AudioDharma Speakers
| Shin Kwan Park | Shin Kwan Park began meditation in the Insight or Vipassana tradition during her MA studies in Counseling Psychology and work in the mental health field. The wisdom and compassion practices along with mindfulness training offered in this tradition compelled her to dedicate herself to deeper practice and experiential learning. She has completed the Community Dharma Leadership Program from Spirit Rock and has been teaching under the mentorship... | |
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Shinzen Young | Shinzen Young became fascinated with Asian culture while a teenager in Los Angeles. Later he enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin. Eventually, he went to Asia and did extensive training in each of the three major Buddhist traditions: Vajrayana, Zen and Vipassana. Upon returning to the United States, his academic interests shifted to the burgeoning dialogue between Eastern meditation and Western... |
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Spring Washam | Spring Washam is a meditation teacher and co-founder of the East Bay Meditation Center. She has practiced meditation intensively since 1997 with many teachers and is known for her joyful heart and loving spirit. She pioneer s bringing mindfulness-based meditation practices to youth and communities of color. Spring is a Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader and leads a weekly sitting group in Oakland. She is in teacher training with Jack... |
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Stephen Fulder | If anyone wants more information on Stephen, his teachings, online school for deeper Buddhist-inspired teachings, please see https://dharma-view.com/ Dr. Stephen Fulder was born in London in 1946, has a doctorate in molecular biology and has published 14 books on outer and inner health. He is the founder and senior teacher of Tovana (the Israel Insight Society), the largest organisation in Israel that brings dharma teachings to thousands of... |
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Steve Armstrong | Steve has studied the dhamma and practiced insight meditation since 1975. He was a monk for five years in Burma under the guidance of Sayadaw U Pandita where he undertook intensive, silent practice of insight and lovingkindness meditations. He studied the Buddhist psychology (abhidhamma) with Sayadaw U Zagara in Australia and presents it in practical and easily understood terms. He continues his practice under the guidance of Sayadaw U... |
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Steve Stucky | Myogen Steve Stücky has been practicing Zen for 35 years and received Dharma Transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman in 1993. He became co-Abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center in February 2007 and also serves as guiding teacher of Dharma Eye Zen Center in San Rafael. |
| Susan Ezequelle | Susan Ezequelle has been practicing Insight Meditation since 1997. She is a past IMC Board President and worked closely with founding teacher Gil Fronsdal and other community members to found in 2001 the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. She has been teaching at IMC since 2003 and in 2008, in response to a deep desire to engage with the world through her Buddhist practice, she completed the year-long Sati Center Chaplaincy... | |
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Susie Harrington | Susie Harrington is the guiding teacher for Desert Dharma, teaching both in the Southwest and internationally since 2005. She delights in teaching outdoors, knowing that nature nourishes the heart and inspires wisdom. She encourages through silence and intimate presence, coming home to our embedded natural aliveness and belonging, and the freedom that is our natural state. Her roots are in the Insight tradition, training extensively with Jack... |
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Susy Keely | Susy Keely has practiced Buddhist meditation since 2001, and began practicing insight meditation in 2006. In 2015 she began training with Rob Burbea, who authorized her to teach in 2020. She teaches meditation in Los Angeles, California, and is an artist and a parent. She is passionate about exploring the intersection between creative energies and contemplative practice, and supporting practitioners wishing to pursue deep practice in the... |
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Tanya Wiser | Tanya Wiser began a four-year teacher training program in 2021 under the guidance of Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California. Her dharma practice began in 2006. She has a master's degree in Clinical Social Work and is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Her understanding of Theravada Buddhism is primarily informed by the teachings of Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella. Tanya's approach to sharing... |
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Tara Mulay | Tara Mulay has been a practitioner of Insight Meditation since 2003 and has undertaken intensive practice periods in the United States and Myanmar. She is a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS/IRC teacher training. In 2016 she co-founded the San Francisco People of Color Insight Sangha, and in 2020-2021 she served as the Interim Guiding Teacher for the Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts. Her dharma offerings stem from the... |
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Teah Strozer | Teah Strozer is a lineage holder in the Soto Zen tradition of Suzuki Roshi. She was at Tassajara Monastery for 11 years, and was head of practice at San Francisco Zen Center. She used to be a music teacher, and has a foster son. |
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Tempel Smith | Tempel Smith began practicing meditation in 1989. In 1997 he ordained as a monk in Burma with Sayadaw U Pandita and Pa Auk Sayadaw. He then practiced as a long-term yogi at IMS. Now, in the Bay Area, he is working on integrating these deep meditative practices into daily life and in his work with the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Tempel has taught meditation and Buddhist psychology, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teen Council. He coordinates... |
| Tenzin Chogkyi | ||
| Teresa Abdala-Romano | ||
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Tom Harshman | Tom Harshman has served in a variety of spiritual care roles in hospital, hospice, higher education, specialized ambulatory (substance use, HIV, cancer), and congregational settings. Ordained as a Christian minister, board certified as a chaplain, and certified as an ACPE clinical educator, Tom’s most recent work was as the national spiritual care executive for CommonSpirit Health. Currently living in southern California, Tom provides... |
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Toni Bernhard | |
