Sakyong Mipham

To the Shambhala Community:

I write to you with great sadness, tenderness, and a mind of self-reflection.

It is my wish for you to know that in my past there have been times when I have engaged in relationships with women in the Shambhala community. I have recently learned that some of these women have shared experiences of feeling harmed as a result of these relationships. I am now making a public apology.

In addition, I would like you to know that over the years, I have apologized personally to people who have expressed feeling harmed by my conduct, including some of those who have recently shared their stories. I have also engaged in mediation and healing practices with those who have felt harmed. Thus I have been, and will continue to be, committed to healing these wounds.

As the lineage holder of Shambhala, I want to demonstrate how we can move toward a culture of kindness in line with our legacy of teachings. Kindness can sometimes begin with acknowledging the ways we have harmed others, even if we did not intend to do so. Thus, with the strong support of my wife, the Sakyong Wangmo, I am now entering a period of self-reflection and listening. I have worked with, and at times struggled with, how to be a teacher and a human being. I have found that there is no easy solution to navigating these responsibilities. Like all of you, I am human and on the path. It is important to me that you know I am here, continuing to do my best.

Above all, it is important to me that we continue to create a caring community where harm does not occur. It is my fervent wish that we be a community that relates to each other with compassion and kindness, so I have offered teachings and written practices to support such a culture. I want to encourage our community to completely immerse itself in caring and kindness. This is not easy work, and we cannot give up on each other. For me, it always comes back to feeling my own heart, my own humanity, and my own genuineness. It is with this feeling that I express to all of you my deep love and appreciation. I am committed to engaging in this process with you.

With love,

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

To the Noble Shambhala Community,

I write to you today with an open and tender heart. We are going through a period of deep reflection as well as pain, confusion, and hurt. This deep reflection is possible because of the bravery and courage of individuals who have experienced harm or alienation within our community. It has brought to light how we still have much healing to do and how we still have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us in creating a more just, understanding, sensitive, and strong community, where we all feel respected, heard, safe, and dignified.

We all need to reflect on how our own actions might have harmed others, and how we might better conduct ourselves, now and in the future, so we can fully participate in maturing our community.  We are so fortunate to have the teachings of Shambhala warriorship. Now we must embody and manifest them—personally, interpersonally, and socially. The future of our community depends on conducting ourselves according to the principles we hold so dear.

I have personally been contemplating kindness, and I feel it is time for our community to genuinely work with it as a direct method of addressing deep social issues. I encourage you all to participate in any way you can, even beginning with just a short contemplation on how to be kinder. While it may seem simplistic, it will take all of us touching our own kindness in order to create a strong, caring, and thriving community.

In the past, our community has worked with difficult issues, leading to deeper understanding and harmony. Can we really hear others, even when it is difficult, and remain in a space of kindness and open-heartedness? In order to go forward, we need to mix our humanness with our deep wisdom. Kindness is the way to accomplish this.

It is my wish for you to know that I am committed to engaging in this important work with you. I encourage you to engage in the principles of warriorship personally and to inspire others to do the same. May we continue to work together on this journey of community, bravery, deep listening, and especially kindness.

Yours with a heart of kindness,

The Sakyong

In April, the Sakyong will offer further teachings to the Shambhala community on topics of harm and healing.