Fall 2025 Courses

Barry Boyce, “Independence and Devotion: Paradox on the Spiritual Path” — Sunday, October 26th, 10 am ET — Online via Zoom

Throughout all traditions of Buddhism—but especially in those that put a strong emphasis on the power of a relationship with a teacher and a lineage—practitioners call out for help and blessings: “Grant your blessings so my mind may be one with the dharma.” What does it mean to call out for blessings—to whom and with what expectation?

At the same time, practitioners are encouraged to stand on their own two feet, as in one of the Pali sutras, where the Buddha famously says, “… Ananda, be a lamp unto yourself, be a refuge to yourself. Take yourself to no external refuge.” In the same vein, one of the Tibetan terms for renunciation, the foundation for the path, is ngejung, which translates as self-sufficiency.

Do these two principles contradict each other? How do we bring this seeming contradiction to the path?

Barry Boyce became a student of the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, in 1973 and attended the 1980 Vajradhatu Seminary. He has taught extensively within Shambhala Training, Vajradhatu, and Shambhala International, and on the Ocean website. In 2013, he helped to found the Profound Treasury Retreat. He was formerly senior editor at Shambhala Sun magazine (now Lion’s Roar) and is the founding editor of Mindful magazine. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with his wife Judi. They have two daughters and two granddaughters.

Please register by RSVP only, or make an optional donation by selecting from the pull-down menu.

Mark your calendar — Zoom link here

Learn to Meditate or Deepen Your Practice

SATURDAY, December 13, 2025

10:00 AM UNTIL 4:00 PM (includes lunch)

THE ALIGNED CENTER, 1 BRIDGE STREET, SUITE 64, IRVINGTON, NY 10533

Suggested Donation: $30* (includes lunch)

Space is limited; registration is required.

Have you been wanting to really understand mindfulness meditation, or just experience the support of group practice in a great setting? Join us for this special one-day program designed for beginning meditators, as well as anyone who would like to deepen their meditation practice. The workshop will include talks, practice sessions, and guided meditations. Get to know your mind better, and start the new year with a fresh perspective!

WMC presents mindfulness-awareness meditation in the tradition established by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who emphasized an evolving "path" of meditation that cultivates insight into our basic goodness without bypassing our very human imperfections and blind spots. Trungpa Rinpoche was a highly accomplished meditation master, scholar, translator, poet, and artist. He taught extensively in North America from during the 1970s and 80s, authored dozens of books based on hundreds of talks given on a remarkable array of topics, and directly influenced an entire generation of meditation practitioners and teachers. 

Gene Bobker met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche as a student at University of Colorado the summer of 1971. She attended the 1974 Seminary and became a meditation instructor in 1976. In the late seventies she became a teacher at the New York Shambhala Center and also served as director of the center from 1977 to 1982.  In 1982 she staffed the Bedford Springs Seminary, and later served as Practice Department coordinator in New York. She has been teaching at Westchester Meditation Center for ten years.