WHERE WE WORSHIP
Meditation anchors Shambhala group
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Dean and Jaynine Nelson, coordinators of the Kailua Shambhala Meditation Group, meditate at their residence, where between 15 and 35 group members gather for two-hour sessions every other Sunday.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser |
Our affiliation: Shambhala International, centered in Nova Scotia, Canada. There are 165 Shambhala centers worldwide, with about 100 of those centers in the United States and Canada.
Where we are: 344 'Ilihau St., Kailua.
Our numbers: Between 15 and 35 members gather to meditate 9 to 11 a.m. on the first and third Sundays of every month.
Our coordinators: Dean and Jaynine Nelson, who trained with Tibetan Buddhist teacher Trungpa Rinpoche for more than a decade in Boulder, Colo.
What we believe: Kailua Shambhala Meditation Group was organized around the Shambhala teachings. Members believe that the Shambhala culture of the Himalayas existed "to have people wake up to their full potential as human beings," Nelson said.
The Shambhala king, Dawa Tsampo, went to see Buddha in the fifth century B.C. and asked him to create teachings appropriate for a secular culture, Nelson said.
The basis of the teachings are that one "can apply wakefulness, dignity, sanity, open-heartedness and courage in everyday life," he said.
Members use meditation as a primary tool to tame their minds, open their hearts and "actually be present in life," Nelson said. "Those would-be bottom-line statements of what the Buddha said; that there is a way to awaken and there is a way to live more joyously, with more dignity and with a more open heart."
Our history: Nelson, who also runs WindHorse HealthCare in Kailua as an acupuncturist and chiropractor, said the idea for the meditation group came about in 1996 after he decided to teach meditation at his clinic. "Eventually there was a group that actually wanted more than just sitting in that kind of clinical way and actually wanted to know about the depths of those teachings," he said.
After meeting for a couple of years in vacant office spaces, the group moved about three years ago to the Nelsons' residence, where they established a meditation room. They hope to eventually establish a permanent residential meditation center open to the public several times a week, Nelson said.
What we're excited about: The group will have a residential meditation retreat at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 through 3 p.m. Nov. 17 at St. Anthony Retreat Center. The retreat will be led by Dean Nelson, who will emphasize a technique taught by Pema Chodron.
What's special about us: Despite its name, Kailua Shambhala Meditation Group "isn't just about meditating," Nelson said. "It's how you take the lessons, the mind and the heart, from meditation to your daily world."
Contact: 254-5577
If you'd like to recommend a faith organization for the weekly feature, Where We Worship, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com; call 525-8035; or write: Where We Worship, Faith Page, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.
Correction: Kailua Shambhala Meditation Group's residential meditation retreat Nov. 13-17 will be led by Dean Nelson, who will emphasize a technique taught by Pema Chodron. Chodron will not be at the retreat. A previous version of this story.had incorrect information.
