Letter of Agreement 
Signed by Richard Reoch, President of Shambhala on May 29, 2005 in Ojai, California
Footnote added on June 15, 2005

Dear friends,

For the past fifteen years, there has been an unresolved rift in the mandala established by the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, following the death of the Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin. In order to lay the basis for a resolution of these persistent difficulties, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, sovereign of the Shambhala mandala, and Mr Patrick Sweeney, dharma heir of the Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin and president of Satdharma, have engaged together in the search for a harmonious rapprochement.

In this endeavour, they have been encouragedby the vision and support expressed by the Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.

The Sakyong and Mr Sweeney met this morning at the main centre of Satdharma in Ojai, California, the third in the series of meetings they have undertaken since December 2004, with the aim of reaching agreement between them as heads of their respective communities. I am pleased to report that they have come to a mutual understanding. They have asked me to outline this agreement and their joint aspirations.

The Sakyong and Mr Sweeney share a fundamental aspiration and commitment to perpetuate the Vidyadhara’s world: his vision for transplanting genuine buddhadharma in the West and for realizing enlightened society. An essential aspect of this shared commitment is their mutual recognition and respect of each other as dharma heirs in the lineage stream of the Vidyadhara, and in the case of the Sakyong, of the Shambhala and family lineages. They have a common allegiance to the vision of Shambhala and are committed to making manifest the Kingdom of Shambhala. They have a common wish to work together in a spirit of mutual confidence and cooperation, based on their karmic and personal connections, as well as on the responsibilities they each carry. They are determined that every effort be made to ensure that all those affiliated with their organizations, now and in the future, are welcomed and respected in the activities of both organizations as well as in the life of the Shambhala mandala as a whole.

Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche recently wrote to both the Sakyong and Mr Sweeney: “Whenever disharmony is followed by harmony, that harmony is strong, long-lasting and pure. Whenever contradiction is brought under the clear gaze of wisdom realizing equality and original purity, it self-liberates into spaciousness and openness that is filled with joy and love. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin demonstrated this path to their fortunate disciples, and now Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and Patrick Sweeney are demonstrating it once again. I pray that all students have the courage, love, wisdom, and faith to follow their shining example, for the great benefit of themselves and all sentient beings.” 

The inheritance of teachings and responsibilities

The Sakyong and Mr Sweeney have discussed the teachings and responsibilities they have inherited to clarify the roles they play as teachers and leaders within their respective organizations and within the commonwealth of Shambhala as a whole. The Sakyong holds the family and dharma lineages of the Vidyadhara, and the royal seat of the sovereigns of Shambhala. As Sakyong, he exercises and protects the spiritual and temporal authority of the mandala.

The Vidyadhara was determined that his teachings be received and transmitted through the mindstream of his students in the West.  In his proclamation of 1976, the Vidyadhara empowered Ösel Tendzin as his Vajra Regent and holder of the Karma Kagyü and Nyingma lineages, and, as such, authorized him to confer appropriate vows and empowerments. Serving and supporting the Vidyadhara as his primary student for many years, the Vajra Regent played a seminal role in planting and propagating the buddhadharma in the Western world.

The Vajra Regent was commanded by the Vidyadhara to pass the lineage teachings and empowerments he held to a Western dharma student. In 1989, he bestowed that empowerment and authorization on Mr Patrick Sweeney, who continues to fulfill the aspirations of the Vidyadhara and the Vajra Regent through his teachings, transmissions, and leadership of Satdharma: an organization created to preserve and transmit the teachings of the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the lineage of transmission bestowed by the Vidyadhara on the Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin and in turn, by the Vajra Regent on Mr Sweeney. As the principal student and dharma heir of the Vajra Regent, Mr Sweeney has worked tirelessly over the past fifteen years to provide a source of spiritual support to the members of the Satdharma community, for which the Sakyong has expressed his deep appreciation.

Shortly before his death, understanding that there would be a re-formation of Vajradhatu following his death, the Vajra Regent indicated his approval of the Sakyong as head of a re-organized mandala, which would include Mr Sweeney holding a seat as a lineage holder within that mandala, recognized as the Vajra's Regent's dharma heir with all of the attendant rights and responsibilities of a lineage holder to teach and transmit the empowerments he had received. Both the Sakyong and Mr. Sweeney have now been able to implement this aspiration. Within this framework, Mr. Sweeney has expressed his willingness to serve the Sakyong in whatever manner the Sakyong deems appropriate in manifesting Shambhala and its teachings for the benefit of all beings. They feel strongly that this will create the necessary ground for a deeper harmony within the larger sangha of the Vidyadhara.

