Articles About Shambhala Mountain Center
Buddhist Leader Goes The Distance
Daily Camera - October 24, 2005
By Mike Sandrock
As I run through the "Valley of Death" on this warm August morning, I was glad to have Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Misty Cech and several other runners a step ahead of me. We were running on a dirt road winding through pine forests and lush meadows in the rolling hill country northwest of Fort Collins, heading toward the finish of a 50K run that would end at the Great Stupa at the Shambhala Mountain Center.
Sakyong Mipham is the renowned teacher and spiritual leader of the international Shambhala community, and, since the publication of "Turning Your Mind Into an Ally" in 2004, a best-selling author. He has also turned into a serious marathoner since taking up running just over three years ago, as I found out during this run.
It was the inaugural Great Stupa Run, and there are tentative plans to hold a shorter trail race at the mountain retreat next summer.
"I enjoy running," the Sakyong (an honorary Tibetan term meaning "Earth Protector") said as we started out just past 5 a.m. "We wanted to do a race longer than the marathon distance before New York. But the schedule did not work out, and we decided to hold our own 50K."
On Nov. 6 in New York City, the Sakyong will run his fourth marathon, in part to raise money for the Konchok Foundation, which wants to rebuild a monastic and education center in Tibet's Surmang Valley. Cech, a local yoga instructor and naturopath, as well as an excellent runner, will accompany him in New York, along with her husband, Eric, and training partners Nick Trautz and Jon Pratt.
Sakyong Mipham, 42, has a personal best of 3 hours, 9 minutes in the marathon, which he ran in Edmonton last year. He also has completed California's Big Sur Marathon and the venerable Boston Marathon. The Sakyong is well-known in Boulder because of his position as head of Shambhala and because his father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founded Naropa University and is credited with helping bring Tibetan Buddhism to the West.
On this long morning run, we are not talking about Buddhist spirituality, however, but rather running and writing. The Sakyong's second book, "Ruling Your World: Ancient Strategies for Modern Life" (Morgan Books), is being released this week, and on Friday, he kicks off a national book tour with a public talk at the United Methodist Church of Boulder.
IF YOU GO
WHAT •Public talk and book signing by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
WHEN •7 p.m. Friday
WHERE •First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce St.
COST •$10; $12 at door
DETAILS •(303) 444-0190
"This is a beautiful loop," the Sakyong says as we head out in the early-morning darkness. "We did a 23-mile run here. It climbs to 9,000 feet and has some wonderful views. We started at 6 (a.m.) on that run, and it was very hot by the end. So we wanted to start earlier today."
The run is indeed beautiful. We head off at a surpassingly solid pace, and as we run along, the sky brightens as the sunrise climbs over the hills to the east. By 16 miles, through a long valley called jokingly (I think) the "Valley of Death," I am feeling that gradual fatigue that sneaks unannounced into leg muscles that are working past their limit, and I am glad we started in the cold and dark of the early morning.
The run was like long runs everywhere, with small talk, digressions, pit stops and breaks to adjust shoes. The difference from most long runs was the excellent support crew we had, with water, oranges and energy drinks appearing whenever one of us raised a hand.
Slowly, I found myself falling off the back of the pack, running along with Eric. Watching Sakyong Mipham run ahead of us, he says, "Rinpoche is one of those extremely talented individuals. He's been running only a short time and is a natural at it."
Waylon Lewis, publisher of the Boulder-based magazine Elephant, agrees. Lewis has known Sakyong Mipham, who was born in India and grew up in part in Boulder, since they were children.
"The Sakyong has been an athlete since he was a kid," Lewis said. "He has at various times excelled at Zen archery, weightlifting, horsemanship and golf. It was a matter of time before he ran into running, so to speak."
Just past 20 miles, near the small town of Red Feather Lakes, I realize I will not make the entire 50K. It is a happy realization, as I know I will be able to sit down soon, and finally, at 22 miles after a steep downhill, I am forced to a walk, then a stop.
When I gratefully pile into the support vehicle and gobble down oranges, the Sakyong's form has not changed. He is still smooth and efficient, reminding me of Toshihiko Seko, the great Japanese marathoner. We follow the runners in the car, and as they make the final climb toward the Great Stupa and the end of their nearly 32-mile run, both sides of the dirt road are lined with guests and teachers from the Shambhala Center.
A chant of "KI KI, SO SO!" rises up from the spectators lining the road, part of the traditional Tibetan victory cry, Lewis later explains. The chant goes on as the runners pass by, sending a chill up my spine. At the Stupa, I jump out and join the runners and the many cheering children, and we all circle the Stupa.
The Sakyong runs in with a flag, and when he finishes, he takes a scarf and tosses it over the arm of the giant Buddha that fills much of the Stupa's inner space. After accepting congratulations, the Sakyong leaves. The next time I see him, he is out of running clothes and sitting dignified in the orange and red brocade that signify his position as head of Shambhala.
Listening to him speak, it is clear that Sakyong Mipham is a spiritual leader for the 21st century, someone with centuries of Tibetan Buddhist teaching and traditions behind him (In fact, he is considered the incarnation of Mipham the Great, called by Elephant's Lewis "Tibet's Leonardo da Vinci"), yet well-versed in the modern world. He is even a Broncos fan.
Author and scholar, poet and teacher, it is nice that the Sakyong is also a long distance runner. What better person to show us how to bring together mind and body in these troubled times than a meditation master turned marathoner?
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