One of Shambhala Buddhism’s most prominent figures announced she’s stepping down as a senior teacher. Pema Chödrön, best-selling author and Buddhist nun, has had a decades-long association with Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton. She sent a letter to the Shambhala board announcing her resignation from her position as an acharya, then shared it more broadly […]
Shambhala
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New report in Shambhala investigation sheds little light
This time of year is usually one of celebration for Shambhalians. Shambhala Day coincides with the Tibetan new year—February 5, this year. The day is marked by celebrations around the world, and the community’s leader, known as sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, is usually at home in Halifax or Boulder, Colorado, to address his international community. This […]
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Dartmouth Shambhala group downsizes
The Dartmouth Shambhala Meditation Group is giving up its rented space at the MacPhee Centre for Creative Learning and will no longer regularly bring in teachers to address a dwindling group of participants, says Margaret Angus, the group’s coordinator. Angus has been with the group since it was established in 2006. She remembers a more […]
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Shambhala financial show cash-flow problem
A chartered accountant in Halifax with experience in the finances of religious institutions sees cause for concern in the latest financial update from Shambhala Global Services to its membership The late-September financial report is “not saying the barn is on fire and the fire is getting worse every minute,” says Andrew Murphy. “But there is […]
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Clouds over Buddhist Project Sunshine
Senior Shambhala leaders are now speaking out against Buddhist Project Sunshine and the multiple reports of sexual abuse that have been published over the past several months. The third report in that series of grassroots investigations, which documents several allegations of sexual assault over a period of decades, arrived on August 23 in a blaze […]
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How many knew about Shambhala abuses?
The third report from Buddhist Project Sunshine was released this week, containing new allegations of sexual assault committed by Shambhala Buddhism’s spiritual leader and head, Osel Mukpo, known as Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. And as in earlier Project Sunshine reports, there’s mounting evidence the sakyong’s inner circle—including Shambhala’s governing body, the Kalapa Council—knew of Mukpo’s sexual […]
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Unanswered questions about Shambhala investigation
Red flags are waving for two women whose stories are in the Buddhism Project Sunshine reports, and for the retired lawyer who carried out the investigations into allegations of abuse and sexual assault from Shambhala Buddhism’s spiritual leader, Osel Mukpo, known as Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. All three are asking questions about what Shambhala International calls […]
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Portrait of the sakyong as a fallen man
Correction: This story originally stated the Shambhala School is owned by Shambhala International. While the two organizations share a name, they are not affiliated. The story has been updated to reflect this. Rhonda Newcombe can’t look her guru in the eye. There are a couple reasons for that, chief among them the allegations against Sakyong […]
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Graphic new details emerge about Shambhala sexual assault
Allegations of a sexual assault committed 16 years ago by spiritual leader Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is credible, say investigators, and there’s corroborating evidence the Shambhala leadership knew of the incident at the time. An update released this week by Project Sunshine investigators contains new details on an attempted rape that is alleged to have taken […]