Teacher Profiles 2013 and 2014
Core
Guy Armstrong
Guy Armstrong has practiced insight meditation for over 30 years, including training as a Buddhist monk in Thailand with Ajahn Buddhadasa. He began teaching in 1984 and has led retreats worldwide. He is an IMS guiding teacher and a governing teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.
Listen to one of Guy's talks: Working with Difficult Emotions given at IMS on October 2, 2009 – 62 minutes, 42.5 MB (Download, Stream)
Sally Armstrong
Sally Armstrong worked at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in several roles in the 1990s, including executive director. She began teaching insight meditation in 1996. Now a guiding teacher at Spirit Rock, she also leads its Dedicated Practitioners Program.
Listen to one of Sally's talks: What is Mindfulness? given at IMS on September 12, 2011 – 57 minutes, 39.6 MB (Download, Stream)
Steve Armstrong
Steve Armstrong, a co-founding teacher at the Vipassana Metta Foundation's dhamma sanctuary on Maui shares the Buddha's teachings on human development and liberation of mind. Out of compassion for future generations he plants trees and directs the Burma Schools Project.
Listen to one of Steve's talks: Four Noble Truths given at IMS on August 13, 2009 – 66 minutes, 45.1 MB (Download, Stream)
Rebecca Bradshaw
Rebecca Bradshaw is the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley, MA. She leads vipassana retreats internationally, including a retreat for Spanish speakers in Puerto Rico. She also works with meditators as a psychotherapist.
Listen to one of Rebecca's talks: Happiness of Equanimity given at IMS on June 10, 2009 – 57 minutes, 38.5 MB (Download, Stream)
Sky Dawson
Sky Dawson has practiced vipassana meditation since 1981, and also has extensive experience in hospice and palliative care in Western Australia. She has taught at IMS for several years and is now the Teacher-in-Residence at the Forest Refuge.
Listen to one of Sky's talks: Equanimity - Finding Balance of Mind given at IMS on June 13, 2011 – 54 minutes, 37.1 MB (Download, Stream)
Chas DiCapua
Chas DiCapua, a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock Teacher Training, has offered meditation since 2001. He is interested in how all aspects of life can be used towards awakening. Currently the IMS Resident Teacher, he teaches throughout the US.
Listen to one of Chas's talks: The Illusion of Not Good Enough given at IMS on October 8, 2011 – 67 minutes, 45.8 MB (Download, Stream)
Christina Feldman
Christina Feldman is an IMS guiding teacher and co-founder of Gaia House in England. She has been teaching insight meditation retreats since 1976 and has recently been involved in the dialogue between cognitive therapies and Buddhist practice. Her books include Compassion and The Buddhist Path to Simplicity.
Listen to one of Christina's talks: The Wisdom of Disappointment given at IMS on March 11, 2007 – 44 minutes, 10.1 MB (Download, Stream)
Joseph Goldstein
Joseph Goldstein is a co-founder and guiding teacher of IMS. He has been teaching vipassana and metta retreats worldwide since 1974 and in 1989 helped establish BCBS. He is the author of A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma and other publications.
Listen to one of Joseph's talks: Liberation Through Non-Clinging given at IMS on November 19, 2008 – 61 minutes, 28.2 MB (Download, Stream)
Michael Liebenson Grady
Michael Liebenson Grady has practiced insight meditation since 1973. He also trained with the late Master Sheng Yen in the Chan tradition which emphasizes that each moment of your life is a practice opportunity. He is currently a guiding teacher at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center.
Listen to one of Michael's talks: Not Self: We Are Included in Nature given at IMS on August 25, 2009 – 52 minutes, 35.3 MB (Download, Stream)
Narayan Liebenson Grady
Narayan Liebenson Grady is a guiding teacher of IMS and the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center and a regular contributor to Buddhadharma magazine. Her training includes over 30 years in the Theravada tradition as well as in Chan with the late Master Sheng Yen.
