The Shambhala Sun is an independent, bimonthly magazine (in print and online) that offers a nonsectarian view of 'Buddhism, Culture, Meditation, and Life.' Presented are teachings from the Buddhist and other contemplative

Contemplation

The word contemplation comes from the Latin word contemplatio. Its root is also that of the Latin word templum, a piece of ground consecrated for the taking of auspices, or a building for worship, derived either from Proto-Indo-European base *tem- "to cut", and so a "place reserved or cut out" or...

 traditions, with an emphasis on applying the principles of mindfulness and awareness practices to everyday life. The magazine is a publication of the independent, nonprofit Shambhala Sun Foundation.

The Sun's editorial blog is a popular destination, called "SunSpace" (www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace) It features daily news, updates, stories, comment and links.

Shambhala Sun has a circulation of 80,000 copies, with a readership of several hundred thousand. http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=216.

The Shambhala Sun online archive includes a substantial amount of previously published articles and essays free to the public.

In handing out their Alternative Press Awards in 2007, Utne Reader

Utne Reader

Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...

 magazine awarded Shambhala Sun for a fourth time, this year for Best Spiritual Coverage. Utne had this to say about the Shambhala Sun:

"The stated goal of the Shambhala Sun Foundation, which publishes this year’s winner, is to 'promote the growth and development of genuine buddhadharma as Buddhism takes root in the West' and to 'work with and support all those who share the values of wisdom, sacredness, and compassion.' Shambhala Sun, while clearly aligned with the nonprofit’s specific take on this brand of spirituality, stands out not so much as a doctrinaire instructional manual (there are other publications better geared for that task) as it does a user-friendly guide for culturally curious, searching souls. With a focus on health and wellness, and a decidedly gentle approach to the lifelong trial that is personal transformation, the editors tap a surprisingly diverse cast of philosophers, psychologists, educators, and storytellers to breathe life into its lessons, which ultimately boil down to a clearer vision of ourselves, our neighbors, and the world’s beauty and fragility."

Notable contributors

• Pema Chodron
  Pema Chödrön
  Pema Chödrön is a notable American figure in Tibetan Buddhism. A disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, she is an ordained nun, author, and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage which Trungpa founded....
  
  
• The Dalai Lama
  Dalai Lama
  The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
  
  
• Allen Ginsberg
  Allen Ginsberg
  Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
  
  
• Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
  Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
  Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, Jampal Trinley Dradul is the head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage and Shambhala International, a worldwide network of urban Buddhist meditation centers, retreat centers, monasteries, a university, and other enterprises, founded by his father, the Buddhist teacher...
  
  

• Daniel Goleman
  Daniel Goleman
  Daniel Jay Goleman is an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for The New York Times, specializing in psychology and brain sciences. He is the author of more than 10 books on psychology, education, science, and leadership.-Life:Goleman was born in Stockton,...
  
  
• Gary Snyder
  Gary Snyder
  Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
  
  
• Robert Thurman
  Robert Thurman
  Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman is an influential and prolific American Buddhist writer and academic who has authored, edited or translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He is the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, holding the first endowed chair...
  
  
• Pico Iyer
  Pico Iyer
  Pico Iyer is a British-born essayist and novelist. He is the author of numerous books on travel including Video Night in Kathmandu. His shorter pieces regularly appear in Time, Harper's, NYRB and many other publications.-Life and career:...
  
  

• Alice Walker
  Alice Walker
  Alice Malsenior Walker is an American author, poet, and activist. She has written both fiction and essays about race and gender...
  
  
• bell hooks
  Bell hooks
  Gloria Jean Watkins , better known by her pen name bell hooks, is an American author, feminist, and social activist....
  
  
• Jon Kabat-Zinn
  Jon Kabat-Zinn
  Jon Kabat-Zinn is Professor of Medicine Emeritus and founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Kabat-Zinn was a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn and a founding member of...
  
  
• Amanda Palmer
  Amanda Palmer
  Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
  
  

Awards

Recent awards include Utne Reader magazine's Alternative Press award for General Excellence and Spiritual Coverage in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2007; Folio magazine’s 2002 Ozzie award for page design; The 2003 Canadian Newsstand Award for cover design; and the 2005 and 2007 Atlantic Journalism Award for Atlantic magazine Best Cover and Best Article.

See also

• Buddhism in the United States
  Buddhism in the United States
  Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the United States behind Christianity, Judaism and Nonreligious, and approximate with Islam and Hinduism. American Buddhists include many Asian Americans, as well as a large number of converts of other ethnicities, and now their children and even...
  
  
• Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
  Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
  Tricycle: The Buddhist Review is an independent, nonsectarian Buddhist quarterly magazine established in 1991 by Helen Tworkov. Published by The Tricycle Foundation out of New York City, most issues have interviews with Buddhist teachers, articles or essays on Buddhism and contemporary issues, book...
  
  
• Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly
  Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly
  Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly is a magazine presenting articles on Buddhist teachings and practice, with contributions from all Buddhist meditative traditions...