Foundation for Enlightened Society

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FES
Meditation for the Modern World
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Mission

Western Buddhism grew rapidly starting in the 1960s as meditation masters of various traditions arrived from traditionally Buddhist countries. With the passing of those teachers and their students, it is the mission of FES to:

  1. Support next-generation students in the deep training required to become lineage holders.
  2. Adapt the presentation of the teachings to contemporary tools, language, and culture.
  3. Develop economic supports for meditation practice.

Most of the the founding FES leadership were raised or trained in the lineages of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. We believe he had a unique genius for making Buddhism and meditation relevant to westerners, and that the forms he created are still powerful today. Hence, our initial focus is to support the training and empowerment of the next generation in that community.

That said, we believe that a wide variety of projects are needed to bring meditative realization into western culture. If you are interested in support or collaboration on whatever project you have in mind, please contact us!

Trungpa Lineage Project

Goal: To transmit the view and practice of the Buddhist Rimé and Shambhala lineages of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche to future generations and into broader society.

How: Offering training for next-generation leaders in those lineages.

Advised by: Judy Lief, Larry Mermelstein, Valerie Lorig, Jon Barbieri.

Where: Boulder and Online.

Major Initiatives

  1. Teaching Mentorships, led by Jon Barbieri and Valerie Lorig.
  2. Gathering the Community: regular events and gatherings, as listed below.
  3. Materials Drive: receiving, organizing, and passing on dharma materials (see donate).

Regular Events

  1. Warrior Soirées - quarterly parties showcasing Shambhala culture (in Boulder, open to all).
  2. Ngöndro practice (hybrid on Sundays, requires pointing out instructions).
  3. Werma Sadhana practice (hybrid on the 9 days, requires reading transmission).
  4. Vajrayogini study group (in person on Sundays, requires abhisheka).

To learn about our events, please sign up for our mailing list.

Completed Programs

  1. Grief on the Path of Dharma (2024): a hybrid program at the Boulder Shambhala Center on love, loss, and grief featuring Miriam Tarcov, Jon Barbieri, Bryan Welch, and Colin Stubbert, moderated by Judy Lief. It was attended by about 100 people.
  2. Seminary Transcript Drive (2024): We received and joyfully delivered many boxes of Vajradhatu Seminary transcripts to participants in the 3 Yanas Retreat at Drala Mountain Center. We plan to do this again in 2025.
  3. Abhisheka Preparation (2023-2024): We helped students prepare for the special Vajrayogini Abhisheka given by Ringu Tulku on behalf of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and according to his methods. FES arranged reading transmissions, ngöndro practice, and provided fellowship during the challenging work of the preliminaries.
  4. Rabjam Rinpoche Visit (2023): FES ran the security and venue team for Rabjam Rinpoche's 2023 visit to Boulder (hosted by Rimé Society and Naropa University), in which he bestowed empowerments for Trungpa's lineage specifically (the Sadhana of Mahamudra) and ones of broad relevance to the mahasangha (such as Guyagarbha and Vajrakilaya). FES provided training for about 10 volunteers and hosted around 600 guests at the empowerments.

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Practices

Board of Directors

  • Nick Urban,
    President
  • Derek Wolter,
    Secretary
  • Bert Fitzgerald
  • Abbey Fox
  • Colin Stubbert
  • Laura Viviana
  • Emilia Volz

Coordinators

  • Colin Stubbert,
    General Coordinator
  • Joshua Andert,
    Soiree Coordinator
  • Graham Navin,
    Vajrayogini Coordinator

Advisory Board

  • Judy Lief
  • Larry Mermelstein
  • Valerie Lorig
  • Jon Barbieri