John Travis, Our Guiding Teacher
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John Travis’ background includes many years of training with recognized Asian Buddhist masters. Initially John studied Tibetan Buddhism, first under Thubten Yeshe and later with the Venerable Kalu Rinpoche. He took initiation with His Holiness the 16th Karmapa who then became his primary teacher. In 1970 he began his studies in the Vipassana tradition with Munindra, later becoming a student of S. N. Goenka. In 1979, he became a monk under the Venerable Taungpalu Sayadaw. From 1988 to 1993, John devoted himself to formal teacher training with Jack Kornfield, Ph.D. at Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. He is founding teacher of Mountain Stream Meditation Center in Nevada City, California, with which Dharma Zephyr Insight Meditation Community is affiliated. He leads retreats throughout the United States. - Link to Website |
Amita Schmidt
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Amita Schmidt is a meditation teacher who has been leading retreats nationally since 1998. Her training includes over two decades of meditation practice in Buddhism (Vipassana) and numerous three-month, silent retreats. She was the resident teacher at Insight Meditation Society (Massachusetts) from 2000-2006. Amita’s teaching has been deeply impacted by teacher Adyashanti. She currently combines her history of mindfulness practice with the non-dual teachings of inquiry and resting in stillness/true nature.
Amita is the author of Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master (BlueBridge, May 2005) and a contributor to Buddha Laughing: A Tricycle Book of Cartoons.
Amita lives in Hawaii with her husband and works as a psychotherapist. - Link to Website |
Shaila Catherine
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Shaila Catherine is the founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, a Buddhist Meditation Center in Silicon Valley, and has taught internationally since 1996. Shaila began her mindfulness based meditation practice in 1980 and has accumulated over eight years of silent retreat experience plus several years (1990-1996) dedicated to practice with masters in India, Nepal and Thailand. Shaila's current focus is the development of concentration and the deep states of blissful absorption called jhana, and using the concentrated mind for insight. She completed a one-year intensive meditation retreat focused on jhana as the basis for insight (2003-2004), and authored Focused and Fearless: A Meditator's Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity. She is currently training with Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw of Burma and wrote a second book, Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana, (Wisdom Publications 2011). Visit her website for more information about Shaila's work. - Link to Website |
Santikaro
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Santikaro is a Dhamma student-practitioner, translator, and Buddhist meditation teacher who lives with his wife Jo Marie at Liberation Park in southwest Wisconsin. Inspired by the suttas of early Buddhism and guided by the profound influence of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, Santikaro seeks to translate the heart of the Buddha's liberating message into a life free of suffering amidst the challenges of modern life. His involvement with socially engaged Buddhism, the Enneagram, and the 12 Steps of AA also shape his teaching. - Link to Website |
Donald Rothberg
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Donald Rothberg, a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council, writes and teaches classes, groups, and retreats on meditation, daily
life practice, transpersonal psychology, and socially engaged Buddhism. He has practiced vipassana since 1976 and has also been very influenced by Dzogchen practice. Donald has directed or helped to guide several training programs in engaged spirituality with
Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Saybrook Graduate School, and
Spirit Rock. He is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World. - Link to Website |
Arinna Weisman
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Arinna Weisman has studied insight meditation since 1979 and has been teaching since 1989. Her root teacher is Ruth Denison, who was empowered by the great teacher U Bha Khin. She has also studied with Thich Nhat Hanh in the Zen tradition, Punjaji in the Advaita tradition, and Tsokney Rinpoche in the Dzogchen tradition. She is the founding teacher of Dhamma Dhena Meditation Center (now Insight Meditation Center of the Pioneer Valley/Dhamma Dena). She is the coauthor of the book, A Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation, and she teaches throughout the United States and Europe. - Link to Website |
Rick Hanson
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Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, neurologist and teacher with a great interest in the intersection of psychology,
neurology, and Buddhism. He has written and taught extensively about the essential inner skills of personal well-being, psychological growth, and contemplative practice - as well as about relationships, family life, and raising children.
A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, Rick did management consulting before earning his Ph.D. from The Wright Institute. He is first author of Mother Nurture: A Mother's Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships (Penguin, 2002), and first author (with Rick Mendius, M.D.) of a book in progress titled, Brainpower: The New Neuroscience of Using Your Mind to Change Your Brain for Happiness, Love, and Wisdom. - Link to Website |
Marv Treiger
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Marv Treiger has emphasized Shamatha in his meditations since 1993. He recently completed a 3-month Shamatha retreat as part of a double-blind scientific study under the tutelage of Alan Wallace. Marv is known for the clarity and humor of his teachings. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice on the in Los Angeles and is an adjunct faculty member of Antioch College. He has led numerous retreats and workshops. |
