Vajradhatu
Encyclopedia
Vajradhatu was the name of the umbrella organization of Chögyam Trungpa
Rinpoche, one of the first Tibetan Buddhist lama
s to visit and teach in the West. It served as the vehicle for the promulgation of his Buddhist teachings, and was also the name by which his community was known from 1973 until 1990. Starting in 1976 it was paralleled by a governmental structure for establishing the non-denominational enlightened society of Shambhala
Kingdom, which included Shambhala Training
among many other activities. Eventually, the Vajradhatu organization was renamed Shambhala International by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
.
(now Karmê Chöling
). When Rinpoche began teaching at the University of Colorado
in 1971, a second branch of the community began to form there. When Vajradhatu was incorporated in Colorado in 1973, it consolidated Tail of the Tiger, Rocky Mountain Dharma Center
, a retreat facility in the Rocky Mountains
in Colorado
; and Karma Dzong, an urban meditation center in Boulder, Colorado
. The organization grew to include the Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia
; and dozens of smaller meditation centers called "Dharmadhatus," in cities around the US, Canada
and later in Europe.
In the early 1970s the community grew rapidly and attracted the involvement of such notables as Allen Ginsberg
, Anne Waldman
, and many others. As the decade wore on, the hippies and sixties counterculture
members who comprised the large part of the membership were asked by Trungpa to experiment with more formal modes of behavior, attire, address, and societal expressions in general.
Vajradhatu hosted visits by the Sixteenth Karmapa (head of the Kagyu Lineage) in 1974, Khyentse Rinpoche (head of the Nyingma Lineage) in 1976, and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in 1981. In 1976 Trungpa Rinpoche began his cycle of Shambhala teachings and, with his students, manifesting forms of Shambhala society. In 1986 he moved the international headquarters of Vajradhatu to Halifax, Nova Scotia
, where he died the following year. A large number of his disciples emigrated from the United States to Nova Scotia along with him.
In 1972 Trungpa identified Thomas F. Rich (an American with Buddhist name Ösel Tendzin
) as his dharma heir, and in a formal ceremony on August 22, 1976, Trungpa appointed Rich as Dorje Gyaltsap, Vajra Regent, and Director of the First Class of Vajradhatu. As described in the 1977 article in "Garuda V", which also reproduces the proclamation (signed by Trungpa XI and Karmapa
XVI), Trungpa empowered Thomas Rich "as his regent and as a holder of the Kagyu
and Nyingma
lineages". Trungpa further stated "There is the possibility that members of the sangha, Western people, can take over from the Tibetans".
Following Trungpa's death, senior Kagyu lineage holder Tai Situ Rinpoche recommended that he himself take over leadership of Vajradhatu in conjunction with Trungpa's half brother Damchu Tenphel Rinpoche, who resided in Tibet. Tenzin declined the offer, and assumed leadership of the organization until his own death shortly thereafter, in 1990 of AIDS, amid controversy over admissions that he had unprotected sex with students while knowing he had AIDS. Ösel Tendzin infected at least one male student with HIV; the young man later died of AIDS.
) became the new spiritual head. The community had been deeply divided and in distress over the events surrounding Osel Tendzin's death, and repeatedly turned to the elder statesmen of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages for guidance. The succession of Osel Randrol was approved by the heads of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, who encouraged the community to persevere. Jamgon Kongtrul
the third, one of the four regents of the Karma Kagyu
lineage in the period when the Karmapa had yet to be recognized, issued a statement that "His Holiness[Dilgo Khenstse Rinpoche, head of the Nyingma lineage and the Sawang's teacher] and the Kagyu lineage holders are all in agreement that the Sawang Osel Randrol Mukpo should become the lineage holder of Vajradhatu." .
In February 2000, restated articles of incorporation were signed, officially changing the name from Vajradhatu to Shambhala International. The change of name, which began informally with the Sakyong Mipham's assumption of leadership in 1990, reflected his approach of integrating the Shambhala teachings within Buddhism and making them the unifing principle of a Shambhala Buddhist sangha. This transition enabled the organization to avoid lawsuits and consequent financial ruin.
Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...
Rinpoche, one of the first Tibetan Buddhist lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s to visit and teach in the West. It served as the vehicle for the promulgation of his Buddhist teachings, and was also the name by which his community was known from 1973 until 1990. Starting in 1976 it was paralleled by a governmental structure for establishing the non-denominational enlightened society of Shambhala
Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala or Shangri-la is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia...
Kingdom, which included Shambhala Training
Shambhala Training
Shambhala Training is a secular approach to meditation developed by the late Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa and his students. It is based on what Trungpa calls Shambhala Vision, which sees enlightened society as not purely mythical, but as realizable by people of all faiths through...
among many other activities. Eventually, the Vajradhatu organization was renamed Shambhala International by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, Jampal Trinley Dradul is the head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage and Shambhala International, a worldwide network of urban Buddhist meditation centers, retreat centers, monasteries, a university, and other enterprises, founded by his father, the Buddhist teacher...
.
History
The community of Chogyam Trungpa originated in 1970 with his arrival in North America from Scotland. The first established center of his teachings was "Tail of the Tiger" in Barnet, VermontBarnet, Vermont
Barnet is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,690 at the 2000 census. Barnet contains the locations of Barnet Center, East Barnet, McIndoe Falls, Mosquitoville, Passumpsic and West Barnet.-Geography:...
