This year’s ball, put on by the West Siders as a fundraiser for their future building space, was a huge success. It was also a lot of fun. Click here to visit the LA Shambhala Photostream on Flickr and to see Ed Anolin’s photos from the event!…

Shambhalians were lucky this year. Our new year - “Losar” in the Tibetan tradition, aka “Shambhala Day” - coincided with Valentine’s Day.

“Love” became the theme of the day, appropriately enough. The Sakyong, in his address, emphasized that we work with love and kindness as the basis of our interactions with the world. To access a recording of his talk, click here.

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And Joel Wachbrit, Co-Director of SMCLA and musician extraordinaire reports our own Shambhala Day celebration:

This year’s Shambhala Day had the largest turnout I have seen in my 21 years as a sangha member in Los Angeles - Kasung counted 130 at one point during the Sakyong’s address. What really impressed this year (especially from my vantage point in the director’s seat) was how happy everyone looked. I never felt the old urge of “speed it up Joel, they’re getting bored!” while Melanie and I went through the morning’s announcements and program events. And when it came time to have our fundraiser for the Westside Shambhala Group I had a ball playing off of Greg Lubkin as auctioneers. We raised over $7000 for the Westside and I think we could have kept going. But Indian food was calling and we still had the I Ching to toss, the Sadhana of Mahamudra to do………

I came home and shut my eyes around 3pm and the next thing I knew it was after 5! I awoke with a tender heart of sadness and delight for my fellow LA Shambhalians.

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The celebration continues, fortunately. Don’t miss our Ball, this Sunday at the Shambhala Center. Click here for more details! All are invited!

Post your own Shambhalentines Day memories in the Comments section below!

While the Shambhala Sun is always in the East, the West Coast Shambhalian certainly knows how to enjoy a good setting sun once in a while. Especially those of us who live on the West Side of Los Angeles, a good 25 miles (that’s L.A. miles, folks!) from our main center over in Eagle Rock.

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Although the hard core amongst us will brave three or four highways through Hollywood and other exotic locale to visit our East Side brethren for a good talk or a Werma Feast or our routine check-ins with acharya and mentor Allyn Lyon, most people visiting the West Side Shambhala group for the first time have trouble believing that we actually drive all the way to Eagle Rock for programs. In fact, most West Siders (myself included!) are reluctant to go east of the 405 very often.

Because of the increased amount of foot traffic at the West Side Shambhala events - Sunday evening sittings (4-6pm), Thursday evening talks about Shambhala Arts, “The Way of Shambhala” courses, Shambhala Levels, free meditation instruction, and so forth - the L.A. sangha is rallying to find a larger, permanent home for the West Siders.

Most significantly, this year’s Shambhala Ball (February 20 at the Eagle Rock Center) will dedicate its proceeds to the West Side Shambhala group and its building search. West Siders have been assigned with the task of planning this year’s party. They have been practicing for this task for months, organizing occasional forays into local dance clubs to sample of the DJs.

Being a West Side Shambhalian is not just party-planning and sunsets over the beach, however. A few dedicated sitters make up the “West Side Steering Committee.” This group meets regularly, discusses administrative and financial matters, and cultivates leadership amongst its ranks. I hasten to add that these meetings often mitigate any fatigue they might engender by featuring delicious cookies and chocolates! This is the sort of committee I can commit to!

And no discussion about the West Side Shambhala group is complete without mentioning the fearless duo that has lead it fearlessly for four years:

Stanley Weiser and Tom Gottlieb, both deeply devoted students of the Sakyong and his father, attend nearly every sitting session, maintain the financial stability of the burgeoning organization, and even make sure all the doors are locked when we leave the Santa Monica Zen Center on Sunday evenings.

So, West Siders, don’t despair! While the trek to the East Side might be long and hard on your gas mileage, and though that trek is usually worth it, you can look forward to a future in which some of those East Siders might venture West. And they’ll probably want to see the setting sun while they’re at it.