Shambhala Center of Madison

Shambhala Center of Madison Welcome to the Shambhala Center of Madison. You have found a place to rest your mind and make friends

Our weekly sitting schedule is:

Drop-in meditation: every Sunday, 10am-12pm
Heart of Recovery: every Sunday, 7-8:30pm

Looking ahead to the coming weeks and months, weโ€™re grateful to share a rich season of practice, study, and community at...
02/08/2026

Looking ahead to the coming weeks and months, weโ€™re grateful to share a rich season of practice, study, and community at the Madison Shambhala Center. Whether youโ€™re joining us regularly or just beginning to explore, youโ€™re warmly invited.

๐Ÿ”ต Foundations of Buddhism Seminar (through Feb 18)
A weekly seminar using recordings from Chรถgyam Trungpaโ€™s Introduction to Buddhism course, offering depth and insight for both new and experienced practitioners.

๐Ÿ”ต Book Group
Our new selection is Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chรถgyam Trungpa.
Next meeting: Saturday, Feb 14 (chapters 3โ€“5).

๐Ÿ”ต End of the Wood Snake Year Practices
Mondays Feb 9 & 16 | 7:00โ€“8:30 PM
Group chanting, reflection, and ways to carry end-of-year practices into daily life.

๐Ÿ”ต Welcoming the Year of the Fire Horse
Community Celebration & Potluck
Sunday, Feb 22 at 12:30 PM, following Sunday morning practice.
Bring a dishโ€”or simply yourself.

๐Ÿ”ต Sadhana of Mahamudra (Online)
March 3 | 7:00โ€“8:30 PM

๐Ÿ”ต New Class: Awakened Mind and Heart
An Introduction to Buddhism
Wednesdays March 11โ€“April 8
Includes guided meditation, teachings, and discussion.

๐Ÿ”ต Refuge & Bodhisattva Vows
Offered in person with Senior Teacher Eve Rosenthal
Weekend of April 22

๐Ÿ“ Madison Shambhala Center
๐Ÿ“ฉ Questions: [email protected]

๐ŸŒ madison.shambhala.org

We look forward to practicing and gathering with you this season.

This week at the Madison Shambhala Center (Feb 8โ€“14)As winter continues, we invite you to practice, reflect, and connect...
02/07/2026

This week at the Madison Shambhala Center (Feb 8โ€“14)
As winter continues, we invite you to practice, reflect, and connect in community. All are welcomeโ€”newcomers and seasoned practitioners alike.

๐Ÿ”ต Sunday Morning Sitting | 10:00 AMโ€“Noon
Come anytime and stay as long as you wish. Meditation instruction is available at 10:00 AM or by emailing the center in advance.

๐Ÿ”ต Heart of Recovery | Sunday at 7:00 PM
A shared support gathering bringing together meditation practice and individual paths of recovery. Open to all, including those exploring the relationship between meditation and recovery from addictive behaviors.

๐Ÿ”ต Foundations of Buddhism | Wednesdays at 7:00 PM (through Feb 18)
A seminar-style class using recordings from Chรถgyam Trungpaโ€™s Introduction to Buddhism course, taught with depth and relevance for both new and experienced practitioners.

๐Ÿ”ต Weekly Dharma Gathering (Open House) | Thursday at 7:00 PM
This weekโ€™s focus from Start Where You Are by Pema Chรถdrรถn:
Chapter 18 โ€” โ€œTaking Responsibility for Your Own Actions.โ€
Guided meditation, reflection, discussion, and tea to follow.

๐Ÿ“ Madison Shambhala Center
๐Ÿ“ฉ Questions or meditation instruction: [email protected]

๐ŸŒ madison.shambhala.org

We hope to see you this week.

Join us TONIGHT for our weekly Open House.Today we will offer a guided compassion practice (tonglen) and a dharma talk w...
10/30/2025

Join us TONIGHT for our weekly Open House.

Today we will offer a guided compassion practice (tonglen) and a dharma talk with discussion. We will follow this with tea and conversation in our community room.

Both new and experienced meditators are encouraged to attend.

