This website provides a way to archive documents that have been developed by the Shambhala Working Group on Aging. These documents are part of an evolving discussion based on the question, "what does it mean to grow old in Shambhala?". The document below was presented to the Sakyong's Council on 11 February 2010 and represents a refinement of the "Statement on Aging" that was presented to the Shambhala Congress in November 2009.
It has been two years since a working group on aging was initiated. During that time the working group has been contemplating and exploring issues raised by the fact that a significant proportion of the citizens of Shambala society will be, over the next 10-20 years, entering into what is conventionally termed ‘old age’.
These two years could be considered as Phase 1, the goal of which has been to understand the nature of the issues and develop an initial approach to the issues of ‘aging in Shambhala’. Some of the key points are summarized here:
Aging is not a problem to be avoided or denied. Like any other phase of life, the older years are an opportunity to wake up. Nonetheless, there is a reality to the decline in physical and mental capacity that accompanies what is conventionally termed ‘old age’. It is helpful to acknowledge aging and mix the experience of being older with practice.
In terms of formal practice, contemplation on old age, sickness and death is a basic Buddhist practice. As well, ‘The Elixer of Life, a Birthday Practice’ written by Sakyong Mipham, works directly with aging, at all ages. Note that we have recently supplicated the Sakyong to write additional practices for students reaching the age of 60-65.
During most of what is conventionally called old age, people are basically able to take care of themselves. However, due to socioeconomic and/or health issues, many people are, at some point in their older years, in need of significant support. How that support is organized and carried out is a central question for us as a Shambhala society.
At this point the concept of “community support”, in which groups of people come together in an organized and intentional manner to support one another, appears to be a workable approach. The ad hoc support teams that frequently form around Shambhalians who are ill are one example. There are larger and more sustained examples in the general society.
Goals for Phase 2 (2010-2012).
Develop a network of people at major city and land centres to address issues of aging. The issues include (1) how to adapt the physical and organizational structure of the centres to relate with the capabilities and the needs of older Shambhalians so that they can continue to participate in programs and contribute to the life of the centres and (2) how to develop supports for older Shambhala who may need it.
The members of the working group are: Ann Cason, Aaron Snyder, Marita McLaughlin, Donna Hanczaryk, Jacquie Bell, Victoria Howard, Louis Fitch, Chris Rempel, Susan Stewart, Acharya Emily Bower, Jane Ward, David Whitehorn (Chair).
http://onaginginshambhala.blogspot.com/ http://www.shambhala.org/community/aging/index.php
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Statement on Aging presented to the 2009 Shambhala Congress
On Aging in Shambhala.
The following statement is intended to provide the emerging Shambhala society with an initial set of principles upon which to contemplate and build an enlightened response to the inevitable process of aging. The statement has been developed by the Shambhala Working Group on Aging, a working group of the Sakyong’s Council and a core working group within the Community Care Council.
Statement on Aging in Shambhala:
(1) The inherent nature of mind, basic goodness, being unconditional, does not change with age. No matter how old or infirmed we may become, basic goodness remains fully intact.
(2) Rather than viewing aging as leading to the fixation of long standing habitual patterns, with mind training (meditation practice), as we grow older there is the opportunity for mind to become more open and less fixed.
(3) Physical and mental capacities inevitably decline with increasing age.
(4) In Shambhala we can simultaneously recognize both the opportunity to be more openly engaged with the world as we grow older, and the inevitable decline in physical and mental capacities, culminating in death.
(5) In this context, ‘conventional’ retirement is a misguided myth. The idea that as we age we can ‘retire’ from the world and become less engaged is not consistent with Shambhala vision. Quite to the contrary, as our responsibilities and time commitment for family and livelihood decrease we can devote more time and energy to building enlightened society, as well as to our personal practices. This is ‘enlightened’ retirement.
(6) As we age many of us will, at some point, experience physical ailments that will make it difficult, or perhaps impossible, for us to care for ourselves. At those times, other members of Shambhala society need to be positioned to come forward to be sure that what we are unable to do for ourselves is done.
