Buddhist group gathering at Dal
Kneeling piously on prayer mats, about 100 people chant harmoniously as a gong chimes thrice. With heads bowed towards a provisional shrine, the participants are not just meditating, but learning how to become better leaders.
The King of Shambhala, Sakyong Mipham Rinpocje, attended the gathering. Students and Haligonians alike came to partake in the ceremonies.
Held from Oct. 3 to 6 on the second floor of the SUB, the Kampala Governance Gathering brought together individuals interested in studying Shambhala – a type of Buddhism – for the purpose of enhancing their leadership abilities.
Shambhala adds its own twist to the essential Buddhist perspective that a person’s nature is egoless and compassionate.Practitioners believe that human nature is inherently good, and focuses heavily on an aspiration to make one’s society peaceful and genuinely good.
Michael Nuschke, a Halifax financial adviser who was at the conference, explains that the goal of Shambhala is to “help people connect with what we call their basic goodness, and also how that principle can be used to inspire and enlighten society.”
Halifax became a world center for the practice in 1986 when the King of Shambhala at the time, Trungpa Rinpoche, moved the international headquarters here from Colorado.
When he relocated, a large number of his disciples followed. Now, in addition to having their headquarters on Tower Road, there is also a Shambhala school (going from the primary grades through high school) on Gottingen Street.
Keenan Brown’s parents were among the followers of Trungpa Rinpoche when he relocated from Colorado. He is now a leader in the Halifax Shambhala community, and explains the goals of the conference. “We rouse the confidence and courage to work with our life in a way that we can inspire people to their true nature and create a good society,” he says.
He explains that the event should also instill a sense of forward vision in the participants. While these skills may help business leaders such as Nuschke, Brown estimates that there are also about a dozen college and university students at the conference.
Among participants arriving from overseas was Sophie Maclaren, who flew in from Germany. Back home, she leads meditation retreats for people in their 20s and 30s, and believes that Shambhala activities teach very practical communication skills.
“It means genuinely listening to another human being without planning what you’re going to say or thinking about something completely different,” she says. “Essentially genuinely connecting with someone and speaking from your heart.”
However, Maclaren says she is taking something greater from the conference than just communication: inspiration. “Inspiration that there are a lot of people who are really interested in doing something beneficial for the world, and that there are tools and paths to help them do that.”
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