The first principle of Shambhala is that everyone has a primordial nature of goodness. Humanity is basically good.Learning to relax with the goodness in our hearts, we will become more skilled at recognizing it everywhere else. ~Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Treatise on Enlightened Society

Who am I?… How can I help?… What is real?…

These questions are universal. They have arisen in some form across cultures and traditions throughout human history. The Basic Goodness Retreat is a three-part journey that explores each of these questions in the format of an intensive study and practice retreat.

Meant for new and seasoned meditators alike, the Basic Goodness series introduces the view of Shambhala experientially. Participants receive teachings and support for exploring their present experience—with gentle curiosity and appreciation. From that starting point one can discover what it is to be fully human.

Each part of the program is defined by a question and a theme, which are:

Who Am I? - The Basic Goodness of Being Human

The first part of the journey uses this lifelong question “Who Am I?” to enter into a genuine process of contemplative inquiry. In the space of meditation practice and with the help of contemplative and dialogue exercises, we can look at how we relate to ourselves. The notion of basic goodness also means adopting an attitude of gentleness and openness, as opposed to assuming that there is already a basic problem or something to be fixed. Buddhist teachings on how our sense of self arises moment by moment will be offered as reference point.

How Can I Help? - The Basic Goodness of Society

The second part explores our relationship with others and society, and our aspiration to help the world. We look at a Shambhala understanding of society, and what enlightened society may be. We focus on relating with four aspects of society: family and friends, work and professional life, culture and entertainment, money and economy. The traditional mahayana practice of “sending and taking” (tonglen) is introduced.

What Is Real? - The Basic Goodness of Reality

In the third and final part we ask, “What Is Real?” and look at how this question is actually meaningful in our life. Several views from the Shambhala Buddhist tradition are presented including impermanence and interdependence, the mind nature of reality, emptiness and luminosity. There is an emphasis on exploring the sacredness of nature and its elements.

The main reference text is The Shambhala Principle by Sakyong Mipham. The core meditation instructions introduced during the retreat refer to the Feeling/Being/Touching process illustrated in this book.

More information: https://www.karmecholing.org/program?id=6002