Recommendations:
(1) Each Shambhala centre form its own working group on aging. This might be accomplished by placing aging as one topic within the context of a ‘health and well being’ or ‘community care council’. These local working groups will be supported by the international working group.
(2) A Shambhala conference on aging be held in July 2010, at which, among other things, the local working groups can exchange experiences and innovations.
The Shambhala Working Group on Aging was formed in 2008. The members of the working group are: Ann Cason, Aaron Snyder, Marita McLaughlin, Donna Hanczaryk, Jacquie Bell, Victoria Howard, Louis Fitch, Chris Rempel, Susan Stewart, Acharya Emily Bower, David Whitehorn (Chair).
The following statement is intended to provide the emerging Shambhala society with an initial set of principles upon which to contemplate and build an enlightened response to the inevitable process of aging. The statement has been developed by the Shambhala Working Group on Aging, a working group of the Sakyong’s Council and a core working group within the Community Care Council.
Statement on Aging in Shambhala:
(1) The inherent nature of mind, basic goodness, being unconditional, does not change with age. No matter how old or infirmed we may become, basic goodness remains fully intact.
(2) Rather than viewing aging as leading to the fixation of long standing habitual patterns, with mind training (meditation practice), as we grow older there is the opportunity for mind to become more open and less fixed.
(3) Physical and mental capacities inevitably decline with increasing age.
(4) In Shambhala we can simultaneously recognize both the opportunity to be more openly engaged with the world as we grow older, and the inevitable decline in physical and mental capacities, culminating in death.
(5) In this context, ‘conventional’ retirement is a misguided myth. The idea that as we age we can ‘retire’ from the world and become less engaged is not consistent with Shambhala vision. Quite to the contrary, as our responsibilities and time commitment for family and livelihood decrease we can devote more time and energy to building enlightened society, as well as to our personal practices. This is ‘enlightened’ retirement.
(6) As we age many of us will, at some point, experience physical ailments that will make it difficult, or perhaps impossible, for us to care for ourselves. At those times, other members of Shambhala society need to be positioned to come forward to be sure that what we are unable to do for ourselves is done.
Recommendations:
(1) Each Shambhala centre form its own working group on aging. This might be accomplished by placing aging as one topic within the context of a ‘health and well being’ or ‘community care council’. These local working groups will be supported by the international working group.
(2) A Shambhala conference on aging be held in July 2010, at which, among other things, the local working groups can exchange experiences and innovations.
The Shambhala Working Group on Aging was formed in 2008. The members of the working group are: Ann Cason, Aaron Snyder, Marita McLaughlin, Donna Hanczaryk, Jacquie Bell, Victoria Howard, Louis Fitch, Chris Rempel, Susan Stewart, Acharya Emily Bower, David Whitehorn (Chair).
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Narrative by Ann Cason
I am very pleased to let you know that a new narrative by Ann Cason is now available on the 'aging page' of Shambhala.org. The narrative describes the last days of one of our most respected practitioners, Ruth Astor, and the care circle that formed around her.
The link to the narrative is:
http://www.shambhala.org/community/aging/index.php
Ann Cason, who was an important part of that circle is herself one our lineage treasures in the area of aging, having dedicated her life to working with the frail elderly in the vision of enlightened society. Ann's book, Circles of Care, is a classic and everyone interested in aging in the context of Shambhala should read it.
The Amazon link to Ann's book is:
http://www.amazon.com/Circles-Care-Quality-Elders-Comfort/dp/1570624712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252607655&sr=8-1
The link to the narrative is:
http://www.shambhala.org/community/aging/index.php
Ann Cason, who was an important part of that circle is herself one our lineage treasures in the area of aging, having dedicated her life to working with the frail elderly in the vision of enlightened society. Ann's book, Circles of Care, is a classic and everyone interested in aging in the context of Shambhala should read it.
