Teachers-rg
Acharya Christie Cashman
During the 17 years Acharya Cashman resided in Boulder, Colorado, she worked full-time in Trungpa Rinpoche’s administration and taught a full range of courses from meditation intensives at Naropa University to Vajrayana sadhana classes. In 1987, when Acharya Cashman moved to Nova Scotia, she spent part of each year in solitary retreat to delve further into the study and practice of the Shambhala terma tradition and vajrayana sadhana practice. She worked in the areas of environmental protection and dispute resolution before serving as Shambhala Training International’s Executive Director. She holds the acharya post on the Shambhala Care and Conduct Panel,…
Acharya Dale Asrael
Acharya Dale Asrael leads retreats and meditation programs internationally. She was appointed Dean of Meditation Instructors for Shambhala International by Sakyong Mipham, Rinpoche. Dale studies qigong with, and has been authorized to teach by, Daoist lineage-holder Eva Wong. Dale is an Associate Professor at Naropa University, in the Mindfulness-based Transpersonal Counseling Psychology and Master of Divinity programs. She is the founder and teacher of Naropa’s Mindfulness Instructor Training program.
Acharya Dan Hessey
Daniel Hessey discovered the dharma in 1973 through Trungpa Rinpoche’s book Meditation in Action and moved to Tail of the Tiger (now Karmê Chöling) the following year. He has lived in Shambhala communities — Karmê Chöling, Shambhala Mountain Center, and Marpa House -- for the majority of his adult life. He served as co-director of what is now Shambhala Mountain Center from 1985 to 1992, and served on its Board of Directors for five years. He has taught the Shambhala dharma extensively in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia. Before becoming an acharya, he served for two years as…
Acharya Eric Spiegel
Eric Spiegel has been of student of the Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche since 1971 when he was given a copy of Trungpa’s book “Meditation in Action”, just after his 19th birthday. “It was the first time I realized that someone else knew who I was and how I saw the world,” he says. After quickly moving to Boulder to join the growing community of students who were gathering around the Vidyadhara, he began working at Naropa Institute when it was founded in 1973. On the Vajra Regent’s instructions, he moved to Karmê Chöling in 1978 and made a genuine connection with practice…
Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown
Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Contemplative and Religious Studies at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where she has taught since 1978. As Buddhist practitioner since the early 1970’s, she became a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1974, and was empowered as an acharya (senior teacher) by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in 2000. Her teaching specialties are meditation practice, Shambhala teachings, Buddhist philosophy, tantric Buddhism, and contemplative higher education. Her book, Dakini’s Warm Breath (Shambhala 2001), explores the feminine principle as it reveals itself in meditation practice and everyday life for women and men. She has also edited…
Acharya Melissa Moore
Acharya Melissa Moore has been a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1979 and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche since 1994. She co-founded Karuna Training (1996), a certificate training in Contemplative Psychology that is currently offered in seven Countries. She has a background in innovating and researching treatment solutions for people who suffer from chronic mental illness.
Acharya Richard John
Acharya John was an early student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He was appointed acharya by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and for many years has taught Shambhala Buddhist programs in the US, Canada, and internationally. He completed the first three-year group retreat at Gampo Abbey, and now teaches full time. Acharya John and wife Liz reside in Halifax, Canada.
Adam Yukelson
Adam Yukelson is an Action Research Fellow at the Presencing Institute where he leads the design and delivery of U.Lab. Additionally, he helps deliver Presencing Institute Labs that aim to create more sustainable and inclusive economies. He has practiced and helped facilitate Social Presencing Theater since 2009.
Alex Vlasic
Alex Vlasic has been practicing meditation and studying dharma within the Shambhala Buddhist lineage for 8 years as a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. She is a facilitator, writer, emerging Shambhala teacher, and assistant teacher to the UnTraining White Liberal Racism program. She lives in Plainfield, VT.
Alexander deVaron
For the last thirty years Alexander has been exploring and teaching the intersection of meditation practice, community and creativity. In addition to teaching in Shambhala, he has taught stress management programs for the Penn Program for Mindfulness, workshops at the Philadelphia Museum Art, and classes in meditation and resilience throughout the Philadelphia area. In 2010, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche appointed him the Shastri (senior teacher) of the Philadelphia Shambhala Center. He teaches music theory, listening skills, and composition at Temple University.
