Teachers
Dharma Friendship Foundation sponsors guest teachers to teach Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and meditation. Our guest teachers and spiritual advisors have included:
Gen Lamrimpa
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“Gen la” passed away in meditation in 2004. A remarkable account of his passing can be found here: http://www.snowlionpub.com/pages/N65_10.php
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Venerable Thubten Chodron
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She studied and practiced Buddhism of the Tibetan tradition for many years in India and Nepal, and directed the spiritual program at Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Italy for nearly two years. She studied three years at Dorje Pamo Monastery in France and was resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore.
Venerable Chodron teaches worldwide and is the author of several books, including Open Heart, Clear Mind; Buddhism for Beginners; Taming the Mind; Working with Anger; and Tara: A Guiding Star. She also recorded a series entitled Guided Meditations on the Lamrim: The Gradual Path to Enlightenment. Ven. Chodron is founder of Sravasti Abbey, a monastery located in Newport, Washington. She emphasizes the practical application of Buddha's teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners.
DFF was extremely fortunate to have had Venerable Thubten Chodron as its resident teacher and spiritual advisor for many years. In 2002, Ven. Chodron moved from Seattle in order to begin Sravasti Abbey, an abbey for nuns, monks, and laypeople. She continued to function as the Spiritual Adviser of DFF until September, 2005 when with her blessing and encouragement, the Board of DFF formally requested Yangsi Rinpoche to be our new spiritual adviser.
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Geshe Lhundrup Sopa
Geshe Sopa is 80 years old and one of the last surviving Tibetan teachers originally educated in Tibet prior to 1959. He trained and taught at some of the most renowned monasteries in Tibet and in 1959 was chosen to be one of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s debate examiners. He is the founder and resident teacher of Deer Park Buddhist Center and Evam Monastery in Madison, Wisconsin. He has also been a professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin for approximately 30 years. He has taught several times at DFF and is a brilliant scholar and a well-loved teacher.
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Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born in Thami, Nepal, in 1946. At the age of three he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Lawudo Lama. From 1956 to 1959 Zopa Rinpoche studied at Domo Monastery in Tibet. Zopa Rinpoche then fled Chinese oppression in Tibet and continued his study and practice in Tibetan refugee camps in India, where he met Lama Yeshe, who became his principal teacher. In 1969 the Lamas began teaching Buddhism to Westerners at their Kopan Monastery in Nepal, and in 1974 began travelling the world to spread the Dharma. Zopa Rinpoche is currently the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition.
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Yangsi Rinpoche
At the age of six, Yangsi Rinpoche was recognized as the reincarnation of Geshe Ngawang Gendun, a renowned scholar and practitioner from Western Tibet. Rinpoche trained in the traditional monastic system for over twenty-five years. In 1995 he graduated with the highest degree of Geshe Lharampa from Sera Je Monastery in South India. In 1998, having the particular wish to benefit Western students of the Buddhadharma, Rinpoche came to the West to teach and has traveled extensively throughout America and Europe.
Formerly a resident teacher at Deer Park Buddhist Center in Madison, Wisconsin for five years and the author of Practicing the Path: a Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo published in 2003 by Wisdom Publications, Rinpoche is currently involved in founding Maitripa University in Portland, Oregon.
Rinpoche teaches in English, and is admired wherever he travels for his unique presentation of the Dharma, his interest and enthusiasm for Western culture, and his evident embodiment of the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhist path.
Rinpoche is the current Spiritual Adviser for DFF and the resident teacher for the newly formed Maitripa Institute in Portland, Oregon.
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Khensur Rinpoche, Geshe Wangdak
Born in 1934 in Eastern Tibet, Khensur Rinpoche entered Ba Zingon Monastery at age 10 and Drepung Monastic University at age 18. He received teachings in all four Tibetan traditions. After 25 years of study, he earned the highest honors degree of Geshe Lharampa in 1959. Rinpoche then taught Tantra and Sutra at Namgyal Monastery for 14 years. In 1991, H.H. the Dalai Lama appointed Rinpoche as Abbot of Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca, New York. He now teaches at Chenresig Buddhist Center in Connecticut.
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Geshe Yeshe Tobden
Geshe Yeshe Tobden meditated in a small hut above Dharamsala for many years, until His Holiness the Dalai Lama asked him to teach in the West. He became resident teacher at Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa in Italy. Geshe-la passed away in 1999.
While visiting DFF in November of 1997, he gave this commentary on Atisha's Jewel Mala.
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Geshe Tsultrim Gyaltsen
From Ganden Shartse Monastery in Tibet, Geshela was a refugee in India, went to England, and finally to the Los Angeles area, where he founded Thubten Dhargye Ling Buddhist Center. He teaches there and travels internationally to spread the Dharma.