Listen to one of Narayan's talks: Compassion given at IMS on August 23, 2007 – 45 minutes, 8 MB (Download, Stream)
Kamala Masters
Kamala Masters began practicing in 1975. Trained by Anagarika Munindra and Sayadaw U Pandita, she offers the dharma in the US and abroad. She is a co-founder and guiding teacher of the Vipassana Metta Foundation on Maui.
Listen to one of Kamala's talks: Three Pillars of the Dharma given at IMS on August 14, 2009 – 56 minutes, 38.3 MB (Download, Stream)
Michele McDonald
Michele McDonald has taught insight meditation around the world for 31 years, helping individuals to find their own natural entry points into stillness and deep liberation. She is a co-founder of Vipassana Hawai'i as well as a leader of retreats for youth and Burma relief projects.
Annie Nugent
Annie Nugent has practiced since 1979 and was an IMS Resident Teacher, 1999-2003. Her teaching style aims to reveal how all aspects of our lives can help us come to a clear and direct understanding of the Truth.
Listen to one of Annie's talks: Trust in the Unfolding Process of the Dharma given at IMS on February 28, 2008 – 55 minutes, 23.2 MB (Download, Stream)
Yanai Postelnik
Yanai Postelnik has been teaching insight meditation retreats internationally since 1992. His teaching is inspired by the Forest tradition of Thailand and the natural world. He lives in England and is a guiding teacher of Gaia House.
Listen to one of Yanai's talks: Vulnerability, Not Knowing and Openness given at IMS on July 13, 2011 – 54 minutes, 37.6 MB (Download, Stream)
Larry Rosenberg
Larry Rosenberg studied with J. Krishnamurti and practiced Zen for ten years before coming to vipassana meditation. The founding teacher of Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, he is the author of Living in the Light of Death and Breath By Breath.
Listen to one of Larry's talks: Dogen's Instructions to the Cook - Part 1 given at IMS on July 10, 2010 – 47 minutes, 32.6 MB (Download, Stream)
Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg, a co-founder of IMS and BCBS, has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1971 and has been teaching worldwide since 1974. She is an IMS guiding teacher and author of Real Happiness, Faith, Lovingkindness and other publications.
Listen to one of Sharon's talks: Three Personality Types given at IMS on March 23, 2004 – 48 minutes, 11.1 MB (Download)
Gina Sharpe
Gina Sharpe has studied and practiced the dharma for many years in Asia and the US. She has been teaching since 1994 and is the guiding teacher of New York Insight Meditation Center, which she co-founded in 1997.
Listen to one of Gina's talks: Compassion - When Love Meets Suffering given at IMS on August 30, 2011 – 57 minutes, 39.1 MB (Download, Stream)
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith, an IMS guiding teacher, has taught insight meditation since 1984. He is a former Buddhist monk and worked in hospice care for 17 years. The author of Lessons From the Dying and Stepping Out of Self-Deception, he founded and guides Seattle Insight Meditation Society.
Listen to one of Rodney's talks: Radical Accountability given at IMS on December 29, 2006 – 47 minutes, 10.8 MB (Download, Stream)
Carol Wilson
Carol Wilson, an IMS guiding teacher, has practiced insight meditation since 1971 with a variety of teachers, including Sayadaw U Pandita and Ashin U Tejaniya, as well as spending a year as a nun in Thailand. She has offered retreats worldwide since 1986, including the annual IMS Three-Month course.
Listen to one of Carol's talks: Perception of Impermanence given at IMS on October 22, 2006 – 60 minutes, 13.9 MB (Download, Stream)
Visiting
Akincano
Akincano is a Swiss Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist. A former monk, he practiced for 20 years in European and Thai Forest monasteries. Particular interests are suttas, stillness and contemplative psychology. He lives in Cologne, Germany, and teaches internationally.
Listen to one of Akincano's talks: A Good Friend given at Gaia House on June 26, 2010 – 56 minutes, 51 MB (Download, Stream)
Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia
Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia is a student of the Western forest sangha and a Lay Buddhist Minister in association with Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in CA. She has been a dhamma teacher since 1990, served as IMS Resident Teacher in the 1990s, and is a core faculty member at BCBS.
