The November 2011 Shambhala Sun magazine

The Joy of Living Green: The new environmentalism celebrates the positive. Because the green life is the good life.

this issue's editorial:

• True Nature

Shambhala Sun deputy editor Andrea Miller on the value of finding something natural to love. 

---

features

• Wise Guy

Best known for his classic role on The Sopranos, Michael Imperioli is a dedicated Buddhist. From gangsters to gurus, film to family — Andrea Miller on Imperioli’s spiritual journey.

• The Joy of Living Green

Shambhala Sun senior writer Barry Boyce reports on the new environmentalism that celebrates the positive, and the people who make it possible. Because the green life is the good life.

• Walking the Talk

Margot Sammurtok introduces you to Diana Lopez, Dekila Chungyalpa, Rebecca Fletcher, and Robin Bryan, four young activists who are making our planet a better place.

PLUS:  David Abram, Mary Pipher, Callie Bates on the love that got her through chemo, Jennifer Lauck on learning to embrace what is — even divorce — and more.

---

other voices 

• Wisdom Is Not in the Newspaper

Towering stacks of newspapers, a mountain of clippings — James Kullander feels they might contain some fact that would transform his life. Deep down, though, he knows what would be truly transformative.

RELATED SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE EXCLUSIVE:

• My Dinner With André, Revisited

James Kullander reflects on the classic film — thirty years later.

• Let It Shine!

When body and mind are synchronized, Sakyong Mipham says, we can live with grace and dignity, grounded and in harmony with the world around us.

RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• Sakyong Mipham: His best from the Shambhala Sun

• What Have We Become?

A Q&A with Tiffany Shlain, the filmmaker behind the new documentary, Connected: An Autobiography About Love, Death, and Technology.
AND ON SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE:

• Watch the trailer for Connected

---

"the mindful society"

• One Moment at a Time

David Swick on mindfulness as it applies to substance abuse and dependence.

SEE ALSO:

• MINDFUL: Living with Awareness and Compassion

This website from the publishers of the Shambhala Sun will help you bring the benefits of mindfulness practice into every aspect of your life.

---

reviews

• All the Way to Heaven

Michael Sowder reviews Songs of Kabir, by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra.

• Books in Brief

Andrea Miller reviews Michael Stone's Awake in the World, Jane Hirshfield's Come, Thief, and more new releases worth your while.

---

about a poem

• Linda Bamber on Mark Halliday's "Green Canoe"

---

Shambhala Sun, November 2011, Volume Twenty, Number 2.

ON THE COVER: Photo by Randy Robertson

The July 2011 Shambhala Sun magazine, our Second Annual Guide to Mindful Living

Cultivating our natural mindfulness has proven benefits for our health, happiness, and relationships, bringing more skill and compassion into everything we do. That's what our July 2011 magazine is all about. At newsstands in the first week of June.

Click on titles below to view full articles, excerpts, and related web exclusives.

july 2011 editorial

• Something's Happening Here

Shambhala Sun publisher James Gimian introduces our second annual Guide to Mindful Living, and shares evidence that what looks to be a true "mindfulness revolution" is under way. 

---

the second annual guide to mindful living

• How to Tame the Wanting Mind

You’re hungry, but what are you really hungry for? Mindful eating expert Sasha Loring on opening your heart, offering your attachments, and knowing when you’re satisfied.

• Savor

Sweet, juicy, crisp — Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung on the pleasures of mindfully eating an apple.

• Wisdom 2.0: The Digital World Connects

Silicon Valley gets mindful! Barry Boyce reports on a group of far-thinking digital leaders who are using mindfulness to humanize and make better the brave new world they’ve created.

• This is Your Brain on Mindfulness

Meditators say their practice fundamentally changes the way they experience life. Dr. Michael Baime reports on the modern neuroscience that shows how it works.

• The Science of Meditation

Andrea Miller looks at the Mind & Life Institute, which explores the intersection between ancient meditative disciplines and modern science.

• Sea Change

Teenagers "get" mindfulness — they soak it up like sponges and it transforms their lives. Gina Biegel on the best ways to introduce teens to this valuable practice.

• Answering the Call to Serve

Stuart Lord, president of Naropa University, on the value of contemplative education. It’s about the deep questions.

• A Higher Education

A survey of colleges and universities offering contemplative alternatives to conventional education.