As expressions of their mutual recognition and respect, the Sakyong  has given Mr Sweeney the lung for the Primordial Rigden: the Magical Heart of Shambhala and authorized him to give it to members of the Satdharma community. Mr Sweeney will receive the Rigden Abhisheka this summer at Shambhala Mountain Center and will attend the Vajrayogini Abhisheka to be given by the Sakyong later this summer in Nova Scotia.

The Seat of Satdharma on the Mandala Council

In accordance with the new structures of the Shambhala mandala, Satdharma will have a seat on the Mandala Council of the Shambhala Mandala. This will enable Satdharma to participate in the consultative processes now being established throughout the Shambhala mandala.  Like other independent institutions seated on the Mandala Council, Satdharma will continue as an autonomous institution within the aspirations of the Shambhala Charter. The Sakyong has asked that Mr Sweeney, as President of Satdharma, be accorded due respect within the larger mandala.

Satdharma and Shambhala: Practice and Study

The Sakyong and Mr Sweeney wish to work closely together so that there can be a harmonious ground of practice and study involving both Satdharma and Shambhala. Mr Sweeney will have the texts and translations that are needed to offer to his students the teachings and practices he has previously received and been empowered to transmit. The Sakyong and Mr Sweeney will work closely together, as needed, on details involving the paths and programs of individual students with regard to access and authorizations.

Mr Sweeney supports his students in receiving teachings, abhishekas and transmissions at all levels from the Sakyong, and the Sakyong supports their receiving those given by Mr Sweeney.

The Satdharma community has been working on organizing, transcribing and editing the teachings of the Vajra Regent, and looks forward to sharing this inheritance with the Shambhala community.

The Sakyong and Mr Sweeney wish to ensure that the formative contribution made by Lady Lila Rich, widow of the Vajra Regent, to the world of the Vidyadhara and the Vajra Regent and to the development of Shambhala is appropriately honoured. An independent trust fund, seeded and maintained through voluntary contributions, will be established to assist in meeting the material needs of Lady Rich and her family. Lady Rich has expressed her willingness to offer her knowledge and experience with the Shambhala teachings to the Shambhala mandala as a whole.

The Sakyong has decided in consultation with, and, with the approval of Mr Sweeney and Lady Rich, that the stupa for the Vajra Regent in Satdharma's Ojai center will be the stupa for the Vajra Regent for the entire mandala. The stupa nearing completion at Shambhala Mountain Center is to be known as The Heart Stupa of Wisdom Transmission, symbolizing the devotion through which the dharma is transmitted by realised teachers to their students.

A Process of Purification

The Sakyong and Mr Sweeney wish to clearly acknowledge that there were many practitioners in the Vajradhatu mandala who experienced considerable confusion, pain, and anger in the period before, during and after the death of the Vajra Regent.

They have agreed that a process is needed to help understand and develop the lessons to be learned throughout our community at all levels  –  particularly as they relate to issues of openness and secrecy in governance, the conduct of those in positions of authority, the responsibilities of teachers to their students and the responsibilities of the community towards their teachers – so that all may deepen  their understanding and respect for the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana vows.

They wish to provide space for this genuine inquiry within a contemplative environment through a series of programs, including group retreats, that would involve various teachers working together. In this way, they aim to create a meaningful context to explore these issues, without ignoring or condoning any actions, so that we can cultivate understanding and develop skilful, honest and fearless communication among the members of our communities.

The programs would be conducted through the application of the three prajnas: study and discussion to deepen understanding, contemplations to apply that understanding to experience, and meditation to integrate that experience into being. The spirit of these programs will be that of Shambhala and Mahayana practices, bringing our different paths, experiences and understandings into an environment of bodhichitta, maitri and compassion. These programs would begin after Shambhala Day 2006.

The Sakyong and Mr Sweeney wish to state that one of their deepest aspirations is that members of the Satdharma and Shambhala communities, and all others who have a connection to our shared heritage, will find it possible through these programs to share their views in a manner that enables both those who agree and those who disagree to express themselves in genuine and heartfelt ways that permit deep listening and contemplation.

I have been asked by both the Sakyong and Mr Sweeney to assist them in fulfilling these agreements and aspirations and, for as long as I may be of service, I will continue to walk together with them on this fresh, uncharted ground.

Richard Reoch,

President of Shambhala
29 May 2005