Envisioning a New Vancouver Shambhala Centre

The Inspiration

The inspiration to relocate the Vancouver Shambhala Centre comes from recognizing that we have an important role to play in the presentation and continuation of the Shambhala Buddhist teachings. We have been inspired and nurtured by two eminent teachers, the Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his son and heir Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. They have been steadfast in their commitment to presenting the Shambhala Buddhist traditions and to preserving the wisdom of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Shambhala lineages.

The Vancouver Shambhala Centre is at an exciting crossroads. We have continued to grow and expand as a community and can no longer effectively present the wisdom of our traditions at 3275 Heather. We are too many with too much to offer and have long been bursting at the seams.

The Vancouver Shambhala Centre ReCentering Project is directed at bringing our energy as a sangha together in order for change to take place in an uplifted, Shambhalaian way.

The Process

The VSC ReCentering Project began four years ago with an Appreciate Enquiry (AE) managed by Dale Trimble, Mary Kean and Arden Henley. The AE raised questions about the direction of the centre and its physical space, and organized discussion groups.

In 2009 Member Envisioning Interviews were conducted with each Vancouver Shambhala Centre member. Members were asked for their input about what they feel a new centre would look like, including location, size, amenities, programs offered, etc. Click here to read the full list of member interviews.

We also conducted an Open House Survey, a Members Survey, and created a Membership Map to indicate where the membership lives, and also where non-members who have expressed an interest in the centre live. All of this information appears in the left column of this page.

In the past two years we have continued to gather momentum around the VSC ReCentering Project. We have come to understand that there is much to prepare in order to make this move a reality. Preparation here includes organizing our finances, our membership and member contribution categories, creating fundraising projects, actively looking at possible spaces to lease, organizing our website (now underway) and using it as a mainstay in communicating information to the community, etc.

What You Can Do

Help with our property search! Our current search area is quite broad, including many areas in Vancouver. We recently visited possible properties in the areas between: Main & Cambie, and 1st & 16thAvenues. If you see office space for lease please notify Garry McLean as head of the search team. Please include details of the lease which are usually posted and would include phone#, agent name, etc. Contact Garry at 778-960-9648 (cell) or email samtend(at)gmail(dot)com.

The Inspiration

The Process

What You Can Do

A Moving Inspiration