Spring 2024 Director Newsletter

 

Solar Eclipse 2024

Spring has come around once again…. as it tends to do following winter.  Cycles continue.  The sun rises and sets… and sometimes seems to disappear momentarily. 

And so it is with our Community.  The light is returning.  We have, once again, found the inspiration to offer meditation and profound teachings to others.  And others are taking advantage… and joining us in practice and study.  It is stunning to observe… much like a solar eclipse.

“The point of warriorship is to work personally with our situation NOW, as it is.”

    -Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shambhala:  The Sacred Path of the Warrior

 

Centre Activities

Kabum on Main Shrine

The four volumes of Tibetan texts of the Vidyadhara are now on the

Main Shrine at the Centre.

 

DDL Social

Join the new Management Team of Dorje Denma Ling for a

meet and greet, and cocktails and appetizers.

Sunday, May 5, 2024

5-6:30 pm

Community Room

 

Arts & Culture

India Gailey & Jeff Reilly in concert in the Main Shrine Room earlier in the winter.

 

Art Opening – Hooked Wall Hangings

Come meet the artists, Jane Holden and Norris Eddy, hear about their beautiful creations, and enjoy some bubbly.

Friday, April 17th at 6 pm

Community Room 

 

MELODIES IN THE MIRROR

A Concert with Piper ANDREW FORBES

Accompanied by JUDE PELLEY

June 5 at the Halifax Shambhala Centre

Pot-Luck dinner at 6PM, show at 7PM, $20 suggested

Feel free to bring food &/or drink to share.

 

Global Lhasang

Halifax joined the world-wide Shambhala sangha for the global lhasang, a juniper smoke offering, on the vernal equinox as part of a powerful collective expression of Touching the Earth’s Mission Statement…

“Clearly seeing the need for an urgent response to human caused environmental degradation Touching the Earth warriors invite individual and collective action for the rebalancing, protection and celebration of a healthy living world.”

The short Gesar Lhasang, invoking energy of wakefulness and goodness, was practiced to the four directions circumambulating the Citadel crest on Monday evening, March 20^th.

 

REMEMBRANCE OF RANDY HESTER

To commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Vidyadhara’s Parinirvana, in 2009, Randy Hester and Mark Russell were commissioned by Sakyong Mipham to create a four dignities stained glass piece. This hung at the Halifax Shambhala Centre for years thereafter. It was damaged in the midst of a building remodel. The missing three jewels top piece is currently being refurbished by a Nova Scotia stained glass artisan.

If you would like to make a donation for this project in memory of Randy Hester, who died on April 12^th, please make an online contribution at HSC Donate noting the designation of funds* to this project.

*any extra funds will be donated to the Hester family

 

Overstock Books

The Halifax Shambhala Centre is currently selling a number of overstocked books, from the former Kalapa Publications, for $5 each in the Library area.  Please come and browse during Reception hours (Monday through Friday, 1:30 to 5:30 pm) and take home some new/old reads.

 

Update on Media from Nyima Wimberly

First, “thank you” to the handful of community-members who have been contributing to publicity and A/V at the Centre – as well as everyone who is making that work possible through your donations, volunteering, and other means of support! 

The 8th Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje, was a famously brilliant communicator. Or at least that’s my impression from his self-description in the Sadhana of Mahamudra. Inspired by that passage…

HEY! HEY! HEY!

AH! Mikyö Dorje needs YOU to fill our whole space with amplified sound.

HOH! Joyfully ensure that luminous light is sent out from our TVs.

HUM! As a lord of publicity, help magnetize people and energy to the Centre.

OM! Cleanse our programs of impurities with wrathful tech trouble-shooting.

The community is growing and the centre is busier every month. And with more events come more needs/opportunities to help with:

 1) tech support (managing audio equipment, TVs, and how both of those interface with computers for hybrid and online programming) and 

2) publicity (working with a team to create and distribute advertising and other communications, from physical posters to social media posts).

As Avalokiteshvara says, “Many hands make light work.”

If you’re interested in contributing to these efforts or want to know more, please get in touch with me at [email protected]

In future newsletters, I’m looking forward to laying out a vision for how audio, video, and hybrid programming at the Centre can be simple to operate, un-intrusive, and empowering for us to share the dharma further through greatly-increased online accessibility. 

 

Opportunities Abound….

Umdzes needed for….

• Daily Sitting, 5-6 pm
• Sunday Sitting
• Thursday Meditation & Discussion

Volunteers needed for….

• Vajrayogini Abhisheka: registration (May 30^th); set-up (May 29, 30); participant hospitality (May 31-June 4)
• Sunday Sitting
• Thursday Meditation & Discussion
• Midsummer’s Day – ideas, location, coordination, etc.
• Tech support & publicity teams – see above “Update on Media” section.

Satellite Staff* – longer term positions with benefits, including great merit.

• Kitchen Magician: Overall stewardship of the kitchen and the good food project and will….
  • purchase food regularly for all programs and the Centre
  • label and store all program food
  • maintain some kind of ‘order’ in the kitchen for ease of use
  • work with local suppliers to fill food needs

        If your passion is to reduce food expenses, reduce program coordinator tasks, streamline food purchasing and storage, increase kitchen efficiency, increase nutritional value of food served, and decrease waste, this is the job for  you! 

• Garden Goddess: An old Chinese proverb says “If you want to be happy for a day, get drunk; to be happy for a month get married; to be happy for a lifetime, be a gardener”.  Here is your chance! 
  
  The Tower Road property needs one or more gardeners to maintain and/or develop the front flower beds and three small lawn areas, and to enjoy the terraced garden behind the building where there are blueberries, haskapberries, white currants, a carpet of strawberries, various herbs and butterfly plants.  A shed houses gardening tools and there is a small hoop tunnel for overwintering hardy perennials. 
  
  Routine chores include watering, weeding, lawn mowing and hedge pruning.  There is also opportunity for growing vegetables of your choice in 2 small plots at the back – potatoes, squash, peas, beans, and cherry tomatoes have all been successful.  
  
  The time required varies seasonally from near zero December to April to 2-3 hours for a few days a week July through September. 
  
  
• Shrine Keeper: Regular maintenance and cleaning of shrines, refilling and ordering of shrine supplies; 2-3 three hours bi-weekly (unless it is a very busy time, then weekly might be necessary).

*As HSC satellite staff, you will enjoy all the HSC programming you like at no cost (though there is the rare exception).

This is your Centre.  Please come along.

For more information, contact Deborah Luscomb at [email protected].