We are currently drawing our discussion from "The Wisdom of No Escape" by Pema Chodron.

Everything you need is provided; Just come as you are. There is no fee, though donations are always appreciated.

We hope to see you tonight at 408 South Baldwin Street in Madison.

Learn more here:
https://madison.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=804756

New Volunteer Opportunities at the Madison Shambhala Center!Since 2019, the Madison Shambhala Center (MSC) has weathered...
10/24/2025

New Volunteer Opportunities at the Madison Shambhala Center!

Since 2019, the Madison Shambhala Center (MSC) has weathered great changeโ€”leadership transitions, the pandemic, and a gradual return to in-person programs.

Our center has always relied on the heart and energy of volunteers. From cleaning and communications to teaching and governance, your time and care sustain this community. Weโ€™re deeply grateful.

Now, as our offerings grow again, weโ€™re entering an important new phase of renewal and shared community care. We will be having a meeting this Sunday, October 26 at 12:30 to invite your help.

A Time of Transition

In recent years, Senior Teacher Mark Blumenfeld has taken on many key roles in addition to his teaching โ€”building management, communications, and scheduling. Mark now is stepping back from many of these duties to focus on family, personal practice, teaching and mentoring. We thank him for his extraordinary dedication and leadership. We also thank Lora Wiggins for continuing as center director and Glenn Reinl as finance director and all the other members who we depend on.

Thanks to a generous grant from an anonymous donor, the MSC will be able to fund contracted support to take on many of Mark's current activities for the Center, most notably, in the areas of building maintenance, database/email, and communications.

Beginning in November, Renee and Dalton Cannizzo will help MSC through this transition through a trial period of contract support that complements their ongoing volunteer contributions. Their work will include:
- Overseeing building operations and maintenance
- Managing the Shambhala Database, Email and Communications
- Supporting Practice & Education, led by Renee

Your Help Is Needed!

Even with these supports, MSC still depends on volunteer energy to thrive. We especially need help with various roles and tasks for:
- Staffing Weekly Public Programs
- Postering and Social Media
- Building Maintenance and Cleaning

Please Join Us

We are having a Meeting, Sunday, October 26, 2025, 12:30pm to discuss volunteering. Weโ€™ll talk about how the center runs, and the opportunities to get involved to help shape MSCโ€™s future.

Even if you may not have time to volunteer, consider coming anyway, as itโ€™s also a great opportunity to meet and talk about where the community is heading.