Alison Pepper
Alison Pepper is a practicing child and family therapist, art-girl, teacher, and coffee lover. She has been practicing with the Shambhala lineage for the last ten years as well as teaching children at the NY Shambhala Center, Portland Shambhala Center and with Karmê Chöling’s Family Camp off and on for the last six years.
Andi Nyiradi
Andi Nyiradi, CCLS is a practicing Buddhist and has been involved with Shambhala Children’s program in New York City from 2010-2013. She has also taught at the Karme Choling winter teen retreat and summer Family Camp. She current lives in southern Maryland working with children and families. When she isn’t working she is outdoors playing with her pigs and appreciating moments of stillness in nature.
Andrew Forbes
Andrew Forbes is a lifelong practitioner of Buddhism and a student of many teachers, holding a degree in Religious Studies from Naropa University. Raised in the Buddhist community Andrew has a passion for ecumenical teachings of the dharma and the depth of traditional Buddhist teachings. As an artist and musician, Andrew is a holder of Dharma Art teachings, and serves as a reference for Shambhala culture and the integration into the path of creativity. He currently lives in the Hudson River Valley of New York where he is the Director of Operations at Sky Lake Lodge.
Anjie Cho
Anjie Cho is a creator of holistic spaces, specifically focused on designing architectural interiors, and teaching feng shui and meditation. She is the author of Mindful Homes [CICO Books 2023] and Holistic Spaces [CICO Books 2018]. Since 1999, she has been designing beautiful and nourishing spaces (inner and outer) with balance and harmony, informed by the ancient practice of feng shui and meditation. Her focus is to create nurturing and supportive environments, tailoring her practice to each individual’s specific needs. Anjie is the owner of Anjie Cho Architect, co-founder of the Mindful Design Feng Shui School, and founder of Holistic Spaces…
Arawana Hayashi
Arawana’s career has been in dance, both in the theater and in communities, with a focus on cultivating individual presence and group awareness and creativity. She began to meditate and study with Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche in 1974, and has been teaching Shambhala Training and Dharma Art practices since 1980. She currently works with the Presencing Institute, creating with colleagues an art form called Social Presencing Theater, which brings the contemplative teachings of Shambhala art into the field of social change. She is the author of Social Presencing Theater: The Art of Making a True Move.
Artist to the Court Marcia Shibata
Marcia Wang Shibata was introduced to Buddhism and Ikebana by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at Karme Chöling Shambhala Center in 1974. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was an Ikebana Master from the Sogetsu School, the newest school of the flower tradition of Japan. From 1980 to 1985 Misses Wang Shibata studied flowers in Japan at the Ikenobo and Saga Misho School – both of them are the oldest, classical Ikebana schools. She began teaching in the West in 1986. Her central interest in flower practice remains to transmit it as a meditative activity, not as a decorative form. Today Misses Wang Shibata teaches…
Aurora Casta
Aurora Casta is a Certified Teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Certified Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Facilitator. She has taught MBSR classes since 2014 and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy groups since 2017. She is an active member of the Philadelphia Shambhala Center.
Barbara Bash
Barbara Bash is a calligraphic artist who has been exploring the mixing of Asian sensibility with Western art forms for many years. She creates group experiences of creative aliveness with brush, ink and simple ritual. She is a Shambhala meditation instructor and has collaborated with musicians, storytellers, and dancers in fresh forms of visual learning. Her circle brushstroke is the new Eileen Fisher Company mark. Website – barbarabash.com Visual blog – barbarabash.blogspot.com
Beth Mount
Beth Mount is an extraordinary creator of visual stories and images that shine a light on the vibrant and diverse lives of individuals with neurodiversity and others whose voices are often unheard. Through her artistry, she brings forth a powerful narrative that embraces the uniqueness and beauty within marginalized communities, fostering a greater understanding and appreciation for neurodiversity. Beth’s work serves as a catalyst for social change, inviting us to embrace empathy, inclusion, and the power of visual storytelling to create a more inclusive and compassionate world. Her creative vision illuminates the path towards a society that celebrates the richness…
Carolyn Rose Gimian
Carolyn Rose Gimian is the Executive Director of the Chogyam Trungpa Institute at Naropa University. She has been an editor of the works of Chogyam Trungpa for more than 35 years. She is the editor of THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, SHAMBHALA: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, and more than twenty other volumes. She has been teaching meditation and presenting seminars on Chogyam Trungpa’s work for more than 40 years. THE FUTURE IS OPEN is the most recent book by Chogyam Trungpa that she edited.