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Tony Bernhard | TONY BERNHARD is a Buddhist chaplain and teacher. He hosts study groups in Davis and has been teaching regularly for dharma groups around the bay area and central valley for over 25 years. Until the pandemic, he worked as a mental health counselor and chaplain for inmates at Folsom Prison and spent over 20 years with the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies coordinating continuing education programs for graduates of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma... |
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Trent Walker | Trent Walker researches and teaches about Southeast Asian Buddhism, literature, and music. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies and a lecturer in Religious Studies at Stanford University. Trent received a BA in Religious Studies from Stanford and a PhD in Buddhist Studies from UC Berkeley, where his dissertation focused on Cambodian chanting manuscripts. For more about Trent and to hear audio recordings... |
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Tuere Sala | Tuere Sala is a Guiding Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Retreat Center. She is a retired prosecuting attorney who has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 30 years. Tuere is committed to lay practice and inspired by bringing the Dharma to nontraditional places. She is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, past trauma and difficulties sitting still. Tuere has been teaching since 2010... |
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Vanessa Able | Koji Vanessa Able is a Soto Zen priest and practice facilitator. She is the leader of the online Introduction to Buddhist Chaplaincy Program at the Sati Center. Vanessa completed her Chaplaincy training at Stanford Healthcare, where she continues to serve as a member of the hospital’s Professional Advisory Group. Vanessa has also served in hospice and jail and is an active member of the European Buddhist Union Chaplaincy Network. She lives... |
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Vanessa Sasson | Vanessa R. Sasson, professor of Religious Studies at Marianopolis College, is a scholar of early Buddhist narrative. She is author of several works, including Yasodhara and the Buddha and more recently The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Women, which tells the story of these first women, and highlights their courage and resilience as they journeyed towards the Buddha and asked for what was not at first easily given. |
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Venerable Pannavati | Venerable Dr. Pannavati, a yogini, former Christian pastor, founding Co-Abbot of Embracing Simplicity Hermitage, and a founding director of Sisters of Compassionate Wisdom (a 21st century trans-lineage Buddhist order), ordained in Theravada and Chan Schools, a Zen Dharma Holder and Vajrayana practitioner as well, Ven. Pannavati’s insight is rich with compassion, wit and humor. Known for her ordination of Thai and Cambodian nuns, work with... |
| Victoria Cary | ||
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Victor Medina | Victor was on the IMC board of directors and was Audiodharma Manager, and taught beginning Meditation. Victor was introduced to the dharma as a teenager and continued his spiritual path with Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella as his primary teachers. Victor was a householder with three children, a spouse of over 30 years and a retired product manager. He worked for a number of software firms in Silicon Valley. Victor had a degree in Music and... |
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Vinny Ferraro | Vinny Ferraro has been practicing meditation since 1993. In 1998, he spent a year sitting bedside with the dying through the Zen Center Hospice Program in San Francisco, as well as experiencing 'A Year to Live' practice (based on the book by Stephen Levine). He has studied with several renowned spiritual teachers including the Dalai Lama. In 2001, Vinny trained to lead Challenge Days in schools throughout the U.S. and has become an integral... |
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Walt Opie | Walt Opie was introduced to the dharma in 1993 and began attending regular insight meditation retreats in 2005, which he says greatly reduced his suffering. He is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders program and the Sati Center Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program. Walt has led sitting groups for people in recovery since 2011. He has served as a volunteer Buddhist teacher with Buddhist Pathways Prison Project for over four... |
| Wendy Lo, 劳颖昆 | Wendy Lo, 劳颖昆 grew up in the United States as a Chinese immigrant. She came to meditation as a health seeker and became drawn to integrate practice into daily living. She has been practicing insight meditation since 2014 and currently serves on the IMC board. | |
| Wes Nisker | Wes `Scoop’ Nisker is a teacher of Buddhist meditation, an author, radio commentator, and performer. His books include the bestselling classic Essential Crazy Wisdom; The Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby Boom; Buddha’s Nature; and his latest, Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again! Wes is also the founder and co-editor of the international Buddhist journal “Inquiring Mind.” He is an affiliate teacher at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in... | |
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Will Kabat-Zinn | Will Kabat-Zinn has practiced Vipassana meditation intensively in the U.S. and in Burma. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and teaches regularly at SF Insight, Spirit Rock and California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS). For the past eight years Will has taught meditation and awareness practices to incarcerated youth, first in New York City and currently in Alameda County. As an MFT Intern in private practice in San... |
| Xi He | ||
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Yasmina Porter | Yasmina Porter has been practicing mindfulness meditation since 2002 at which time she was certified at Dominican Hospital to teach Mindfulness-based Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga. In 2013, after a decade of practice and annual residential retreats with Bob Stahl, Jon Kabot-Zinn, and Mary Grace Orr, Yasmina was authorized to teach Mindfulness-based stress reduction through UMass Memorial Health Care Center for Mindfulness. She has taught MBSR... |
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Ying Chen, 陈颖 | Ying Chen is a first generation Chinese immigrant. She took refuge to become a buddhist with Venerable Ji Ru in 1995 and was exposed to Chinese Mahayana Buddhism first. She has been practicing in Insight Meditation Center since 2005, and Dharma Ground since 2020. She currently facilitates the Insight Meditation Center support group for people living with health challenges and co-leads Asian Dharma Circle. As a wife, mother, and a lay... |