Statement of Respect and Safety

The text below is the Statement of Respect and Safety which we have posted in our community room. We are posting here on our blog to make it more available and accessible:

Our Community

Shambhala is a diverse, international community. Our centers are located in different regions of the world, and reflect different nationalities, cultures, languages, ethnicities and races. In addition, people who come to our centers may have different religious faiths, follow different spiritual traditions or teachers, or have different paths of practice and opinions, including political views. They have different ages and gender expressions, as well as different sexual orientations, and physical, perceptual and mental abilities.

What we share as a community is a desire to lead sane, dignified, and confident lives. Through the practice of meditation we cultivate the capacity to be fully open to our experience, and the ability to respond to everyday life situations with greater clarity and respect—respect not only for our life situations and ourselves, but for all individuals, social groups and cultures as well. Becoming a member of Shambhala is a statement about your personal inspiration, curiosity, and commitment to the path of awakening. If you are interested in membership, visit our website or email Deputy Director Max Roberts-Zirker at [email protected]

Our Commitment

Shambhala is committed to a practice, study, and work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. It is each person’s right to be free from harassment, mistreatment and discrimination. Each individual has the right to practice, study, and work in an atmosphere that is free from abuse of any type, including sexual, verbal and emotional abuse. In addition to being bound individually and as a community to basic Shambhala and Buddhist standards of conduct, we are also citizens of the larger communities in which our centers are located worldwide and, therefore, must abide by public laws. These include but are not limited to laws pertaining to alcohol, drugs and sexual conduct.

If you are concerned that the behavior of a member of the Shambhala community, including any of its office-holders, may not have been in accordance with this statement of principle, please contact the Center Directors, the Rusung or Desung of the Dorje Kasung, or any appropriate person in the local leadership. Any such communications will be handled in accordance with the procedures set down in Shambhala Care and Conduct, a copy of which is available at this Center.

Boston Shambhala Center:
Executive Director: Ashley Hodson [email protected]
Deputy Director: Max Roberts-Zirker [email protected]
Rusung: Sarah Kimball [email protected]
Desung: Sara Lewis [email protected]