Conducting Ourselves and Caring for Each Other
The Shambhala mandala is committed to creating enlightened society. This commitment involves devoting ourselves to personal transformation, helping to develop a compassionate community of practitioners, and contributing to the creation of enlightened society in the world at large.
Behaviors that are harmful arise naturally in human communities. Ours is no different. However, we are endeavoring to work with and learn from such situations in ways that are beneficial to those directly involved and beneficial to the Shambhala community as a whole. In all instances of conflict or complaint, it is essential to remember that a number of causes and conditions have come together. The result is suffering on the part of all involved. The practice of authentic leadership requires us to find ways of helping each other without aggression through connecting with each other’s innate wisdom, intelligence, and good heart.
The Care and Conduct process may resemble judicial and conciliation mechanisms of society at large, but the foundation of the Shambhala process differs in several significant ways: as a contemplative community, we endeavor to bring all activity of body, speech, and mind to the path of meditation, compassion, and wisdom. Behaviors that may be harmful to ourselves and others are regarded as karmic obstacles to be acknowledged, examined, and worked with on the basis that the innate nature of all beings is profound, brilliant sanity.