JULY 2025 NEWSLETTER
- Kaya Fruchtman
- Jun 24
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 1
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
I've just returned from being in a country where I couldn't speak the language. My wife, our 14-year-old, and I went to South Korea to visit our extended family. We spent two weeks traveling around and met about 15 relatives for the first time: aunts, uncles, grandparents, young cousins...and I couldn't converse with any of them. In Korean, I could only say yes, no, thank you, and make gestures I hoped were getting my point across.
In Seoul's Insadong neighborhood, I found a one man shop where I had a seal hand-carved with my refuge name. When I showed the craftsman what the translation app suggested, he laughed - the meaning didn't make sense in Korean. Once he understood what I was going for, he gave me a translation that captured the meaning.
These experiences of not being able to speak to my new family members, and trying to translate only three words meaningfully from English to Korean, gave me a profound appreciation for Trungpa Rinpoche's mastery of the English language, which he did not grow up speaking.
Last month, Carolyn Gimian joined us to discuss her decades of archival work with Rinpoche's teachings, now continuing through the Chögyam Trungpa Institute to make his teachings available to everyone online and preserve the remarkable precision of his expression. You can watch the full conversation here: https://youtu.be/ARpAGRKZgBw
If you’d like more information about CTI or would like to talk with Carolyn, please write to info@chogyamtrungpa.com and ask that the email be forwarded to her.
On July 15th, please join Michael Carroll and me in discussion on The Four Immeasurables: Loving-kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, Equanimity. Thank you to Mary for this idea! https://www.thewisdomseat.org/event-details/the-four-immeasurables-loving-kindness-compassion-sympathetic-joy-equanimity
-Bill Moriarty
We would like to remind you to take some time and visit our Instagram page, @wisdomseat_stevemccurry. Here, you will find an array of enlightening teachings and breathtaking images that are bound to inspire and awaken your mind and spirit. We have curated these posts with utmost care and diligence to provide you with a source of inspiration and learning.
We are thrilled about our collaboration with Steve McCurry Studios, a partnership we believe will bridge our communities. Through the combined power of beauty and wisdom, we aim to create deep and meaningful connections among us all. We look forward to your continued support and engagement with our content.
The Four Immeasurables: Loving-kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, Equanimity
A Mindful Gathering with Michael Carroll and Bill Moriarty
Jul 15, 2025 | 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Zoom
Come join us to discuss what the four immeasurables are and how we can cultivate them in our practice.
Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows, Fall 2025
Sep 28, 2025 | 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT
Pawo Khandro Ling
209 Engle Dr, Wallingford, PA 19086, USA
Online participation available
We will be offering Refuge & Bodhisattva Vows at an in-person & on-line event this September 28, 2025. These vows will be offered by Michael Carroll who has been authorized by Judy Lief to impart these vows in the tradition and lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Al San Valentin will be assisting Michael in preparing those wishing to take vows.
To request Refuge or Bodhisattva Vows, please register for this event which will send your request to Michael Carroll, who will be conducting the vow ceremony. After submitting the request, Al San Valentin, a Wisdom Seat board member, will contact you to discuss your request, answer your questions and schedule a follow up interview with Michael.
Wednesday Meditation
Ongoing offering: Online meditation every Wednesday evening 6:15 to 7:30 PM EST
Worldwide Wednesday evening online sitting meditation practice.
We, at The Wisdom Seat, invite you to meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:15 – 7:30 PM Eastern Time to practice the sitting meditation discipline as taught in the Buddhist & Shambhala tradition of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Nyinthun: Everyone is welcome!
Ongoing offering: Nyinthun (in-person and online)
The first Sunday of every month.
All day sitting interspersed with walking meditation. The word nyinthun*, is Tibetan for “day session.”
In understanding dharma, Trungpa Rinpoche placed a strong emphasis on mindfulness/awareness meditation practice. This community practice of Nyinthun - all day sitting interspersed with walking meditation - gives us the opportunity to experience the full spectrum of our mind, make friends with our immediate experience and rediscover our natural sanity.
Please take a look, and sign up to join us for some nyinthun retreat days. It is ok to join for as much of the day as you can.