Venerable Havanpola Ratanasara
The late Ven. Ratanasara was born in 1920 in Havanpola, Sri Lanka. A monk since age 11, he earned a BA in Pali and in philosophy at the University of Ceylon, an MA in education from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in education from the University of London. He served as an executive of numerous Buddhist organizations in Sri Lanka and in California. He died on May 26, 2000 in Los Angeles.
Amchok Rinpoche
A monk from Ganden Shartse Monastery, Amchok Rinpoche was director of the Tibetan Medical Institute, the abbot of Ganden Shartse Monastery, and a researcher at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) in Dharamsala, India. He is the former director of LTWA.
Geshe Kelsang Damdul
Geshe Kelsang is the director of the Dialectics School in Dharamsala.
Geshe Damdul Namgyal
Geshe Damdul was born in 1959 in a refugee camp in India, shortly after his parents followed the Dalai Lama into exile after the Chinese communist invasion of Tibet. He is a fully ordained monk who completed all the traditional studies and obtained the degree of Geshe Lharampa (Doctor of Philosophy, with honors) in 1992. He also holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in English literature, and has pursued higher studies in Western philosophy and psychology.
Geshe-la is currently the principal of the monastery school at Drepung Loseling Monastery in Mungod, India. For his full bio, see Geshe Damdul Namgyal.
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Venerable Tenzin Palmo
Venerable Tenzin Palmo (http://www.tenzinpalmo.com) is the founder and director of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in India. Born in England, she traveled to India in 1964 where she studied with His Eminence the eighth Khamtrul Rinpoche and became one of the first Westerners to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. She is famous for her twelve-year retreat in a cave in the mountains of Lahaul, India chronicled in the book Cave in the Snow by Vickie MacKenzie. Venerable Palmo has a new book, Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism, due out in July 2002 from Snow Lion.
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Venerable Tsultrim Palmo
Ven. Tsultrim Palmo was born in Poland, received a degree in psychology, and raised two children before receiving the sramanerika vows in 1982 and the bhikshuni voiws in 1984. She is based at Gampo Abbey in Canada, where she served as director for some years.
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Venerable Sangye Khadro
A Buddhist nun since 1974, Ven. Sangye Khadro trained in Nepal and India for many years. She was resident teacher at Buddha House in Australia and has been the resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore for over ten years. Her books include How to Meditate.
Venerable Tenzin Kacho
Ven. Tenzin Kacho was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1985 and worked for many years at Thubten Dhargye Ling Buddhist Center in Los Angeles. She is currently the resident teacher at Thubten Shedrup Ling Buddhist Center in Colorado Springs.
Venerable Robina Courtin
A Buddhist nun since 1978, Ven. Robina is director of the Liberation Prison Project and teaches at Buddhist centers around the world. Until recently, she was the editor of Mandala magazine.
Listen to one of her talks.
Ven. Robina is the subject of the documentary Chasing Buddha.
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Venerable Tsen-la
Ordained as a Buddhist nun in the early 1980s, Venerable Tsen-la (Thubten Dekyong) studied at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. She has translated oral teachings for many lamas, was instrumental in establishing the Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery in Nepal, and teaches the Dharma.
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Tenzin Dechen Rochard
Dechen Rochard has been a practising Buddhist for 16 years, and is a disciple of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She was ordained as a nun by him in 1986, and remained within the monastic order for twelve years. She completed several three month solitary retreats while in the West, then went to India where she completed a traditional 10-year study program in Buddhist philosophy at a Tibetan monastery in Dharamsala. She now lives in England, where she is pursuing a PhD in Western and Buddhist philosophy. She teaches meditation and Buddhism throughout England and abroad.
Ajahn Jitindriya
Born in Australia, Ajahn Jitindriya joined the community at Amaravati Monastery, England, in 1988, and took ordination as a nun in 1990 with Ajahn Sumedho as spiritual guide and preceptor. Ajahn Jitindriya and Ven. Chodron met at Life as a Western Buddhist Nun, an educational program DFF sponsored in India in 1996. She lives at Abhayagiri Monastery in Mendicino, and as of Sept. 2000, was doing long retreat.
Mitra Bishop Sensei
Ajahn Jitindriya
Born in Australia, Ajahn Jitindriya joined the community at Amaravati Monastery, England, in 1988, and took ordination as a nun in 1990 with Ajahn Sumedho as spiritual guide and preceptor. Ajahn Jitindriya and Ven. Chodron met at Life as a Western Buddhist Nun, an educational program DFF sponsored in India in 1996. She lives at Abhayagiri Monastery in Mendicino, and as of Sept. 2000, was doing long retreat.
Mitra Bishop Sensei received a B.A. from Indiana University, raised two children, and worked in graphic, interior, and architectural design for many years. She was ordained at the Rochester Zen Center and practiced at Sogen-ji in Japan under the Zen master Harada Shodo Roshi. She currently lives in New Mexico where she has founded Mountain Gate Zen Center.