Pascal Auclair
Pascal Auclair has been immersed in the dharma since 1997, studying with revered Asian monastic and lay Western teachers. A co-founder of True North Insight Meditation Centre in Canada, he enjoys sharing the Buddha's teachings with all curious people.
Listen to one of Pascal's talks: Four Ways We Get Too Tight given at IMS on August 2, 2011 – 64 minutes, 44.3 MB (Download, Stream)
Bhante Buddharakkhita
Bhante Buddharakkhita was born in Uganda. Meditating since 1993, he was ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in 2002 and teaches worldwide. Founder of the Uganda Buddhist Centre, he is also the spiritual advisor of Flowering Lotus in Mississippi, and author of Planting Dhamma Seeds.
Pat Coffey
Pat Coffey has over 30 years of meditation experience, including intensive training with Pa Auk Sayadaw. He teaches internationally, founded the Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville, VA, and the Blue Ridge Prison Project, and co-founded The Meditation Teacher Training Institute.
Listen to one of Pat's talks: Challenges to Concentration given at IMS on December 20 2009 – 71 minutes, 48.7 MB (Download, Stream)
Howard Cohn
Howard Cohn has been leading vipassana retreats internationally since 1985. A psychotherapist and an original member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council, he brings joy and passion to his teaching with an emphasis on reawakening our natural freedom.
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman has taught retreats since 1997, following extensive training in several Buddhist traditions. He leads Wilderness Meditation courses, has a private practice in counseling and coaching, and is the author of Awake in the Wild.
Matthew Daniell
Matthew Daniell, a Buddhist meditation and yoga practitioner since 1984, teaches vipassana and Mindfulness Yoga, inspired by the tradition of T.K.V. Desikachar. He is a founder and the guiding teacher at the Insight Meditation Center of Newburyport, MA.
Dhammaruwan
Dhammaruwan, born with the ability to recite the Buddha’s teachings in ancient Pali, teaches internationally and is the founder of the Nirodha Centre. Teacher-trained in traditional and modern methods, his teaching encompasses an effective balance of theory and practice.
Jean Esther
Jean Esther has trained in meditation since 1975. Informed and inspired by the integration of the Buddha's teachings within modern life, she teaches at the Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley, MA, Smith College and nationally, and is a psychotherapist.
Andrea Fella
Andrea Fella has practiced insight meditation since 1996, studying with both Western and Asian teachers. With an emphasis on clarity and practicality, she teaches at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA, and nationally.
Anushka Fernandopulle
Anushka Fernandopulle has practiced and studied meditation for most of her life. She is on the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, leads a dharma group in San Francisco, and works as a leadership coach and management consultant.
Listen to one of Anushka's talks: Metta: Digging a Good Trench in the Heart given at IMS on August 1, 2009 – 54 minutes, 37.6 MB (Download, Stream)
Patricia Genoud-Feldman
Patricia Genoud-Feldman has been practicing Buddhist meditation (vipassana and Dzogchen) in Asia and the West since 1984 and teaching vipassana internationally since 1997. She is a co-founder and guiding teacher of the Meditation Centre Vimalakirti in Geneva, Switzerland.
Listen to one of Patricia's talks: Purifying the Mind and Heart given at IMS on November 13, 2008 – 66 minutes, 30.3 MB (Download, Stream)
Ed Hauben
Ed Hauben, a long-term meditator and friend of IMS for over 30 years, has served on its Board and assisted with the teen and family retreats since the 1980s.
Myoshin Kelley
Myoshin Kelley began meditation practice in 1975. Studying with teachers in both the Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, she has offered retreats worldwide since 1995. Her teaching style emphasizes a relaxed, caring and attentive attitude combined with joyful interest.
Listen to one of Myoshin's talks: Living A Life of Dharma Inquiry given at IMS on October 24, 2007 – 54 minutes, 24.9 MB (Download, Stream)
Bhante Khippapanno
Bhante Khippapanno, ordained a Buddhist monk in 1949, practiced vipassana in India and Burma with Dipa Ma, Mahasi Sayadaw and Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw. He founded Jetavana Vihara, Washington, DC, 1982, and Sakyamuni Meditation Center, CA, 1988. He helped establish Phuoc Son Meditation Center, Vietnam, 1994.
