New to Meditation

Meditation Instruction During Our Sunday Community Practice

Each Sunday at 10:00 am with a talk and guided meditation at 11:00 am

Meditation practice and instruction play a central role in our Shambhala community. We use Sunday mornings as a time to welcome anyone interested in learning to meditate. The session starts at 10:oo am with open meditation. At 11:00 am one of our senior teachers provides a brief talk on aspects of meditation and other Buddhist teachings, including guided meditation.

The meditation that we practice is called shamatha meditation which means “peaceful abiding”. Click here for more information on this type of meditation.

The Shambhala instructors at our center are experienced practitioners, thoroughly trained to provide guidance, support and direction to students. Although one can find the techniques written down in many places, meditation remains essentially an oral tradition, and individual personal instruction is important. Please join us for our weekly community gathering at Shambhala St. Petersburg!  You can join in anytime between 10 and 11 am.


Learn to Meditate

First Sunday of the Month

In this 2 hour introductory class you will receive the technique, guidance and experience necessary to start a mindfulness-awareness or “peaceful abiding” meditation practice. Your teacher will give you detailed instruction and guided meditation so that you have the tools for a daily practice.

We will practice together and have time for discussion and questions. Ideal for beginners or students wanting to refresh their meditation technique.

We kindly request a heart donation of at least $15 for this program.

Click here to check out the calendar to register for the next Learn to Meditate!


About Shambhala Buddhism

There are two main themes, emphases, in Shambhala Buddhism. One is the notion of basic goodness. The choice of these two words can often cause confusion, as it is not a moralistic idea, or even good as opposed to bad. To put this term into different words using the etymology of the words basic goodness, we could say ‘primordial purity’ or ‘fundamental completeness.’ At our most basic level, before we add all of our interpretations, judgement, and story-lines, we are pure and complete. We are not lacking anything. Through our practice we uncover, or reveal, our basic goodness, which is like the ever-present sun behind our clouds of confusion and pain.

The second major aspect of Shambhala concerns our relationship with our world. If people, at their most basic level, are inherently pure, then so, by extension, is society. The primary aim of Shambhala is to take the experience of basic goodness into the world to transform our culture into an enlightened society. This doesn’t mean a utopia where everyone is a blissed out yogi, but a society that acknowledges its basic goodness and treats others with kindness, respect, and compassion.

Towards this end of transforming culture, there is a big emphasis in Shambhala on living an artful & uplifted life. There are teachings and classes on Japanese flower arranging, contemplative photography, decorum, and much more.

At Shambhala St. Pete, in addition to the weekly sangha gathering, there are weekend meditation retreats, weeknight classes, book study groups, Shambhala Art programs, and much more.