Chris Hewitt
Chris Hewitt is the executive director of the Hudson Valley Current, a digital local currency for the mid-Hudson Valley. As a co-founder of the nonprofit project, Hewitt has helped grow the membership in the barter exchange to over 210 members that have exchanged over 160,000 Currents since January 2014. He launched the monthly newspaper Country Wisdom News—age-old and modern thoughts on community, the land and the home—in August 2010, which is now a nonprofit educational component of the Hudson Valley Current. Country Wisdom News, with its new economy insert (Livelihood magazine), reaches over 30,000 readers in Ulster and Dutchess counties…
Christian McEwen
Christian McEwen is a writer, educator, and cultural activist. She has edited four anthologies and produced a video documentary, Tomboys!, and a play, Legal Tender: Women and the Secret Life of Money. Her books include, World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down and Sparks from the Anvil: the Smith College Poetry Interviews. Christian grew up in the borders of Scotland and now lives in western Massachusetts. In Praise of Listening is her most recent book.
Cynthia Spencer
Cynthia Spencer has been studying Qigong with Eva Wong since 2005. She is also a meditation instructor and teacher, and a member of the Shambhala Buddhist community since 1979.
Dana Fulmer
Dana has been a student of Buddhism and meditation since 1982, and is a teacher and meditation instructor in the Shambhala path. She greatly enjoys sharing meditation practices with children and teens. Professionally, Dana is a developer of literacy curriculum for the national market. She is the mother of two teenagers from whom she learns new and unexpected things every day.
Daniel Berlin
Daniel Berlin was a co-founder of Sky Lake and for over forty years has been a student of Buddhism. He has been teaching Dharma classes for thirty years. He is a father of two teenagers and is a practicing artist.
Dave Cipriani
Award-Winning Guitarist Dave Cipriani has been on a constant quest to connect with deep spiritual/music roots while still being in the modern world, a desire that springs from 30 years of studying Buddhist meditation, and trying to understand how it relates to creativity. He performs on 7-string guitar and Indian Slide Guitar, and studied with Charlie Byrd, Ustad Aashish Khan, sitar master Jai Kishor, and with late Indian Slide guitar pioneer Pandit Barun Kumar Pal over 3 trips to India. He received his MFA in Indian Music from California Institute of the Arts, where he also studied rhythm concepts with Randy…
David Stone
David Stone has been studying and practicing Daoist qigong under the guidance of Dr. Eva Wong, who is a 19th generation carrier of the Xiantianwujimen (Primordial Limitless Gate School) lineage since 2006. Dr. Wong has authorized David as an instructor in the lineage’s graduated program of qigong training. He is also a meditation instructor and shastri (senior teacher) in the Shambhala buddhist lineage. Mr. Stone studied with master Five Element acupuncturist, Dr. J.R. Worsley and has practiced acupuncture in that tradition since 1995, presently in Chicagoland.
Deputy Minister Cynthia MacKay
Cynthia MacKay has been a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche for over 25 years. She is the Deputy Minister of the Pillar of Government of Shambhala, guiding and supporting Shambhala Leaders in the Americas. Cynthia has traveled extensively around our globe with a backpack and her running shoes, gathering teachings and running marathons. She is a teacher in Shambhala as well as a Motorcycle Safety Instructor for the California Motorcycle Safety Program.