Kittisaro
Kittisaro, a Rhodes Scholar, spent 15 years as a monk in the Forest sangha of Ajahn Chah. A director of Dharmagiri in South Africa, he has completed two year-long self retreats and teaches worldwide.
Listen to one of Kittisaro's talks: Ice to Water as Dukkha to Peace given at IMS on March 9, 2011 – 33 minutes, 22.7 MB (Download, Stream)
Maddy Klyne
Maddy Klyne teaches retreats, practice groups and beginners’ workshops, as well as programs for young people at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, MA.
Listen to one of Maddy's talks: Life is Fleeting given at IMS on September 15, 2007 – 47 minutes, 21.5 MB (Download, Stream)
Dori Langevin
Dori Langevin, Psy.D., began teaching in 2003. She is especially interested in the sacred feminine and how Buddhist teachings can inform our relationships through embodied presence. She also values the interaction between mindfulness, addiction recovery and emotional healing.
Jesse Maceo Vega-Frey
Jesse Maceo Vega-Frey's meditation teaching aims to inspire the faith, determination and skill necessary to realize the deepest human freedom.
Listen to one of Jesse's talks: Rooting Our Faith in the Deepest Truth given at IMS on June 11, 2011 – 55 minutes, 38.2 MB (Download, Stream)
Catherine McGee
Catherine McGee has practiced and studied Buddhist meditation since 1992, and has taught at Gaia House in England and internationally since 1997. She is also a student of the Diamond Approach of A.H. Almaas.
Ayya Medhanandi Bhikkhuni
Ayya Medhanandi Bhikkhuni is the founder of Sati Saraniya Hermitage in Canada, a Theravada monastic community for women. She took her first vows with Sayadaw U Pandita in 1988 and spent a decade at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, England.
Phillip Moffitt
Phillip Moffitt is co-guiding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the founder of the Life Balance Institute, CA. He teaches vipassana meditation nationally and is the author of Dancing with Life, and Emotional Chaos to Clarity.
Winnie Nazarko
Winnie Nazarko started dharma practice 30 years ago, asking, 'Why does there have to be suffering in the world?’ A graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program, she teaches to help individuals realize their full potential for clarity, balance, kindness and wisdom.
Listen to one of Winnie's talks: Seeing the Good given at IMS on November 11, 2011 – 55 minutes, 37.8 MB (Download, Stream)
Mark Nunberg
Mark Nunberg began his Buddhist practice in 1982 and has been teaching meditation since 1990. He co-founded Common Ground Meditation Center in Minneapolis, MN in 1993 and continues to serve as the center’s guiding teacher.
Susan O'Brien
Susan O'Brien has been practicing vipassana meditation since 1980 and has studied with a variety of Western and Asian teachers. She began teaching in 1996 and coordinates the Insight Meditation correspondence course.
Listen to one of Susan's talks: Refuge given at IMS on July 13, 2010 – 51 minutes, 35.1 MB (Download, Stream)
John Peacock
John Peacock has taught meditation for almost 30 years. He currently teaches Buddhist Psychology at Oxford University in the MBCT masters program. He is also Associate Director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre and is a member of Gaia House's Teacher Council.
Listen to one of John's talks: Embodying Your Intention given at IMS on July 15, 2012 - 48 minutes, 33 MB (Download, Stream)
Doug Phillips
Doug Phillips has taught insight meditation since 1995. The guiding teacher of Empty Sky Vipassana Sangha in Cornwall, CT, he has been deeply influenced by Vimala Thakar and J. Krishnamurti, and is authorized to teach Koan Zen.
Ajahn Punnadhammo
Ajahn Punnadhammo is the abbot of Arrow River Forest Hermitage in Ontario, Canada. He has studied and practiced Buddhism since 1979, and was ordained in Thailand in the Forest tradition of Ajahn Chah in 1992.
Deborah Ratner Helzer
Deborah Ratner Helzer has practiced with Western and Asian teachers in the Theravada tradition since 1995, including a year as a nun in Burma. She has been teaching in the Washington, DC, area and around the country since 2001.
