Within the series of meetings organized inter- by Elettra at the Circle of Cousins \u200b\u200bMontevecchio, the day of 9 March was dedicated to the presentation of the Shambhala community. We publish here below the report written by Electra.
Rapporteur of the meeting was Prof. Daniela Bollini, leader of the Shambhala Community in the canton of Ticino, who came from Switzerland to make us listen to his teachings.
Its report, lucid and clear as well as emotionally engaging, has very interested in our many speakers.
The fundamental goal of this approach, such as Prof. Bollini has been explained, is to create an "enlightened society", based on peaceful and wise interaction and collaboration of its members.
Prof. Bollini began to distinguish companies who are planning to create their own well-being according to a pseudo-materialist (eg, gross domestic product or the degree of wealth distribution) and those which are proposed and implement different destinations , whose main measure he described as "gross national happiness." From this point of view, it seems that Denmark and Switzerland are the 1st and 2nd place in the world, the U.S. and Italy at 15 ° to 26 °, while a small Himalayan country, Bhutan, although has high rates of illiteracy and poverty, it seems overcome by this point of view most European countries, entering 8th place. Perhaps their secret, says the rapporteur, is the fact that their Buddhist belief has created a high sense of responsibility and right action-and hence a greater welfare-in the belief that, according to the principle of karma, all their actions, good or bad, positive or negative result in unavoidable.
why this country is now considered by some as the modern heir of Shambhala, namely that of an ancient Himalayan kingdom, about 600 years before Christ, was able to create an enlightened society, following the direct instruction given by the Buddha to his sovereign . Some say that such is the kingdom only created a mythical level, others who really existed, but has dissolved when it reached the highest level of illumination, and others that it is still there today, although we are not able to perceive it (this assumption that, at least on a symbolic level , is the closest to the deep Buddhist spirit). Obviously
enlightened society today does not mean a utopian kingdom free of any problem, but a community where problems exist, but are addressed and resolved with a high degree of wisdom.
the historical level, the Shambhala teachings were introduced to the West in recent times by Ghogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who was born in Tibet in 1939, recognized as a reincarnation of the 11th Trungpa Tulku and then trained from an early age to be a spiritual and political leader, but then forced to flee in 1959, following the invasion and persecution in China, as indeed happened at the same Dalai Lama .
Welcomed at first in India in 1963 went to study at Oxford with a scholarship, founded in 1966 in Scotland a Buddhist meditation center frequented by university students, before which he is aware of the difficulty of communicating with Western the deep heart of Buddhist teachings. After a tragic car accident that causes partial paralysis, is to interpret this incident as a powerful message change imposed from the phenomenal world. He decided to leave England and moved to the USA, where he founded a youth center that is in contact with all the challenge of American beat generation, with new ideals of free sex, drugs, and with the joints in the world with red-hot and ferment in the early seventies. E 'land is not easy, but that will prove most fertile part of old Europe to his teachings that he will continue until death. Begins to reflect and discuss with his students on whether to teach the practice of meditation not only to Buddhist practitioners, but in a secular way, to everyone so that everyone can benefit, in terms of mindfulness and awareness, they are atheists, Christians or other believers.
The Shambhala teachings are then connected to Buddhism at a deep level, but also constitute a current secular, shared by all irrespective of their creed.
'83 are presented for the first time in Europe the 5 levels of Shambhala Meditation, known in Italy only since the mid 90's.
An enlightened society can not be achieved except through the progressive lighting of its individual components.
Progressive Lighting is a progressive discovery of his "basic goodness", a quality that does not belong only to Christ, the Buddha or the great Illuminati, but that is inherent in the mind of each of us as human beings. It is the ability of kindness, compassion, listening, affection, love, appreciation of beauty and everything that the world and offer life, beyond the negative aspects: it is to appreciate the
yellow yellow The
rossito red ... It 's a natural state of mind, who can be contacted by each of us in varying degrees and in various situations, such as in moments of emotion caused by music or a beautiful work of art, from a smile or a happy event.
Our mind has the ability to connect with the basic goodness not through thinking or reasoning, but in relaxation, "letting be" living in those times without losing them in a hurry or anxiety of everyday life.
This is a huge mental space that is deep within ourselves and belongs to everyone, regardless of social status, skin color or degree of culture, because it is a deeply human quality.
But then, asks Prof. Bollini, why not experience the basic goodness constantly? Shambhala
we replied that we tend to avoid such an experience for a series of thought patterns that we have become slaves to the habit and that we allow. We create a super- complex defenses in the terminology of Shambhala are called "cocoon", a kind of small hut that envelops us in a dark and stuffy, but that also seems to protect us from our fears and deepest fear is that in regard to our own goodness fundamental fear that makes us perceive as extremely dangerous to expose ourselves to others, give birth to our hearts, our feelings and our emotions. We avoid direct contact with our space refuge deeper into superficiality, streamlining or other habitual patterns that seem to protect us defensive, but in reality we are losing touch with the best part of ourselves. How
contacted, beyond the small and sporadic flash yet we allow ourselves?
The method is indicated by Shambhala meditation, namely the concentration of mind on your breathing, to slow down and gradually tame the tumultuous split and bustle of our daily thoughts that are like clouds that obscure the rising sun , that is the source of our vitality and energy. East of the Sun is in fact a powerful symbol of Shambhala, and is just the natural life force energy and basic goodness inherent in all and each of us.
In meditation - like last time we had also explained the Community of Christian Meditation - it is not forcibly suppress thoughts, but let them go with kindness, after they have been intimately known, to return to our concentration on the breath. And 'how to put aside our mindsets, our anxieties and our daily involvement to finally make room for something larger and larger, which is precisely our deep inner space that unites us all.
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