Derek Kolleeny
Derek Kolleeny began the practice and study of Buddhism in 1976 under the guidance of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and later continued it with other leading dharma teachers, primarily Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. He earned a B.A. from Harvard College in the Comparative Study of World Religions, focused on Buddhism, including study of Sanskrit and Tibetan languages. He was a member of the Nalanda Translation Committee and has held a variety of dharma leadership positions including visit coordinator at Vajradhatu for many great teachers including the XVIth Karmapa and the Dalai Lama, founding member and Treasurer…
Donna Stephens
Donna has been a student of Buddhism and the Shambhala tradition since 1985. She served as director of Karmé Chölling’s Family Camp for eleven years and currently serves on the Family Camp Council. Donna is a registered nurse working with young adults with addictive disorders.
Dr. Eva Wong
Qigong – Eva Wong, author and translator of 17 books on the Taoist arts of health, meditation, and qigong, is the 19th generation lineage carrier of Xiantianwujimen Taoism and 3rd generation student of Wang Xiangzhai, founder of the Yiquan martial arts and Zhangshuan (standing qigong). Divination – Eva Wong is a lineage carrier of Xiantianwujimen Taoism, a lineage that specializes in qigong as well as divination and the study of the I Ching. Learn more at www.limitlessgate.com.
Dr. Shanté Paradigm Smalls
Dr. Shanté Paradigm Smalls is a teacher and student in the Shambhala school of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism. Shanté began studying and practicing Buddhism at age 17 and has practiced in Zen, SGI, and Shambhala communities. Shanté began on the teaching path in 2009 and was authorized in the Shambhala tradition to teach meditation and buddhadharma in 2015. Dr. Smalls teaches dharma and meditation in a variety of locations including dharma centers, conferences, corporations, and colleges and universities. Shanté is focused on the healing impact of contemplation and meditation in Black communities, People of Color communities, LGBTQ+ communities, and prison and…
Edinson Castano
Edinson Castano grew up immersed in a vibrant tapestry of indigenous rhythms and cultures from South America, including Amerindian, Afro-Colombian, and Afro-Caribbean influences. As a musician, Edinson’s journey takes us on a captivating exploration of sound and song. With mastery of traditional instruments and a blend of ancestral melodies and contemporary influences, he creates a rich and immersive musical experience. Through his music, Edinson invites us to embrace the beauty and diversity of different cultures, fostering unity and understanding.
Elizabeth Callahan
Elizabeth Callahan is a Tibetan translator of the Kagyu tradition. She completed two three-year retreats under the guidance of Kalu Rinpoche, is a student of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, and has been a Tsadra Foundation Translation Fellow since 2002.
Elizabeth Reid
Shastri Elizabeth Reid has been with the New York Shambhala community since the mid 80s, having been a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and later becoming a student of Sakyong Mipham. With a background in theatre, dance, and photography, she was inspired by the Dharma Art teachings of Shambhala, and for several years led contemplative photography workshops at the center. Realizing the importance of embodiment on the path, she became an Alexander Technique teacher and offers AT based exercises in most of her teaching. She is eternally grateful to have happened upon this lineage, these teachings and teachers, knowing that…
Ellen White Rook
Inspired to learn ikebana after falling in love with the flower arrangements at meditation centers, Ellen White Rook has been studying Sogetsu School ikebana for over 20 years and has been teaching since 2012. She currently holds the Sanyo instructor certificate. She is a student of Kaye Vosburgh and has also studied with Judith Hata. Ellen leads workshops and demonstrates ikebana at garden clubs, libraries, arts centers and meditation centers. She was the Chair of the New York State Capital District Sogetsu Study Group from 2018 to 2022. Ellen is a long time meditator and has been teaching meditation in…
Evan Pritchard
Evan Pritchard, a descendant of the Micmac people (part of the Algonquin nations) is the founder of The Center for Algonquin Culture and is a former Professor of Native American history at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. He is the author of Native New Yorkers, The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York. He is also the author of the widely praised No Word For Time, the Way of the Algonquin People, and many other books, including an Algonkian language series. Professor Pritchard has given “Native New Yorker” walking tours of lower Manhattan for the Smithsonian Institute, The Open Center, South…
Gabe Dayley
Gabe Dayley serves as the executive director of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Washington, DC. He was raised in the Shambhala tradition by parents who were students of the founder, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and has been practicing meditation formally since he was 15. He founded and edits The Arrow: A Journal of Wakeful Society, Culture & Politics, which publishes essays and academic articles examining the relationship between contemplative practice and social transformation. Outside Shambhala, Gabe also serves as Program Assistant for Global Field Initiatives at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. He received his master’s in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from…
Gaylon Ferguson
Gaylon Ferguson, PhD, is a senior teacher in the Shambhala and Buddhist traditions who has been leading meditation retreats since 1976. He was a member of Naropa University’s core faculty and is the author of Natural Wakefulness: Discovering the Wisdom We Were Born With. Additionally, his article, “Making Friends with Ourselves,” was selected for inclusion in The Best Buddhist Writing 2005 and his essay “No Color, All Colors” appears in the book, Mindful Politics.