Sharda Rogell
Sharda Rogell began practicing meditation in 1978 and is a governing teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Influenced by many spiritual traditions, including Dzogchen and the teachings of A.H. Almaas, her primary interest is awakening the heart/mind with embodied presence.
Listen to one of Sharda's talks: Confronting Reality given at IMS on April 12, 2009 – 56 minutes, 38.4 MB (Download, Stream)
Marcia Rose
Marcia Rose has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1970. She is the guiding teacher for The Mountain Hermitage in Taos, NM and was IMS Resident Teacher, 1991-1995. Her international teaching is rooted in the Mahasi and Pa Auk Forest Monastery lineages.
Listen to one of Marcia's talks: Kamma given at IMS on October 22, 2009 – 53 minutes, 33.4 MB (Download, Stream)
Greg Scharf
Greg Scharf has practiced with Western and Asian teachers in the Theravada tradition since 1992, and has been teaching residential retreats since 2007. His teaching emphasizes the confluence of love and wisdom on the path to liberation.
Listen to one of Greg's talks: Renunciation given at IMS on April 8, 2011 – 54 minutes, 37.6 MB (Download, Stream)
Richard Shankman
Richard Shankman has been meditating since 1970. He teaches nationally and is the author of The Experience of Samadhi. He is a co-founder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and of Mindful Schools, bringing mindfulness training into low-income schools.
Listen to one of Richard's talks: Mindfulness of the Body as the Doorway Into The Four Foundations of Mindfulness given at IMS on January 31, 2010 – 53 minutes, 36.3 MB (Download, Stream)
Bob Stahl
Bob Stahl, Ph.D., a long-time insight meditator, lived in a Burmese Buddhist monastery in the Forest tradition of Taungpulu Sayadaw for over eight years. He currently directs MBSR programs in three San Francisco Bay Area medical centers and is the guiding teacher at Insight Santa Cruz.
Listen to one of Bob's talks: The Reason Why We Steady The Mind To Open To Insight given at IMS on May 18, 2011 – 62 minutes, 42.5 MB (Download, Stream)
Ajahn Sucitto
Ajahn Sucitto became a bhikkhu in Thailand in 1976. He has been closely associated with Ajahn Sumedho for over 30 years, and is currently abbot of Cittaviveka Buddhist Monastery in Chithurst, England. He has taught at IMS since 1989. For samples of his teachings, visit here.
Thanissara
Thanissara, a practitioner since 1975, was a Buddhist nun for 12 years and teaches internationally. She is a director of Dharmagiri in South Africa and has an M.A. in Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice.
Listen to one of Thanissara's talks: Without Walls of the Mind given at IMS on March 10, 2011 – 39 minutes, 27 MB (Download, Stream)
Sayadaw U Vivekananda
Sayadaw U Vivekananda has trained under Ven. Sayadaw U Pandita since 1988. He has taught internationally since 1998, guiding meditators in English, Burmese, German and French. He is the resident teacher at Panditarama Lumbini International Vipassana Meditation Center in Nepal.
Spring Washam
Spring Washam is a founding teacher of the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA. She is a new teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and currently teaches retreats and workshops nationally.
Listen to one of Spring's talks: Freedom Through Letting Go given at IMS on September 24, 2011 – 60 minutes, 41.7 MB (Download, Stream)
Lila Kate Wheeler
Lila Kate Wheeler began practicing vipassana in 1977. Her practice honors a variety of Buddhist lineages. In addition to teaching meditation, she writes fiction, travel journalism and spiritual essays. She lives in Somerville, MA, with her husband, an anthropologist.
Listen to one of Lila's talks: Unconditional Mindfulness given at IMS on January 28, 2011 – 60 minutes, 41.1 MB (Download, Stream)
Larry Yang
Larry Yang practiced in Southeast Asia, was a Buddhist monk in Thailand, and has taught meditation since 1999. He is a Spirit Rock Meditation Center teacher and a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA.
Listen to a Sangha News interview with Larry & Gina Sharpe: Diverse World, Diverse Sangha, June 2010 – 12 minutes, 8.5 MB (Download)
