Abstract
This paper posed the question: Is there much in Shambala training that is of value
from a psychotherapeutic perspective? It examined key texts which inform the
practice of Shambhala Buddhism and also Shambhala training as a secular path. By
way of comparison, this paper also made references to literature from psychotherapy.
Meditation and mindfulness are core components of Shambhala training, and the
researcher was aware that a large body of research has been done in these areas
already, so this was not the primary focus of this paper, although some references
were made to existing studies in that area. The paper chose to focus specifically on
the teachings of Shambhala and how its training programs may relate to the practice
of psychotherapy, as it would appear that very little research has been done in this
area. In addition to reviewing the key Shambhala texts, a series of five in-depth
interviews were conducted with long-term meditation practitioners in the Shambhala
tradition, exploring some of the key concepts found in Shambhala such as:
Warriorship, Basic Goodness, The Cocoon, The Genuine heart of Sadness and Fear
and Fearlessness. The subsequent findings and analysis did indicate that there is
much inherent in the teachings and trainings of Shambhala which would compliment
and enhance the practice of psychotherapy in a positive way and that there is room for
further research into the possibilities of integration of this training into the practice of
psychotherapy and the training of psychotherapists.
