Our Story

Samadhi Cushions and Store was started by students of the late Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founder of Shambhala. We have been making and selling quality cushions for practitioners of meditation since 1975. Our cushions are sewn, hand-stuffed and hand-tufted right here in our workshop in the village of Barnet, Vermont. Our retail outlet, Samadhi Store, carries over 3000 items for the support of mindfulness meditation, including over 900 titles on Buddhist meditation and related topics.

We all live in the vicinity (some of us were even born here). We are a not-for-profit affiliate of Shambhala, now under the guidance of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. Our mission is to encourage and support the practice of mindfulness meditation as taught by the Buddha. Proceeds from our sales support the retreatants and facilities at Shambhala Centers, including Karmê Chöling retreat center nestled on 500 acres, just down the road, and Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado.

Sincerely,

Jeanine Greenleaf

Our Mission

"...and there Gautama made a seat of soft kusha grass at the foot of a pipal tree...sat down and resolved not to stir from that seat until he had attained enlightenment..."

The mission of Samadhi Cushions and Samadhi Store is to promote and encourage the practice of meditation as taught in the Buddhist tradition and to guide and support meditators by providing cushions and other practice materials necessary for a contemplative lifestyle. (See our Listing of Resources).

In the village of Barnet, Samadhi strives to be a "good neighbor" and to do business in a manner consistent with the Buddhist discipline of "right livelihood" - that is, without causing harm to others. Samadhi employs 12 full and part-time people to sew and sell meditation cushions and other items of interest to our customers. We are a not-for-profit with proceeds from our sales supporting Karmê Chöling Buddhist Meditation Center located nearby.

Samadhi provides meditation cushions and practice materials to the Shambhala Buddhist community, as well as to students from other Tibetan Buddhist schools. Our cushions are used by people from diverse traditions who have embraced the practice of mindfulness meditation as taught by the Buddha, including practitioners of Zen, Theravada, Taoism, Christianity, Yoga, Stress Reduction and Shambhala Training among others.

Samadhi has been making and selling meditation cushions by mail and retail for the past 30 years. In March of 1996 production facilities were moved from Karmê Chöling to the village of Barnet, Vermont. In June of 1997 Samadhi opened a showroom and retail outlet at the Barnet location.

Visit Barnet

Our Workshop, Showroom and Store in Barnet, Vermont is open M-F 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, closed on the major holidays. We are next to the bridge over the Stevens River (just before you get to the Post Office and General Store).

Barnet is located one half mile east of Interstate 91 off of exit 18; this is 8 miles south of St. Johnsbury, 50 miles north of White River Junction, Vermont, 2.5 hours from Montreal, Quebec (Canada) and 3.5 hours from Boston, Massachusetts.

Visit our local chamber of commerce