With appreciation and warmth,
The Madison Shambhala Center Leadership Team

10/15/2025

Greetings! Please find below our upcoming programs and offerings. Of special note is an opportunity for Compassion practice (tonglen) instruction and a volunteer meeting.โฃ
โฃ
With some helpful suggestions from James Montgomery, our next store neighbor at the Marquette Hotel, Dalton Cannizzo and Mark Blumenfeld found a way to repair our buildingโ€™s downspout. Weโ€™re hoping that will keep our building dryer, especially next spring.โฃ
โฃ
๐“๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ - ๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฆ: ๐†๐š๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฉ๐šโฃ
Our Radical Wisdom series continues with a new focus each week. Tonight, Wednesday Oct. 15, weโ€™ll explore the story and teachings of Gampopa, a physician who after great personal tragedy became a monk, a student of Milarepa, a great scholar, practitioner and a seminal figure in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. โฃ
โฃ
๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง: Wednesday at 7:00 pmโฃ
๐–๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž: Madison Shambhala Centerโฃ
๐‚๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ: By donation (no need to commit to the full series)โฃ
โฃ
๐“๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ - ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ž๐ง ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐žโฃ
Join us for our Thursday evening Open House as we continue our journey through Pema Chรถdrรถnโ€™s Start Where You Are.โฃ
โฃ
This week weโ€™ll explore Chapter Four: โ€œLet the World Speak for Itselfโ€ โ€” an exploration of how to join the Buddhist view of absolute reality with the relative experience of ordinary human life. Itโ€™s both a challenging and inspiring contemplation of how we can rest in the present moment. โฃ
โฃ
๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง: Thursday at 7:00 pmโฃ
๐–๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž: Madison Shambhala Centerโฃ
๐…๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ: Guided meditation, talk and discussion, followed by tea and conversation in the community roomโฃ
๐‚๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ: By donationโฃ
โฃ
This is a welcoming, discussion-based evening for both newcomers and seasoned practitioners.โฃ
โฃ
๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐Œ๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐’๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐š๐ฆ - ๐๐จ๐จ๐งโฃ
Come at any time and stay and practice as long as you wish. Meditation instruction is available at 10:00 am or by emailing the center in advance. โฃ
โฃ
๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐Ÿ•:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐๐Œ- ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒโฃ
We focus on sharing our experience while bringing together meditation practice with our individual paths of recovery from addiction. The meeting is open to all, including anyone interested in exploring the relationship of meditation to the recovery from addictive behaviors, 12 Step practitioners from any program or Buddhist practitioners from any tradition.โฃ
โฃ
๐”๐ฉ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌโฃ
โฃ
๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”๐ญ๐ก ๐•๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ž๐ซ ๐Œ๐ž๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ โฃ
Inspired to help with the center? Come for our Volunteer Meeting, Sunday, October 26th at 12:30 pm. We'll discuss the volunteer opportunities and needs, and after the meeting concludes we'll offer short training on volunteering for Sunday open meditation roles (timekeeper and gatekeeper) and Thursday night hosting.โฃ
โฃ
๐–๐ž๐๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ‘๐ŸŽ: ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐งโฃ
At the October 30 Wednesday Open House, we will provide instruction in compassion practice (tonglen) in the style of Pema Chodronโ€™s โ€œStart Where You Areโ€. In addition to instruction in tonglen, we will have time for practice and discussion on the challenges to leading a compassionate life.โฃ
โฃ
๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ: ๐†๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ญ ๐„๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ง ๐’๐ฎ๐ง - ๐‡๐ฒ๐›๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ก๐š๐ฅ๐š ๐Ž๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐žโฃ
Great Eastern Sun is the first program in the Sacred Path program that is a gateway to the advanced Shambhala practices. As part of this series you receive the Shambhala Terma texts and you fulfill the study requirements for Warrior Assembly and Werma practice. Completion of Shambhala Training Level V is required. Please contact me if you are interested in exploring this.โฃ
โฃ
๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌโฃ
We are trying out different ways of communicating our programs. Please let me know if you have suggestions for these weekly emails, our page or other ideas for how to keep our community informed. โฃ
โฃ
Questions? Reach out anytime: ๐ฆ๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ง@๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ก๐š๐ฅ๐š.๐จ๐ซ๐ โฃ
We hope to see you soon!โฃ
โฃ
Warm regards,โฃ
Lora Wiggins, Center Director, Madison Shambhala

10/08/2025

We hope you are enjoying the start of our fall weather - with its crisp nights and changing colors. Thank you to everyone who joined in the Sadhana of Mahamudra Feast on Monday night. These quarterly feasts are wonderful opportunities for the community to practice and socialize together. Our next Sadhana of Mahamudra practice will be online, November 5th at 7:00 PM.

๐“๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ - ๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฆ: ๐Œ๐ข๐ฅ๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐š
Our Radical Wisdom series continues with a new focus each week. Tonight, Wednesday Oct. 8, weโ€™ll explore the poignant and inspiring story of Milarepa, who overcame a life filled with mishaps and obstacles to become one of Tibet's most famous meditation masters. His life illustrates the power of devotion, perseverance, and the transformative potential of practice.

WHEN: Wednesday at 7:00 pm
WHERE: Madison Shambhala Center
COST: By donation (no need to commit to the full series)

๐“๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ - ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ž๐ง ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž
Join us for our Thursday evening Open House as we continue our journey through Pema Chรถdrรถnโ€™s Start Where You Are.

This week weโ€™ll explore Chapter Three: โ€œPulling Out the Rugโ€ โ€” an exploration of the gentle but also sometimes challenging path of working with the heart to open completely and spontaneously to the present moment.