Gelong Loden Nyima
Gelong Loden Nyima has been a Buddhist monk for over fourteen years. His training was at Gampo Abbey (2009 – 2017), the monastery of Trungpa Rinpoche and Pema Chodron, where he completed an advanced cycle of traditional studies called shedra, practiced intensively for many years, and was empowered as a senior teacher. He designed and taught residential trainings for four years. He then lived at Drala Mountain Center in Colorado (2017 – 2023), where he served as Resident Teacher, designing and teaching many programs ranging from open audience meditation, to youth work, to Mahayana Buddhism. He’s been blessed to receive…
Heather Scott
Heather Scott first connected with Shambhala when she attended a Level I at Dorje Denma Ling in 1994, eventually becoming a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. Heather has experience working in a number of nonprofits, and was instrumental in setting up and establishing Shambhala Online where she served as its first director until 2012 when she retired to complete a Masters degree in Transformative Leadership at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Heather has been the Executive Director of Dorje Denma Ling since 2015.
Henry Chapin
After several years of Zen practice, Henry Chapin became a student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1977, and was a founding member and director of the Ottawa Shambhala Center. He has been a meditation instructor and teacher since 1978, and leads guide, meditation, ngöndro instructor and teacher training workshops as well as the courses and weekend retreats included in The Way of Shambhala 1 and 2. Henry is also involved in prison outreach and hospital chaplaincy activities in Ottawa.
Holly Gayley
Holly Gayley is a scholar and translator of Buddhist literature in contemporary Tibet and associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research explores gender and sexuality in Buddhist tantra, literature by and about Tibetan and Himalayan women, ethical reform in contemporary Tibet, and theorizing translation, both literary and cultural, in the transmission of Buddhist teachings to North America. She is author of Love Letters from Golok: A Tantric Couple in Modern Tibet (2016), translator of Inseparable Across Lifetimes: The Lives and Love Letters of Namtrul Rinpoche and Khandro Tāre Lhamo (2019), editor of Voices from Larung Gar: Shaping…
Irene Woodard
Irene is a co-founder and active leader of The Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective. She is a Senior Teacher and meditation instructor in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition. She was Director of Practice and Education, 2013-2018, at Sky Lake Shambhala Meditation and Retreat Center, a contemplative center for meditation, arts and community located in the Hudson Valley. Currently, on the Governing Board of Sky Lake. She was part of the first delegation of Buddhist teachers invited to the White House under President Obama. She is a lifetime Kasung and Kado student. As a member of the NY Shambhala Center , Irene…
Jeffrey Davis
Jeffrey Davis equips creatives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to leverage their ideas into expanding their influence with integrity. His work and research with creative innovators, scientists, and social psychologists offers him leading insights on how creatives flourish in times of challenge and change. He has taught at and is a highly sought after speaker for numerous conferences, universities, and centres. He’s author of the book The Journey from the Center to the Page (Penguin; Monkfish Publishing) the poetry collections City Reservoir (BarnBurner Press) and Coat Thief (Saint Julian Press), and other books. He also writes on the science of creativity as…
Joanna Rotté
Joanna Rotté, writer, actor, director and teacher, is Professor Emeritus at Villanova University, where she served as Chair of the Theatre Department and Director of East Asian Studies. In Japan in the late 1970s she studied Zen Yoga and Japanese cultural arts and cultivated an interest in Buddhism. In 2001 she adapted and directed Prajna, a play by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. In 2009, she wrote (and for subsequent years performed the title role in) All Victorious Ocean based on the tantric life of Yeshe Tsogyal. She is a meditation practitioner and teacher and is devoted…
John Ankele
John Ankele is a long time Shambhala practioner. He is a documentary film maker who divides his time between NYC and Accord, NY. His company, Old Dog Documentaries has produced and directed documentary films about the subtleties of individual human experience and the complexities of our collective challenges.
