Launched by
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche as an internal publication of the
Shambhala community, the Sun has evolved from a community newspaper, the Vajradhatu Sun founded in 1978, to a small young magazine, to the largest-circulation Buddhist magazine in the English language. Established in 1995, the magazine is now a publication of the independent, nonprofit Lion's Roar Foundation. In 2002, the
Sun launched another periodical, ''
Buddhadharma: Practitioner's Quarterly,
which is focused strongly on Buddhist practice. Buddhadharma'' is currently published by the Lion's Roar Foundation. In 2003, the
Shambhala Sun was the most successful Canadian magazine in the United States. In November 2015, the magazine's name was changed to
Lion’s Roar. ''Lion's Roar'' has a circulation of 80,000 copies, with a readership of several hundred thousand. The ''Lion's Roar'' online archive includes a substantial amount of previously published articles and essays, all free to the public. At the 2007 Alternative Press Awards,
Utne Reader magazine awarded
Shambhala Sun for a fourth time, this year for Best Spiritual Coverage.
Utne had this to say about the
Shambhala Sun: == Notable contributors ==