Rigden Abhisheka

The Rigden Abisheka enters qualified students into the highest level of the Shambhala teachings.

The Rigden Abhisheka enters qualified students into the highest level of the Shambhala teachings expressed in the Druk Sakyong’s terma, The Scorpion Seal of the Golden Sun, from which The Roar of the Werma and the Scorpion Seal retreat are drawn. The Primordial Rigden ngöndro is the ngöndro for receiving the Rigden abhisheka.

In the same way that we received the abhisheka for the Sadhana of Mahamudra after many years of practicing it, we are now receiving the abhisheka for the Werma Sadhana in order to more fully accomplish the practice and fulfill our aspirations for enlightened society. This abhisheka puts the focus for realizing enlightened society squarely in the center of our Shambhala Buddhist practices.

Prior to the summer of 2005, the Rigden Abhisheka had only been given once. Immediately after the Druk Sakyong received the Scorpion Seal text, he bestowed it upon the current Sakyong, and then had the Sakyong bestow it back upon him. The Sakyong warmly invites Shambhala Buddhist practitioners to attend the Rigden Abhisheka, which is very close to his heart and the heart of the Druk Sakyong.

Prerequisites: See www.shambhala.org/program/RA/.

Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche is the head of the Shambhala lineage. An incarnation of Mipham the Great, he is also the dharma heir and son of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shambhala Mountain’s founder. He is the spiritual director of Shambhala, a global network of meditation and retreat centers, and the author of the best-selling books Turning the Mind into an Ally and Ruling Your World. Rinpoche’s background embraces both Eastern and Western cultures. Born in Bodhgaya, India, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment, he grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and received his spiritual training from his father and other distinguished lamas.

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Applying: If you are interested in attending Rigden Abhisheka you must apply for and be accepted into the program. For information and an application, please visit the Rigden Abhisheka web site. After you have been accepted register below with Shambhala Mountain Center.

Registration: Acceptance alone does NOT guarantee your place in the program. You must also register with Shambhala Mountain Center to reserve your place. Because we expect that this program will fill, students may be accepted into the program and subsequently not be able to register if the program has reached capacity. Therefore you are strongly encouraged to register immediately upon notification of your acceptance. The payment schedule for the program is as follows: 50% due upon registration with Shambhala Mountain, and 50% due on August 10, 2008.

Cancellation Policy: Since we expect that registration for this program will reach capacity, if you must cancel your registration we request that you do so as soon as possible so we can offer your place to another student. Please review the cancellation information on the registration page carefully as it differs from the general policies for most other programs.

Please arrive between 2 and 5pm. No activities are scheduled for the departure day. View Detailed Program Information.

The Rigden abhisheka empowers one to practice the sadhana of the great drala Rigden [The Roar of the Werma], which culminates in the practice of The Scorpion Seal. It is for those warriors, humble householder yogins, mothers, fathers, children, and monastics of Shambhala who wish to dispel the darkness of the setting sun and bring about the vajrayana Shambhala teachings.

—from the preamble to The Primordial Rigden: The Magical Heart of Shambhala, by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche