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In Naropa Institute’s inspiring opening convocation in June of 1974, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche called for “relighting the pilot light” of American higher education. Those of us present who were to become Naropa’s founding year-round faculty members had no idea how that might occur, but Rinpoche had tremendous faith that we could figure it out. He guided aspects of Naropa’s curriculum, approach, and vision, but left the implementation up to us. We knew that meditation practice was a key, as it had shaped our own artistic, psychological and academic journeys in such important ways. But when it came to designing courses and teaching our students, we were unsure exactly how to do things differently.
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In the early summer of 1974, my wife Judy and I packed up our old VW micro-bus and left the residential therapeutic community in Connecticut that several students of Trungpa Rinpoche founded and decamped for Boulder. Judy was going to start work as an early staff member of Naropa Institute, and I was entering law school and serving on the Naropa governing board. In the best tradition of multi-tasking, Judy served as part of the maintenance crew, installing fire extinguishers and delivering telephone books (a dated concept),and as a meditation instructor supporting Trungpa Rinpoche, Ram Dass, and the rest of the pioneering faculty. I engaged in board work, catering meals for the staff working 18-hour days, and answering the many calls for action when the expected few hundred attendees grew to close to 2,000, either in the room or inhabiting the borderlands. Read more.
As a tribute to Naropa University’s 50th anniversary, we are delighted to present this commemorative edition of Naropa Magazine highlighting formative moments and passages in the history of our institution.
What kind of language can capture the zeitgeist underway on the eve of Naropa’s inception? Anne Waldman’s mosaic of impressions offers a synoptic view:
“It was 1974, the summer before the last American troops left Vietnam. The country was weary of the war. Visible protest had gone on for years.There was palpable burnout, exhaustion, and nihilism operating on many levels. The promise of the sixties, which once seemed so close, appeared out of reach. The House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment charging President Richard Nixon. The first-class stamp went to 10 cents. Mohamad Ali kayoed George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire. Duke Ellington died. Gary Snyder published Turtle Island, and Patti Smith recorded her first punk single, ‘Hey Joe.'” Read more.
Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024. All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.
Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.
Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.
As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.
Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors. Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.