The Amazon link to Ann's book is:
http://www.amazon.com/Circles-Care-Quality-Elders-Comfort/dp/1570624712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252607655&sr=8-1
Monday, July 13, 2009
Preparing the Ground
Contemplating the interesting articles in the New York Times about the nuns in upstate New York who are mindfully, with discernment, caring for one another as they die, I started to think about how they had prepared the ground for being able to work with death in that way.
What came to mind was that these women had chosen, long ago, to live and work together as a community and to make that community, and its work, the central focus in their life. In that way, over many years, they created a container, and relationships within it, that were in place when they needed to relate with serious illness and impending death.
For most people getting old stretches out over many years, several decades, while terminal illness is often relatively shorter. As, over the past year, the Shambhala Working Group on Aging has been exploring the issues of aging in the context of enlightened society, it has been evident that we need to pay attention to the early stages of being old, when people are still able to care for themselves, and establish formal and informal networks and containers that will be in place when the need for more intensive care arises.
In Shambhala we are, except for a small number of monastics, a community of lay practitioners. We do not live in a convent. Our lives are quite complex, we live relatively independently and have all kinds of relationships and responsibilities. In that kind of situation, when severe illness or impending death arise, we rely on ad hoc circles of care, put together on the spot. Sometimes these circles are wonderful, other times not so much. Sometimes it’s not possible to form a meaningful circle at all.
The point for me is that how we organize ourselves as we get old, before we need care, will set the ground for what can happen when we do.
What came to mind was that these women had chosen, long ago, to live and work together as a community and to make that community, and its work, the central focus in their life. In that way, over many years, they created a container, and relationships within it, that were in place when they needed to relate with serious illness and impending death.
For most people getting old stretches out over many years, several decades, while terminal illness is often relatively shorter. As, over the past year, the Shambhala Working Group on Aging has been exploring the issues of aging in the context of enlightened society, it has been evident that we need to pay attention to the early stages of being old, when people are still able to care for themselves, and establish formal and informal networks and containers that will be in place when the need for more intensive care arises.
In Shambhala we are, except for a small number of monastics, a community of lay practitioners. We do not live in a convent. Our lives are quite complex, we live relatively independently and have all kinds of relationships and responsibilities. In that kind of situation, when severe illness or impending death arise, we rely on ad hoc circles of care, put together on the spot. Sometimes these circles are wonderful, other times not so much. Sometimes it’s not possible to form a meaningful circle at all.
The point for me is that how we organize ourselves as we get old, before we need care, will set the ground for what can happen when we do.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Convent provides model for working with dying
Mary Lang found this very interesting article from the NYTimes .
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/health/09sisters.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Mary's comment is that; "It seems like a model of what Shambhalian Aging could look like, particularly end of life. The quote about bringing "discernment" to the process seems particularly apt".
The article is the second in a series; see the link below for the overview.
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/health/09sisters.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Mary's comment is that; "It seems like a model of what Shambhalian Aging could look like, particularly end of life. The quote about bringing "discernment" to the process seems particularly apt".
The article is the second in a series; see the link below for the overview.
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Guaranteed to cheer you up
Jacquie Bell sent this wonderful video link.
An old couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic and spotted a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year.
http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4365716
An old couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic and spotted a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year.
http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4365716
We have been discovered
Many thanks to our friends at the Shambhala Sun who, on their own, discovered this blog and put an announcement about it on their new "Maha Sangha News" website. The link is:
http://www.shambhalasun.com/news/?p=3376#more-3376
It may be a good time to remind readers of this blog that it is part of a larger effort by the Shambhala Working Group on Aging to cultivate discussion and action around the question of what it means to grow old in an enlightened society.
For more information on the working group see:
http://www.shambhala.org/community/aging/index.php
http://www.shambhalasun.com/news/?p=3376#more-3376
It may be a good time to remind readers of this blog that it is part of a larger effort by the Shambhala Working Group on Aging to cultivate discussion and action around the question of what it means to grow old in an enlightened society.
For more information on the working group see:
http://www.shambhala.org/community/aging/index.php
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