About Our Community
The Halifax Shambhala Meditation Centre
The Journey Here
Shambhala in Halifax
Founded in 1983, the Halifax Shambhala Centre is part of international community of urban and rural meditation centres. We offer public meditation and a variety of educational, artistic, cultural, family and community activities.
Everyone is welcome at the centre. Our intent is to help people of all traditions discover their inherent sanity, gentleness and humour. We are committed to offering teachings on meditation with the view of fundamental worthiness, and goodness.
We recognize and respectfully acknowledge that the Halifax Shambhala Centre is located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. We are all beneficiaries of the Peace and Friendship Treaties with the Mi’kmaq First Nation, and we are all Treaty People.
AT THE HEART OF EVERY STEP WE TAKE
Our Mission
The Halifax Shambhala Centre celebrates the inherent goodness of humanity and the natural world, and provides opportunities for everyone to practice the Buddhist teachings of the Kagyu, Nyingma, and Shambhala traditions.
Our community gathers around Shambhala vision: that we all share a fundamental nature of basic goodness. This nature can be brought into daily life so that it radiates out to family, friends, community, and society.
In this time of great difficulty for ourselves, society, and the planet, we practice together to discover our innate kindness and confidence, so that we can help create compassionate, sustainable, and just human societies.
Our Code of Conduct
The Shambhala Code of Conduct applies to everyone in Shambhala, and at every activity sponsored by Shambhala. The Code of Conduct is an offering by and for the community, as a collective commitment to the safe, supportive, and respectful environment we seek to establish and maintain for ourselves and provide for our guests.
Please familiarize yourself with these policies and resources, located on the Code of Conduct Hub Website. If you have a concern about something you have experienced in Shambhala, please read “What to do if you have a concern.”
Meet the People Supporting the Halifax Shambhala Centre
Our Team
Deborah
Centre Director
While decision-making at the Centre is a shared community responsibility, Deborah represents the beating heart of the community. She was a close student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who inspired her always-evident dedication to helping others experience their own basic goodness.
Nyima
Media director
In Tibetan, “Nyima” is the word for “Sun,” and this Nyima helps the Centre radiate its events throughout Halifax and everywhere online.
Sam
Facilities manager
Second-generation Shambhalian with a background in architecture and construction; lover of fine wool hats. And playful – obviously.
Gus
Finance director
A long-time student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche who recently returned to Nova Scotia, Gus is helping the Shambhala Centre to flourish by combining deep entrepreneurial knowledge and steady, trustworthy gentleness.
Jane
Front desk
One of the most dedicated and regular volunteers, Jane brings a wealth of warmth, humour, and friendly precision to the Centre during her extended stay in Halifax from her homeland of Ukraine.
Plan Your Visit
directions, public transit, and parking
We are located walking distance from downtown Halifax, near several main bus routes, including the 1, 4, 7a, 7b, 10, & 29.
Parking directly in front of the Centre is currently only legal after 6pm and on weekends, as dictated by the City. We are working to relax these restrictions. On-street parking can be found in the surrounding area.
What to bring and what not to bring
Meditation is easiest when you’re wearing clothes that you feel comfortable moving in and sitting in – be that in a chair or on a meditation cushion.
We strive to be a scent-free environment. In order to care for community members with serious allergies, please do not use products with ingredients like “fragrance,” “parfum,” or other indications of scents.
Please bring your travel mug and/or your water bottle. Help our community avoid single-use plastic bottles, please.
Shambhala Centre, 1084, Tower Road, South End, Halifax, Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, B3H 2Y5, Canada
Physical Accessibility
The building is wheelchair accessible from a ramp on the right-hand (North) side of the building. Ring the side doorbell and someone will open the door from the inside.
Accessible, gendered washrooms can be accessed by an elevator to the lower floor.
If you need onsite parking relating to a physical accommodation, like wheelchair access, please contact the Centre ahead of time to make arrangements.
Online Accessibility
Many of the classes, programs, and events at the Centre are offered online. You can filter the list of event or the calendar to show only online and hybrid events.