• A Bell With a Crack in It

It may not ring as clearly, but it can ring as sweetly. Bestselling author Diane Ackerman gets personal about her husband’s stroke and explores the language of healing.

RELATED ONLINE EXCLUSIVE:

• Shambhala Sun Audio: Diane Ackerman

Listen as the author talks about the benefits of paying mindful attention to nature. From the archives of our blog, Shambhala SunSpace.
PLUS: Elizabeth Brownrigg on letdowns as painful yet necessary treasures, and Anne Cushman on what a trip gone awry taught her about too much planning.

---

barry boyce on "the mindful society"

• Reading on the Mind

A roundup of some of the latest good reads about cultivating mindfulness, awareness, and compassion.

SEE ALSO:

• MINDFUL: Living with Awareness and Compassion

This website from the publishers of the Shambhala Sun will help you bring the benefits of mindfulness practice into every aspect of your life.

---

other voices

• Sunny Side Up

Sakyong Mipham explains how cultivating bravery gives us the confidence to live in the brilliance of the Great Eastern Sun.

RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• Sakyong Mipham: His best from the Shambhala Sun

• Creature Comfort

Dogs comfort us, and parrots care for their injured mates. When we increase our understanding of how animals show compassion, says behavior ecologist Joanna Burger, we understand more about ourselves.

• Q&A: Raj Patel

The author of The Value of Nothing talks to Andrea Miller about the current economic model and alternative ways to value the world around us.

---

reviews

• The Mindful Way to Self-Compassion

Kelly McGonigal reviews The Mindful Way Through Anxiety: Break Free From Chronic Worry and Reclaim Your Life, by Susan M. Orsillo and Lizabeth Roemer, and True Belonging: Mindful Practices to Help You Overcome Loneliness, Connect With Others, and Cultivate Happiness, by Jeffrey Brantley and Wendy Millstine.

• Books in Brief

Andrea Miller reviews Peace is Every Breath by Thich Nhat Hanh, Dharma Road by Brian Haycock, The Natural Kitchen, and more new releases worth your while.

---

about a poem

• Andrew Schelling on M.C. Richards' "Poem"

---

Shambhala Sun, July 2011, Volume Nineteen, Number 6.

ON THE COVER:

Enso painting by Kazuaki Tanahashi.

The January 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine

Featuring an exclusive interview with the great Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, a look at the dramatic life and profound legacy of Chögyam Trungpa, Robert Thurman on Occupy Wall Street, Natalie Goldberg, and more.

Click on titles below to view full articles, excerpts, and related web exclusives. Click here to order a copy from the Shambhala Sun webstore.

this issue's editorial:

• Full Disclosure

Editor-in-Chief Melvin McLeod declares — and celebrates — his and the Shambhala Sun's involvement with Chögyam Trungpa and Thich Nhat Hanh, the two great teachers featured in this issue. 

---

features

• Ocean of Dharma

It has been twenty-five years since the death of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a seminal figure in modern Buddhism and founder of the Shambhala Sun. Barry Boyce surveys his teachings and their lasting impact on how Buddhism is understood and practiced. "He lived to leave a legacy," Boyce writes, "so that far into the future people could experience the dharma he taught not as an artifact of a past time and place, but always as 'fresh-baked bread.'"

• Be Beautiful, Be Yourself

Thich Nhat Hanh on why Buddhists don't really believe in reincarnation, why meditation is only worth doing if its enjoyable, and why you don't have to be a Buddhist to be a good Buddhist. A provocative interview with the great Zen teacher, by Andrea Miller.
 

• Awakening My Heart

Andrea Miller attends a transformational six-day retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh.

• Thich Nhat Hanh on suffering

A retreatant asked the Zen teacher for guidance. Read his response, "Imagine a Pine Tree," from our current issue, now online in its entirety.

• Speak No Evil, Tweet No Evil

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all — but that's easier said than done, as sarcastic scribe Michael A. Stusser finds out when he tries to take up right speech for a month.


RELATED SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE VIDEO:

• Video: "The Speak No Evil" Experiment

PLUS:  Genine Lentine on lessons learned from a mother's life and death, and Jeff Greenwald on snakes and the fascinating stories we tell ourselves about them.

---

other voices

• Another New Year

Sitting still in the dark zendo at Upaya Zen Center and breathing with others is exactly what Natalie Goldberg needs. On this last night of the year, she wonders what this human life is all about.

RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• Natalie Goldberg: Her best from the Shambhala Sun

• Joined at the Heart

We can brighten the future of modern society, says Sakyong Mipham, by cultivating our communal basic goodness.


RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• Sakyong Mipham: His best from the Shambhala Sun

• The Cool Heroes of Zuccotti Park

Determined, insightful, nonviolent — Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman tells the protestors of Occupy Wall Street that they're just the kind of people the country needs.

RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• See video of Thurman's speech, and more, via our blog's ongoing OWS/Occupy coverage.

---

barry boyce on "the mindful society"

• Meeting of the Mindful

Meet Jenny Lykken, Ali Smith, Atman Smith, Andres Gonzales, Congressman Tim Ryan, and other pioneers introduced at Fall 2011's historic "Creating a Mindful Society" conference in New York.

SEE ALSO:

• Mindful.org

Bring the benefits of mindfulness practice into every aspect of your life, learn the science behind it all, get up-to-the-moment news, and watch video from "Creating a Mindful Society."

---

reviews

• Good Reads for Little Buddhas

When it comes to Tynette Deveaux's seven-year-old son, it's tough for a book to compete with the lure of video games. Here she shares some well-crafted Buddhist storybooks that have captured his imagination, and heart.

• Books in Brief

Andrea Miller reviews two books by Jack Kornfield, the Dalai Lama's A Profound Mind, new releases by Thich Nhat Hanh and Ann Waldman, and more new books worth your while.

---

about a poem

• Rachel Haddas on Wallace Stevens' "Prologues to What Is Possible"

---

Shambhala Sun, January 2012, Volume Twenty, Number 3.

ON THE COVER: Thich Nhat Hanh; copyright Don Farber

The March 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine

Featuring an in-depth look at the emerging field of contemplative science — and what it tells us about meditation — plus, the Dalai Lama, Charles Johnson, a profile of (and a teaching by) Mingyur Rinpoche, book reviews, and much more.

Click on titles below to view full articles, excerpts, and related web exclusives.

this issue's editorial:

• Inquiring Minds

Barry Boyce on meditation, science, and how they come together in this issue.

---

feature spotlight: the science of meditation

• Taking the Measure of Mind

At the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, prominent neuroscientist Richie Davidson (left) and his team try to see how far our minds can go and how meditation helps. Senior Writer Barry Boyce reports.

• The New Science of Mind

Scientists study phenomena. Meditators study experience. And never the twain shall meet. Until now. Jill Suttie reports on the Mind and Life Institute and the growing field of contemplative science.

• Living Proof

Does meditation work? The first place to look for the answer is in our own lives. Margot Sammurtok talks to Isabel Adon (left) and three others who say the practice has made all the difference.

MORE, IN THE MAGAZINE: The Dalai Lama's scientific requisite for a full study of the mind, A "Mind Science Timeline," and the questions scientists are asking about meditation — and the surprising answers they're getting.

---

more features

• The Wanderer

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche was a bestselling author and a rising star of the Buddhist world, but one day he up and left it all behind. Andrea Miller on the fascinating story of a modern lama braving the ancient path of the wandering yogi.

• Lasting Happiness

It's surprisingly easy to achieve it, says Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche.

• A Meditation Instruction

The first of a yearlong series of teachings to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the death of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founder of the Shambhala Sun.

RELATED SHAMBHALA SUN SPOTLIGHT:

• The Teachings of Chögyam Trungpa

PLUS, IN THE MAGAZINE: "Kamadhatu," a short story by Charles Johnson, Milarepa on the happy life of the wandering yogi, and Leza Lowitz on finding in life's difficulties the greatest gift of all.

---

other voices

• New Ethic for a Small Planet

His Holiness The Dalai Lama makes a heartfelt plea: If our century is to be one of peace and caring, we must develop a new ethic of human values that transcends religion.

RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• The Dalai Lama: His best from the Shambhala Sun

• Good Failure

You may fail to change the system, but it's a good failure if you've made life a little kinder or more beautiful. Activist Courtney E. Martin on reclaiming failure as the mark of a dream worth having.

• Stop, Relax, Wake Up

Meditation practice, says Sakyong Mipham, gives us time to slow down and really wake up to the naturally occurring love in our hearts.


RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• Sakyong Mipham: His best from the Shambhala Sun

---

reviews

• She Who Hears the Cries of the World

Joan Sutherland reviews Searching for Guan Yin by Sarah E. Truman and Bringing Zen Home by Paula Arai.