John Rockwell
John Rockwell has been on the path of dharma for 46 years. He met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1975 and studied and practiced the Buddhist and Shambhala teachings for 12 years with him, and in particular worked with him on translating Tibetan texts into English. For ten years, he studied and taught at Naropa University in the Buddhist Studies department. For many years, he served as an acharya or senior teacher for Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and also studied intensively with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. He has practiced Taoist qigong for 13 years with Eva Wong, who has authorized him to…
Jude Robison
Jude Robison came to Buddhist practice in 1980 with a background in social activism, visual arts, theater and dance. She continues to integrate her passion for art and community empowerment through her dharma practice and teaching. A former co-director of Karme Choling, she has an MFA in Book Arts and Printmaking from the University of the Arts.
Judith Simmer-Brown
Judith Simmer-Brown, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Contemplative and Religious Studies Emeritx at Naropa University, where she has taught for over 40 years. Simmer-Brown is a compassion trainer for the Compassion Initiative at Naropa. She is author of Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism (Shambhala) and editor, with Fran Grace, of Meditation and the Classroom: Contemplative Pedagogy for Religious Studies (SUNY). For Shambhala, she teaches Shambhala Training levels, Mahayana and Vajrayana topics, with a special love of Mahamudra, White Tara, feminine principle, working with emotions, compassion and social engagement.
Ken Greene
About the Leader: Ken Greene is the founder of the first seed library in the country, a project he germinated in a small town library, and co-founder of the Hudson Valley Seed Company, a national seed source devoted to producing seed for home gardeners and farmers and celebrating seeds through art. Greene is on the board of directors for the Organic Seed Alliance and is on the planning committee for the National Organic Seed Growers Conference. He has given presentations for the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Culinary Institute of America, Seed Savers…
Larry Mermelstein
In 1971, Larry Mermelstein became a close student of the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and scholar. Larry is a founding member of the Nalanda Translation Committee where he serves as Executive Director. He’s a senior teacher in the Vajradhatu-Shambhala community and a Shambhala Publications consultant.
Laura Simms
Laura Simms is a long time student of Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, and a senior dharma teacher and dharma art instructor. She is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, mediator, teaching artists and author advocating for compassionate action and restorative literature. Lauren’s most recent book is OUR SECRET TERRITORY: The Essence of Storyteller (Sentient Books).
Linda Weintraub
Linda Weintraub is a curator, educator, artist, and author of several popular books about contemporary art. She has earned her reputation by making the outposts of vanguard art accessible to broad audiences. The current vanguard, she believes, is propelled by environmental consciousness that is not only the defining characteristic of contemporary manufacturing, architecture, science, ethics, politics, and philosophy, it is delineating contemporary art. “TO LIFE! Eco Art in Pursuit of a Sustainable Planet” was preceded by the series, Avant-Guardians: Textlets in Art and Ecology (2007). It includes EcoCentric Topics: Pioneering Themes for Eco-Art; Cycle-Logical Art: Recycling Matters for Eco-Art; EnvironMentalities:…
Marcia Shibata
In 1974, Marcia Shibata became a student of the Buddhist Way and Kado Way with Chogyum Trungpa. She went to Asia to study the discipline as it had survived to date in Japan in 1980 and remained there until 1985. She endeavored to understand and teach how Kado Ikebana practice could be a portal to innate wisdom mind through the diligent practice of forms, meditation practice, and studying of the laws of nature through the Buddhist/Taoist view and by observing and studying nature directly. MS Shibata has taught Ikebana supported by meditation practice from 1985 to the present day both in…
Marilia Marien
Marilia Marien is a Certified Teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and a Certified Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Facilitator. She has taught MBSR classes for several years and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy groups since 2017. She is an active member of the Philadelphia Shambhala Center.
