Below is a partial list of notable organizations affiliated with or managed within Shambhala International: In 1970, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche arrived in North America.
In 1979, Trungpa Rinpoche empowered his eldest son, Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo, as his successor and heir to the Shambhala lineage.
In 1987, one year after moving the organization to Nova Scotia, Trungpa Rinpoche died of illnesses related to long-term alcohol abuse.
A senior American student named Thomas Rich, whom Trungpa Rinpoche had given the title Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin, assumed leadership of the organization.
[6] Tendzin, who was HIV-positive, knowingly had sex with students for three years without disclosing his infection, believing that his spiritual practice protected himself and others from AIDS.
[8] Tendzin died in 1990 from HIV/AIDS, and Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo, now known as Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, assumed spiritual and executive leadership of Vajradhatu.
[11][5] Following a series of reports by an initiative called Buddhist Project Sunshine[12] on sexual misconduct within Shambhala International, the sitting board, known as the Kalapa Council, resigned.