WHEN: Thursday at 7:00 pm
WHERE: Madison Shambhala Center
FORMAT: Guided meditation, talk and discussion, followed by tea and conversation in the community room
COST: By donation

This is a welcoming, discussion-based evening for both newcomers and seasoned practitioners.

๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ - ๐…๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž (๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง) ๐š๐ง๐ ๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐Œ๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐’๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Ÿ—:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ - ๐Ÿ“:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐๐Œ
This Sunday, October 12, regular sitting practice will be part of a full day of group meditation practice that includes talks, discussion, sitting and walking meditation. Come at any time and stay and practice as long as you wish. Meditation instruction is available at 10:00 am or by emailing the center in advance. We will start the morning with traditional Buddhist chants.

๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐Ÿ•:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐๐Œ- ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ
We focus on sharing our experience while bringing together meditation practice with our individual paths of recovery from addiction. The meeting is open to all, including anyone interested in exploring the relationship of meditation to the recovery from addictive behaviors, 12 Step practitioners from any program or Buddhist practitioners from any tradition.

๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”๐ญ๐ก ๐•๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ž๐ซ ๐Œ๐ž๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ 
Inspired to help with the center? Come for our Volunteer Meeting, Sunday, October 26th at 12:30 pm. We'll discuss the volunteer opportunities and needs, and after the meeting concludes we'll offer short training on volunteering for Sunday open meditation roles (timekeeper and gatekeeper) and Thursday night hosting.

Might you benefit from some gentleness, openness, and confidence toward yourself?Join us on Saturday!We are offering a f...
09/19/2025

Might you benefit from some gentleness, openness, and confidence toward yourself?

Join us on Saturday!

We are offering a free, special one-day retreat, "The Art of Being Human, Shambhala Training Level I". This retreat is designed to help develop confidence, openness and gentleness towards ourselves and our world.

Through the practice of meditation, we begin to glimpse that goodness is the unconditional ground of our existence. Opening to ourselves with gentleness and appreciation, we begin to see our potential as genuine and compassionate human beings.

This program is free!

And everyone is welcome!

Register here: https://madison.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=663787

Join us for a special one-day retreat program, "The Art of Being Human, Shambhala Training Level I" with Mark Blumenfeld...
09/07/2025

Join us for a special one-day retreat program, "The Art of Being Human, Shambhala Training Level I" with Mark Blumenfeld and Renee Cannizzo on Saturday, September 20th. This is an excellent opportunity for practice, study and connecting with community.

This one-day retreat is designed to help develop confidence, openness and gentleness towards ourselves and our world. These qualities arise out of meditation practice and the study of Shambhala warriorship principles. People of all religious traditions as well as those who do not follow a particular spiritual path are welcome.

Through the practice of meditation, we begin to glimpse that goodness is the unconditional ground of our existence. Opening to ourselves with gentleness and appreciation, we begin to see our potential as genuine and compassionate human beings.

Register here: https://madison.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=663787

08/19/2025

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ค๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด.

Our ๐“๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ž๐ง ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž will become an ongoing event! Please join us this Thursday night, August 21 at 7:00 PM for guided instruction, a reading and discussion drawn from Pema Chodron's The Wisdom of No Escape, and social time afterwards in our community room.

This fall we will begin a new series of Wednesday night classes, beginning with ๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฆ: The Story of Our Lineage from Naropa to the Early Karmapas with Renee Cannizzo, starting Wednesday September 17 and running for six Wednesday nights. Please visit our website for more information.

On September 20, we will offer a one-day practice and study retreat, ๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฆ with Mark Blumenfeld. This is the first in a five part series of Shambhala Training, a curriculum developed under the guidance of Chogyam Trungpa.

We will have a ๐’๐š๐๐ก๐š๐ง๐š ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐š๐ก๐š๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐š online on Monday September 8 at 7:00PM.

We will be choosing a new book for ๐›๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐œ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐› in a few weeks. It's a great time to join our Saturday book club. Stay tuned for more on this, reach out if you would like to be added to the email list for book club.

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ!

Address

408 S Baldwin Street
Madison, WI
53703

Opening Hours

10am - 12pm
7pm - 8:30pm

Telephone

+16084418868

Website

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