• Books in Brief

Andrea Miller reviews books by Lodro Rinzler, Allan Lokos, Susan Bauer-Wu, Thich Nhat Hanh, plus five other new titles worth your while.

---

about a poem

• Ted Kooser on Connie Wanek's "A Sighting"

---

Shambhala Sun, March 2012, Volume Twenty, Number 4. 

To order a trial subscription to Shambhala Sun, click here.

Click here to order a copy from the Shambhala Sun webstore.

ON THE COVER: Photo copyright iStockphoto.com/LiseGagne

The May 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine

Embrace Change: Eleven teachers and writers on life’s central challenge and the key to the Buddhist path. Plus, the inspiring life of Thich Nhat Hanh’s closest collaborator, running with the mind of meditation, how thoughts can free us (rather than control us) and much more.

Click on titles below to view full articles, excerpts, and related web exclusives. Click here to order a copy of this issue.

this issue's editorial:

• Embracing Change, We Discover the Changeless

By Shambhala Sun Editor-in-Chief Melvin McLeod.

---

features

• Path of Peace: The Life and Teachings of Sister Chan Khong

She's Thich Nhat Hanh’s invaluable collaborator, and a dedicated activist and gifted teacher in her own right. Andrea Miller tells her extraordinary story.

• The Teacher-Student Relationship

We continue our presentation of never-before-published teachings by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founder of this magazine. In this issue: how our relationship with the teacher evolves in the three vehicles of Buddhism.

RELATED SHAMBHALA SUN SPOTLIGHT:

• The Teachings of Chögyam Trungpa

MORE FEATURES FROM OUR MAY 2012 MAGAZINE: Tsokyni Rinpoche on how to experience two of mind's most profound qualities; Michael Stone on the uncle who helped him to think in new ways.

---

special section: embrace change

• Impermanence is Buddha Nature

Zoketsu Norman Fischer starts our special section with an overview of Buddhism’s unique approach to this universal challenge and reality. Change, he says, isn’t just a fact of life we have to work with. It’s enlightenment itself, manifesting moment by moment in time.

Plus ten other leading Buddhist teachers and writers offer personal stories, teachings, and meditations to touch our hearts, open our minds, and help us embrace the change in our own lives:

• Judy Lief: This Morning • Joan Sutherland: Seasons of Awakening
• Elaine Smookler: Blindsided • Cyndi Lee: Never Too Old • Melissa Myozen Blacker: The Joyful Leap • Barry Boyce: Bon Voyage • Sylvia Boorstein: How Many Copies? • Lodro Rinzler: Intentional Change • Noah Levine: Already Broken • Shozan Jack Haubner: Where Is the True Place?

---

other voices

• Running Into Meditation

Meditating and running go hand in hand, says Sakyong Mipham. Exercise can be a support for meditation, and meditation can be a support for exercise.

RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• Sakyong Mipham: His best from the Shambhala Sun

• A Complicated Burden

There was nothing Sandy Boucher could have done to prevent the tragedy. Yet decade after decade, she has carried the burden of guilt. This is a meditation on living with what can not be undone.

• The Beautiful Energy of Thoughts

Working with our thoughts is the greatest challenge in meditation — maybe in life. Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche tells us how we can experience them as freedom and not imprisonment.

• Degrading Our Children

Whether they get an F or an A+, most kids can't separate their grades from their self-worth. Kyo Maclear on eliminating grades so children can focus on what really matters in life.

---

the mindful society

• A Real Education

Barry Boyce on the latest thinking about how and why kindness, caring, empathy, and other mindful values might be brought into our children's classrooms, and the people who are leading the way for it to happen.

---

reviews

• Thinking Beyond Fast and Slow

John Tarrant reviews Thinking Fast and Slow  by Daniel Kahneman.

• Books in Brief

Andrea Miller reviews The Huston Smith Reader, Making Space by Thich Nhat Hanh, Moh Hardin's Little Book of Live, and five other new titles worth your while.

---

about a poem

• Daniel Ladinsky on Hafiz's "Know the True Nature"

---

Shambhala Sun, March 2012, Volume Twenty, Number 5. 

To order a trial subscription to Shambhala Sun, click here.

ON THE COVER: The waxing gibbous moon; photo by Kenneth Williamson.