Mark Seibold
Mark Seibold has been studying and practicing within the Vajradhatu/Shambhala community since 1981. Between 2000 and 2007 he served as director and co-director of the New Haven Shambhala Center in New Haven, CT. From 2015 to 2018 he served director of Practice and Education for the Pioneer Valley Shambhala Center and from 2020 until Shambhala Day, 2022 as director. He has been on the faculty of the Nitartha Institute since 2005 where he teaches the Foundational curriculum as well as Tibetan grammar and Tibetan Buddhist literature. A member of the Nalanda Translation Committee, in recent years he has been working…
Naoko Kojima
Naoko Kojima has been a student in the Shambhala tradition since 2007. She has served Shambhala New York in various capacities and is currently a member of the Finance Committee. Since 2017, she has been facilitating conversations for Racial Justice & Dharma group which she finds the most challenging and rewarding work.
Rebekka Henriksen
Rebekka is a long time Shambhala Buddhist practitioner and meditation instructor, and mother of three young children. She has been involved in the development and teaching of family dharma programs and Parenting as Path for the last decade. She currently leads Family Programming and teaches at the Shambhala Meditation Center of Albany, NY.
Reverend Alison Quin
Reverend Alison Quin is the Rector at Christ the King Episcopal Church in Stone Ridge, NY. A parish focused on outreach, evangelism and spiritual growth.
Roger Guest
Roger Guest is a seasoned meditator in the Vajrayana Buddhist and Shambhala lineages. He has been leading Silent Kayaking Retreats for over 5 years and has been teaching meditation since 1976. He is the author of The Tender Heart of Sadness, a book of reflections on the Spiritual Warriorship tradition of Shambhala.
Sangyum Agness Au
Agness Au is a designer and artist, with a 25-year fashion career in NYC. In 1976, she became a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and in 1985 he empowered her as a Sangyum, a holder of the feminine principle. She is a senior Shambhala Buddhist teacher and Warrior Assembly director, chair and co-founder of the former Shambhala Commission on the Status of Women and Feminine Principle. Agness created the curriculum for the Inseparable Union of the Feminine and Masculine Principles and has presented these workshops internationally for 20 years. She co-founded and facilitated Journey of Fearlessness, a support group…
Shastri Andrea Darby
Andrea Darby is Shastri for the Shambhala center in Northampton, Massachusetts. She is a learning disabilities specialist at a public school, with a professional interest in the theory and practice of Universal Design for Learning. She lives in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts with her husband, close to her three adult children and two new granddaughters. She enjoys hiking, dance, theater and writing.
Shastri Charlene Leung
Shastri Charlene Leung has been Chairperson of the Shambhala International Diversity Working Group since 2009. She was appointed by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche as Shastri for Berkeley/SF Bay Area, CA in 2010. She first became a student of the Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1983. As well as directing Shambhala Training Levels over the years, she has led parenting as path programs and the 8 year old Rites of Passage Ceremony. She currently facilitates workshops for healing personal and social oppressions for a Shambhala inspired organization called the UNTraining. Professionally she practices Chinese medicine and teaches qi gong. She lives in…
Shastri Christine Heming
Shastri Christine Heming has been a meditation instructor and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist community for many years. She was student of the founder of Shambhala Training, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and is now a student of his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. At the request of Trungpa Rinpoche, she moved to Nova Scotia with her family in 1982 to help establish a dharma centre in Halifax. About 25 years ago she moved from Halifax to the Annapolis Valley and founded the Annapolis Shambhala Meditation Group. She has completed a three-year retreat in the Kagyu Buddhist tradition. Shastri Heming has led programs in…
Shastri Donna Williams
Shastri Donna Williams has taught Shambhala Training Levels for the past 35 years both in the US and in Chile and is involved in teaching Contemplative Ecology and practicing plant-based textile arts. She lives in Vermont where she gardens, growing dye plants, apples, raspberries and raising bees.
