Conference Program

Lungs for the Vidyadhara’s Avalokiteshvara terma

Larry Mermelstein will be offering the lungs (reading transmission) for the Vidyadhara’s Avalokiteshvara terma: “The Sadhana of Nonmeditation: A Practice of No Activity, Drawn from The Heart Treasure of Samantabhadra” and “Krodhikali (black Vajrayogini)” at the Vienna Shambhala Center.

For Vajrayana  students. Further requirement:
Registration – office@trungpa2020vienna.org

Summer Night Concert at Schönbrunn Palace

Visitors may be interested in attending Vienna’s Summer Night Concert at Schönbrunn Palace. Please be aware, over 10,000 people attend this free event, and admission and security lines can be long.   https://www.sommernachtskonzert.at

Day 1 – Friday May, 22

Morning Sitting 

Regular morning meditation at the Shambhala Center Vienna, 5 to 10 minutes walk from conference venue.

Welcome address 

by the Austrian Buddhist Union President, Otto Pichlhöfer & Carolyn Gimian

Keynote address: Alexandre Jollien

Break

Panel #1: Bringing Dharma to the West and the Work of CTR

• How did CTR’s use of language and terminologies give fresh connotations to existing English words, such as ego, egolessness, boredom, basic goodness, spiritual materialism, idiot compassion? How did it connect with the Western mind and psychology? How has this influenced our understanding of traditional dharma?
• What were CTR’s unique pedagogies? (imagery, poetic language, elocution, encouragement towards personal experience, dharma arts, less emphasis on traditional highly-structured systematized teachings/ debates, etc.)
• How were CTR’s classical training apparent in his teaching pedagogies?
• How were CTR’s teachings mengag (direct instructions)?

Lunch

Panel #2: The Three Lords of Materialism

• Why was the theme of materialism, and especially spiritual materialism, so central to the early teachings of CTR in the West? Are they sufficiently emphasized in current teaching approaches? How can we present these insights for a contemporary audience?
• How do we as individuals deal with the issues of materialism on our paths as practitioners and teachers? Were these teachings on materialism CTR’s approach to understanding emptiness?
• What were CTR’s teachings on the Three Lords of Materialism?
• How can these teachings on materialism be applied to current presentations of Buddhadharma (e.g. the mindfulness movement, Buddhism’s growth in the West, current struggle in various western sanghas?)

Break

Individual talk: Judith Simmer Brown

How did Trungpa Rinpoche understand the sustainability of the transmission of the Buddhadharma to the West? Throughout history, as Buddhism became established within new lands and cultures, certain criteria such as establishment of lineage and Dharma heirs, local patronage, a strong monastic tradition, and deep engagement in scriptural study, ensured the flourishing of Buddhism within these new environments. What was Trungpa Rinpoche’s understanding of the challenges that Buddhism would face in the modern Western world? As the West lacks many of these traditional support criteria, what is the role of the individual practitioner? What forms can sangha take in a modern, technically-connected, global society?

Live streaming Q&A with Boulder Shambhala Center 

Day 2 – Saturday May, 23

Morning Sitting

Regular morning meditation at the Shambhala Center Vienna, 5 to 10 minutes walk from the conference venue.

Individual talk: Lady Diana Mukpo

How are the Shambhala teachings, including Shambhala household, relevant in current times? What is needed to ensure the continuation of Trungpa Rinpoche’s legacy?

Break

Panel #3: Vajrayana Buddhism in the West

• How did CTR present the Vajrayana to his students? At what point on the path? How did CTR integrate the Mahamudra and Mahati views? How did he teach samaya? Looking back, what worked, what did not work?
• Have there been misunderstandings in the Guru Principle as it has been transmitted to the West? How do tacit perceptions of hierarchy in the Western world influence the idea of teacher-student relationship? Is it a viable teaching method for the Vajrayana today? 
• Given some of the struggles seen in Western Vajrayana sanghas today, how do we use the inspiration of Trungpa Rinpoche’s teachings to work with present situations?

Lunch

Panel #4: Real Compassion in the Real World

• How can we apply Trungpa Rinpoche’s teachings on compassion and society towards today’s social issues, such as the environment, gender, race, sexual misconduct, inequality, power? 
• Are the teachings on natural hierarchy, lha, nyen, and lu, compatible with current socio-political realities?
• Are CTR’s teachings on sacred world relevant to the creation of a compassionate society?

Break

Individual talk: Rigdzin Shikpo

Rigdzin Shikpo met Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1965 and was one of the Vidhyadhara’s earliest students. He has been teaching within the Mahayana and Dzogchen traditions for nearly 50 years. Rigdzin Shikpo will discuss CTR’s early teachings and his unique presentations of and the interaction between the Dzogchen and Mahamudra traditions. (An interview with Larry Mermelstein).

Live streaming Q&A with Boulder Shambhala Center 

Evening social event with conference speakers and participants

Day 3 – Sunday May, 24

Morning Sitting

Regular morning meditation at the Shambhala Center Vienna, 5 to 10 minutes walk from the conference venue.

Individual talk: Fabrice Midal

Break

Panel #5: Meditation and Mindfulness

• How can CTR’s teachings contribute to current discourses on the concept/ construct of mindfulness? What are the commonalities and differences between CTR’s approaches to meditation and approaches within the current mindfulness movement?
• Trungpa Rinpoche taught that the sitting practice of Shamatha- Vipashyana meditation was a training ground for a socially responsible society. How can CTR’s teachings be applied to increasing general interest in meditation’s societal applications? 
• How does directly working with perceptions and developing sacred-outlook foster an ethical engagement with society and the environment?
• How can the one-month sitting practice of dathün be a basic training for any spiritual path?

Lunch

Panel:  Current Initiatives

• Chogyam Trungpa Institute at Naropa:  Carolyn Gimian, Ryan Jones
• 10-15 minute video demonstration
• Surmang hearing lineage: Ryan Jones
• Profound Treasury Retreats: Judy Lief 
• Dathun (Bir, Lerab Ling): Larry Mermelstein

Break

Panel #6:  Teaching Chogyam Trungpa Today

• How do we continue to present and represent the teachings of CTR in today’s society? (within the Shambhala tradition, the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, to other sanghas, to society at large?)
• What teachings are the most relevant?
• What are the needs of audiences today? Who are these audiences? How do the teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche resonate with these various audiences and needs?