKLY MEDITATION

Tuesday 7 - 7:45 pm

Wednesday 7 - 8 pm

Saturday 9 - 10:30 am

Sunday 9 - 11 am

Meditation instruction every

Tuesday at 7 pm and Sunday

at 10am. Join us every Tuesday

for meditation, tea social and

open house talk. Free.

BECOME A MEMBER

Join our Shambhala communi-

ty of practioners of human dig-

nity and goodness. Becoming

a member supports both your

practice and the activities of our

Shambhala Center. Members

also get discount on all pro-

grams. Contact David Skoglind

at dmskog@yahoo.com

BE A VOLUNTEER

Put your practice in action by

sharing your time and energy.

Working together is one of the

best way to understand Shamb-

hala teachings. Make a differ-

ence, manifest your brilliance.

Contact Debbei Zarate at

debbiezarate@gmail.com

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LIKE US ON

Miksang is a Tibetan word that translates as "Good Eye". Miksang is a school of con-

templative photography that brings to-gether the art of photography, the dis-cipline of meditation and the Dharma Art teachings of the meditation master and scholar Chögyam Trungpa. +e Miksang Path of Perception and Photography Although the experience of clear seeing is available to everyone, people come to contemplative photography with di,erent motivations. Some want to give expression to what they expe-rience through the discipline of med-itation. Some have recognized some direct and vivid quality of perception in their own experience and want to explore and express that potential. Others have trained in photography or other arts and are curious about the contemplative approach. +e common element is an interest in clear seeing. +e Miksang training o,ers a path of perception and photography through a three level course of training. No photographic experience or knowl-edge is required although you will need a 35mm camera with manual capacity. You do not need a background with meditation and we do not teach medi-tation as part of the training.

+e three levels of training, based on Chögyam Trungpa's teaching on the three levels of perception, follow a tra-ditional contemplative path of trans-forming confusion into wisdom. Of-ten it seems that our inherent capacity for insight is obscured by preconcep-tions and habitual patterns. Each level and each class presents teachings and exercises which work through the ob-stacles to clear seeing by cultivating the purifying power our natural synchro-nization and wisdom.

Miksang Level I: Looking: The Phenomenal World Weekend Oct 26-27Price: $125 (generosity policy applies)No pre-requisiteNo previous photography experience necessary

+e 1rst level of training puri1es our visual perception by working directly with the elements or forms of the visu-al 1eld: colour, light and form (texture, lines and patterns), space and dot in space. In this level we also attend to the "3ash of perception" which discloses a direct presentation of the phenomenal world.

SAVE THE DATESMiksang Level II: Seeing: Fields of Perception Weekend Jan 18-19 Price: $125 (generosity policy applies)

Miksang Level III & Absolute Eye: Perceiving: !e Play of the Phenom-enal World Weekend March 29-30 Price: $125 (generosity policy applies)

ABOUT MIRIAM HALLMiriam Hall is a contemplative arts teacher based in Madison, WI, USA. She has been teaching since 2005 and sells her photog-raphy as well as writing (poetry, 3ash 1ction and lyrical essays). Her chap-books of poetry, At Home Here and Dreams of Movement are available through Amazon or Finishing Line Press.She is the second-most senior teacher in the Nalanda Miksang So-ciety of Contemplative Photography, under John McQuade. Visit her online at www.herspiral.com.

CONTEMPLATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES

Miksang With Miriam Hall