Collaborative practice undertaking with The Wisdom Seat & The Profound Treasury Retreat
The Wisdom Seat encourages as many opportunities for practitioners to engage in the discipline of mindfulness/awareness (shamatha/vipashyana) as one can engage in. We are happy to invite the Profound Treasury Retreat (PTR) with their offering of Sunday sitting.
PTR community is hosting a 2-hour sitting session from 9:30am to 11:30 am EST
There will be meditation instruction every third Sunday of the month, given by a qualified meditation instructor.
Dates: July 13, 20, 27th
Here is the Zoom link for this session: Sunday Sitting Zoom Link
All are welcome to attend.
The Wisdom Seat Retreat
October 25 - November 2, 2025
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
Woodstock, NY
We invite you to join us for this in-person Autumn retreat at the Karma TriyanaDharmachakra monastery in the delightful upstate New York Catskill Mountains. Michael Carroll, cofounder of The Wisdom Seat will be leading this 8-day practice intensive, supported by members of The Wisdom Seat staff. This retreat is designed to help us deepen our mindfulness-awareness meditation and integrate it into our daily life. The retreat will include:
6 - 7 hours of daily shrine room meditation alternating sitting and walking during each session
Breath and body relaxation practices
Outdoor walking meditation
Periodic group meditation instruction
Readings from Buddhist texts
Dharma talks and discussion
Individual meditation instruction upon request
An hour+ of helping hands
Participants will be asked to observe “functional silence” throughout most of the retreat, limiting verbal communication to a minimum.
Vegetarian breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be offered, with access to snacks, coffee, and tea throughout the retreat.
Since the retreat will be limited to 30 participants, those attending will be expected to participate in all 8 days of the retreat.
Local Commuters may participate 8 days or less.
Durham Shambhala Center
Finding Common Ground: Communication for Difficult Times
August 5th - 26th | Tuesdays 7-8:45pm (Eastern)
Taught by Barbara Bash
In this four week online class we will explore the elements of Nonviolent Communication and practice these principles in real time. Beginning with mindfulness practice for self connection, we will move into making observations without evaluation, finding our true feelings and needs, and making connecting requests of ourselves and others.
The practice of giving and receiving empathy, central to NVC consciousness, will weave through it all.
Come to discover a set of tools and a fresh perspective on how to speak and listen so that everyone feels heard.
Barbara Bash is a longtime member of the Shambhala community. She studied with Chogyam Trungpa and has worked as a calligraphic artist for many years. Her involvement with her local sangha inspired her to train in NVC and Focusing. She facilitates an online NVC practice group and leads an online monthly circle gathering. She is currently expanding her offerings to include mediation. barbarabash.com
Registration Link: https://durham.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=791008
Dorje Denma Ling
Radical Awakening: A Residential Retreat on the Sharp Vajra of Awareness Tantra
Taught by Anam Thubten Rinpoche
July 22 - 27, 2025
In-Person
The Sharp Vajra Tantra is a term, or revelation, written down by Dzogchen Master Dudjom Lingpa of the 19th Century. It encapsulates the entirety of Vajrayana, Tantric Buddhist practices such as Dzogchen. This profound text holds a potency that can awaken our minds and transform our hearts.
Registration Link: https://dorjedenmaling.org/programs-listing/2342/radical-awakening-a-residential-retreat-on-the-sharp-vajra-of-awareness-tantra/
Kyudo: The Way of the Bow 2025
with Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XXI
September 18 - 21, 2025
In-Person
Kozan Kyudojo practices in the Heki Ryu Bishu Chiko-Rin Ha tradition of Japan, following the lineage of the Shibata family.
We are honoured to welcome Kanjuro Shibata XXI, Sensei, the Imperial Bow Maker and Archer to the Emperor of Japan, for his first teaching visit to Canada. This is a rare and meaningful opportunity. Sensei teaches in English and is known for his warm, jovial style.
When mortals are alive, they worry about death.
When they’re full, they worry about hunger.
Theirs is the Great Uncertainty.
But sages don’t consider the past.
And they don’t worry about the future.
Nor do they cling to the present.
And from moment to moment they follow the Way.
- Bodhidharma (6th century)
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