A Little Buddha. A Baby King or Queen of Shambhala.

The Shambhala Stork is scheduled to arrive in August.

…at the ripe young age of 47 (Sol Halpern and I think that’s it, anyway), Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche just announced, on Shambhala Day, the celebration of the Eastern New Year of the Tiger, that he and his Lady are expecting a child. The first trimester having been completed, it’s safe to spread the joyous word that reinforcements to the enlightened society generally and the Sakyong‘s Shambhala Buddhist lineage specifically are on the way.

By this merit

May all attain peace

May it defeat the enemy, mistaken thinking and harmful actions

From the stormy waves of being born, aging and dying

From the ocean of suffering and confusion may it be of benefit!

Hip hip Hoooooray!

Hip hip Hoooooray!

Hip hip Hoorrraaaaaay!

PS: big love to my childhood best friend Noel McLellan and his lovely wife, Marguerite, who are this very day giving birth to their second child, a Shambhala New Year’s Tiger Valentine baby!

Bonus Videos:

Photo slideshow below via my poor iPhone’s camera from this morning’s Boulder Shambhala Center celebration, where we were joined by our Congressman, Jared Polis, as well as Lady Kunchok, the Sakyong’s momma, and Kanjura Shibata Sensei, looking spry and outgoing. Also, of course, the Vajradhara Thangka loomed over all of us, and somehow felt like the shrine room was ready for an updating and sprucing up, rather than a change being a negative thing, or sad thing, which has been a bit of my feeling up to know, though I trust in Rinpoche’s judgement and vision generally.

Photos include that of our director, Ulrike Halpern; Jesse Grimes and others lighting the lhasang; a new members’ oath; Sol Halpern giving an inspiring talk about how for his children, these are the Golden Days; our President Richard Reoche’s international address where he talked about having genuine disagreements but not giving up on each other, and keeping our hearts open; I’d invited Congressman Polis to join us, and he bought a practice book for the year of the Tiger, the new snow on the ground this morning when we all woke up, my annual post-Shambhala Day macchiato at the Buddhist-owned Trident Cafe & Booksellers, etc.
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Professional photos to come via Marv Ross. I’ll also be cross-posting the final draft for the Shambhala Times.