Shastri Mary Campbell
Mary Campbell has been a student of the Shambhala Buddhist teachings since 1981. She is a meditation instructor and teacher within the Shambhala Buddhist tradition and a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Psychiatry and Mental Health. In 2010, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche appointed Mary as a Shastri (senior teacher) for Halifax. Mary teaches widely in Shambhala and for many years has taught mindfulness within health care settings. She has written on mindfulness for nursing publications and is a coinvestigator in mindfulness research.
Shastri Myra Woodruff
Shastri Myra Woodruff is the Executive Director of Karmê Chöling. She has been a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche for over twenty years and was appointed Shastri for Burlington, Vermont in 2012. She has over thirty years experience as a Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist. She has a heart connection with Karme Choling, having attended her first dathun there in 1988, and has staffed or taught programs since 1995.
Shastri Nicholas Kranz
Shastri Nick Kranz has been a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche since 1997. He has developed an approach to cultural transformation in the practice of Social Meditation, and worked with Youth Leadership development in the Shambhala community for the last decade. He brings the wisdom of meditation practice to businesses and organizations with www.mindfulinthemidst.com. He is interested in the intersection of social entrepreneurship, awakened intentional community, and collaborative right livelihood.
Shastri Trinley Busby
Shastri Busby, assigned to Vancouver, British Columbia, first met Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in 2006. Her volunteer and contract work, in the area of housing and poverty activism, led her to the field of frontline social service support work in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside; working specifically with marginalized populations who live with concurrent mental health and substance abuse challenges. For the past 10 years Trinley has been uniting her experiences as a meditator with her work as an activist. She lives in Vancouver with her husband Michael and two cats, Emily and Buster.
Sophie Léger
Sophie Léger is one of few individuals authorized and trained by Dr. Eva Wong to teach her Taoist Qigong lineages. Over the last 9 years, Sophie has traveled extensively, offering levels 1-2, 3, 4 and 5 to hundreds of people throughout North America and Europe. A student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche since 1990, Sophie also has been a certified meditation instructor and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition for over 20 years. She currently works for Kalapa Media as Director of Translations and lives in Massachusetts.
Steve Clorfeine
Steve Clorfeine has been directing Shambhala Training levels for 30 years. He is a writing, performer and teacher and a founding arts faculty member of Naropa University. He was also co-founder of Sky Lake Lodge. Steve teaches workshops internationally, and currently on Zoom. He’s pleased to host this one, which he developed at Sky Lake.
Steve Gorn
Steve Gorn, whose Bansuri bamboo flute is said to ‘re-align the cells,’ combines the essence of the Indian classical music tradition with a deep dive into the yoga of sound. He is featured on the Grammy winning recording, “Miho – Journey to the Mountain,” with the Paul Winter Consort, the Academy Award winning Documentary film, “Born into Brothels,” as well as recordings with Paul Simon, Jack DeJohnette, Glen Velez and numerous Indian and western musicians. For many years he has been exploring the mingling of Buddhadharma with Indian Classical Music For over forty years Indian Classical Music and Buddhism have been the foundation practices for Steve Gorn. As a…
TBA
Please check back. Teacher to be announced soon. Thank you!
Timothy Quigley
Timothy Quigley has practiced in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage for over 25 years. He recently served as the Interim Executive Director and Director of Practice and Education for the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York. Currently he is on the teaching faculty for Shambhala Ritual Academy. In 2015 he accompanied a group of Shambhala representatives who were part of the first Buddhist delegation to meet with a presidential administration in the West Wing of the White House. Timothy has taught extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada. In addition to teaching programs throughout the Shambhala Community and at Naropa University, Timothy…
Una Chung
Una Chung is a student of Eva Wong, who is a lineage holder in the Xiantianwujimen tradition. Chung has been practicing qigong for ten years and is authorized to teach qigong by the lineage. She is also a longtime meditation practitioner and has studied Buddhist meditation for 24 years. In her professional life Chung is an associate professor of literature, media and cultural studies at Sarah Lawrence College since 2007. Her academic areas of specialization are Asian American literature, comparative philosophies, and aesthetics of new media, with a special interest in mind-body practices and the performance of everyday life.
Vajrayogini Practitioners
The sangha of Vajrayogini sadhakas will be hosting, leading and caring for the retreat.
