Shambhala Meditation Center of Chicago

Description of Organization

Shambhala Chicago was formed in 1970 to contribute to creating compassionate care through the practice of mindfulness in the metropolitan Chicago area. The Shambhala Meditation Center of Chicago is part of an international community of more than 200 centers. In 2013, Shambhala Chicago, along with 23 other partner organizations, organized a Youth Congress on Peace attended by 400 youth and adults, as part of an Imagining Peace weekend led by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the leader of Shambhala International.  The program, “Uncovering Safe Spaces Within and Without” grew out of one of these partnerships.  This program allowed Cure Violence/CeaseFire staff to become “meditation champions” who were able to teach meditation as credible witnesses, often sharing identities, experiences, and community investment with their peers and the young people they served.

Inspired by the positive response to the teaching of mindfulness as well as the potential opportunities to grow and expand this model, a pilot Train the Trainer program, Peace Warriors, was created in 2016 with the goal of training credible witnesses from multiple youth and community serving agencies to not only learn and practice, but to also teach meditation within their spheres of influence.