(now Karmê Chöling
Karmê Chöling
Originally known as "Tail of the Tiger", Karmê Chöling is a Buddhist and Shambhala retreat center in Barnet, Vermont that was founded by the Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and scholar Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his students in 1970. Trungpa Rinpoche is widely regarded as one of the first...
). When Rinpoche began teaching at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
in 1971, a second branch of the community began to form there. When Vajradhatu was incorporated in Colorado in 1973, it consolidated Tail of the Tiger, Rocky Mountain Dharma Center
Shambhala Mountain Center
The Shambhala Mountain Center was founded by Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970 at Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. Trungpa arrived in 1971 with a number of students from Tail of the Tiger in Barnet, Vermont, now known as Karmê Chöling....
, a retreat facility in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
; and Karma Dzong, an urban meditation center in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. The organization grew to include the Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
; and dozens of smaller meditation centers called "Dharmadhatus," in cities around the US, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and later in Europe.
In the early 1970s the community grew rapidly and attracted the involvement of such notables as Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, Anne Waldman
Anne Waldman
Anne Waldman is an American poet.Since the 1960s, Waldman has been an active member of the “Outrider” experimental poetry community as a writer, performer, collaborator, professor, editor, scholar, and cultural/political activist....
, and many others. As the decade wore on, the hippies and sixties counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
members who comprised the large part of the membership were asked by Trungpa to experiment with more formal modes of behavior, attire, address, and societal expressions in general.
Vajradhatu hosted visits by the Sixteenth Karmapa (head of the Kagyu Lineage) in 1974, Khyentse Rinpoche (head of the Nyingma Lineage) in 1976, and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in 1981. In 1976 Trungpa Rinpoche began his cycle of Shambhala teachings and, with his students, manifesting forms of Shambhala society. In 1986 he moved the international headquarters of Vajradhatu to Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, where he died the following year. A large number of his disciples emigrated from the United States to Nova Scotia along with him.
In 1972 Trungpa identified Thomas F. Rich (an American with Buddhist name Ösel Tendzin
Ösel Tendzin
Ösel Tendzin was a western Buddhist. He was Chögyam Trungpa's principal student. On August 22, 1976, Chögyam Trungpa empowered Ösel Tendzin as his Vajra Regent and first Western lineage holder in the Tibetan Karma Kagyü and Nyingma lineages. On August 25, 1990, Ösel Tendzin died in San Francisco,...
) as his dharma heir, and in a formal ceremony on August 22, 1976, Trungpa appointed Rich as Dorje Gyaltsap, Vajra Regent, and Director of the First Class of Vajradhatu. As described in the 1977 article in "Garuda V", which also reproduces the proclamation (signed by Trungpa XI and Karmapa
Karmapa
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....
XVI), Trungpa empowered Thomas Rich "as his regent and as a holder of the Kagyu
Kagyu
The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...
and Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
lineages". Trungpa further stated "There is the possibility that members of the sangha, Western people, can take over from the Tibetans".
Following Trungpa's death, senior Kagyu lineage holder Tai Situ Rinpoche recommended that he himself take over leadership of Vajradhatu in conjunction with Trungpa's half brother Damchu Tenphel Rinpoche, who resided in Tibet. Tenzin declined the offer, and assumed leadership of the organization until his own death shortly thereafter, in 1990 of AIDS, amid controversy over admissions that he had unprotected sex with students while knowing he had AIDS. Ösel Tendzin infected at least one male student with HIV; the young man later died of AIDS.
Transition to Shambhala International
After the death of Ösel Tendzin, Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo (Trungpa's eldest son, then known as "the Sawang," now Sakyong Mipham RinpocheSakyong Mipham Rinpoche
Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, Jampal Trinley Dradul is the head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage and Shambhala International, a worldwide network of urban Buddhist meditation centers, retreat centers, monasteries, a university, and other enterprises, founded by his father, the Buddhist teacher...
) became the new spiritual head. The community had been deeply divided and in distress over the events surrounding Osel Tendzin's death, and repeatedly turned to the elder statesmen of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages for guidance. The succession of Osel Randrol was approved by the heads of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, who encouraged the community to persevere. Jamgon Kongtrul
Jamgon Kongtrul
Jamgön Kongtrül is a name of a prominent line of Tibetan Buddhist teachers , primarily identified with the first Jamgon Kongtrul, but also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations , to date....
the third, one of the four regents of the Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...
lineage in the period when the Karmapa had yet to be recognized, issued a statement that "His Holiness
In February 2000, restated articles of incorporation were signed, officially changing the name from Vajradhatu to Shambhala International. The change of name, which began informally with the Sakyong Mipham's assumption of leadership in 1990, reflected his approach of integrating the Shambhala teachings within Buddhism and making them the unifing principle of a Shambhala Buddhist sangha. This transition enabled the organization to avoid lawsuits and consequent financial ruin.
External links
- Chronicles Radio:Ken Green How Chogyam Trungpa created Vajradhatu and Shambhala society and government
- The Chronicle Project:TCS Record of official correspondence between Vajradhatu and Tibetan Buddhist lineage holders ca 1990
- Karmê Chöling The first Vajradhatu practice center (Vermont)
- Karma Dzong The first major urban practice center (Colorado)