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Ajahn Santikaro
A graduate of the University of Illinois, Ven. Santikaro served in the Peace Corps in Thailand for over four years. A bhikkhu since 1985, he trained at Suan Mokkh, the monastery founded by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a leading Thai teacher, scholar, and reformer. He became Ajarn Buddhadasa’s primary English translator and was abbot of Suan Atammayatarama, a training center for foreign monks in Thailand. Ven. Santikaro translated and edited Mindfulness with Breathing and Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree. Active in inter-religious dialogue and socially-engaged Buddhism, he gives lucid Dharma talks and guides students around the world in meditation practice.
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Geshe Jamyang Tsultrim
Jamyang Tsultrim holds the Geshe degree in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and a master’s degree in Western psychology. He served an appointment as resident teacher at the Sakya Institute in India for several years. A former Buddhist monk, he is now a practicing psychotherapist. He also directs the Lojong Center in Olympia, Washington, where he gives regular teachings on Buddhist meditation.
Geshe Thubten Samdup
Trained at Seraje Monastery in India, Geshe Samdup was resident teacher at Vajrapani Institute and Land of Medicine Buddha, California, for several years before beginning his own center in San Jose.
Tenzin Choegyal, Nyari Rinpoche
The youngest brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Choegyal left Tibet as a youngster. He studied in English language schools in India, helped to begin the Tibetan Youth Congress, and served in the people's assembly of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Rinchen Khandro Choegyal
The sister-in-law of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Rinchen Khandro Choegyal was the president of the Tibetan Women's Association for many years, and is currently the Minister of Health and Education in the Tibetan government-in-exile. See My True Religion Is Kindness, a 1992 interview with Rinchen Khandro Chogyel by Venerable Thubten Chodron.
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Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins
A professor of Northern Buddhist Studies and Director of the Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Virginia, Dr. Hopkins is a well-known author and translator of over a dozen books on Tibetan Buddhism.
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Dr. Elizabeth Napper
Dr. Napper studied at the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, received her Ph.D. at the University of Virginia, and spent two years in India as a Fulbright scholar. She has taught at the University of Virginia and has translated and edited many Dharma books, including Dependent Arising and Emptiness. She is currently co-director of the Tibetan Nuns Project and has been instrumental in the establishment of Dolma Ling Nunnery in India.
Dr. Alexander Berzin
Having received his Ph.D from Harvard University, Dr. Berzin has translated and written many books on Buddhism, as well as translated oral teachings for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Serkong Rinpoche. He travels worldwide, often to third-world countries, to teach the Dharma and currently lives in Berlin.
Dr. Anne Klein
Dr. Klein holds a Ph.D in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia, where she specialized in Tibetan Buddhism. As a Fulbright scholar, she studied Buddhist epistemology and soteriology with leading Gelu and Nyingma scholars in India and Nepal. Her books include Meeting the Great Bliss Queen. She was a lecturer at Stanford University and now is a professor at Rice University in Houston.
Jhampa Shaneman
A disciple of Ling Rinpoche, Jhampa studied and did retreat in Dharamsala, India, for many years before returning to Canada where he founded and is resident teacher at Thubten Choling Buddhist Center in Duncan, British Columbia.
Soo Hwa Yeo
From Singapore, Soo Hwa studied at Amitabha Buddhist Centre and later in Dharamsala. She was director of Land of Medicine Buddha in California and now works on the Fong Sel Ma project for FPMT.
Lorraine Lester
Originally from Seattle, Lorraine has lived, studied, and practiced in India for many years. She was one of the retreatants at Gen Lamrimpa's calm abiding retreat at Cloud Mountain and has continued that meditation in retreats in India.
Vicki Mackenzie
A Dharma practitioner and author, Vicki's books include Reincarnation: The Boy Lama and Reborn in the West.
Dr. William Wilmot
A member of Osel Shen Phen Ling Buddhist Center in Missoula, Montana, Dr. Wilmot is a professor of communication at the University of Montana. He has led communication and conflict workshops nationally and at DFF.
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The Tibetan Nuns of Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery
The nuns of Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery (KGN) joined us at DFF in June as part of their North American tour. This tour marked the first time a troupe of nuns has traveled to the West introducing audiences to the central role of women in the spiritual life of Tibet.
KGN is a part of a new generation of nunneries established in exile. It was founded in 1986 in Kathmandu under the direction of Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Spiritual Director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. Historically, Tibetan nuns have been denied access to scholastic training. That has changed with the establishment of the KGN nunnery. The nuns of the KGN have had the doors of the classical Buddhist education opened to them. They are provided with highly trained scholars as their teachers and they memorize texts, study, and debate in the grand tradition of Tibetan monastic culture.
Also see: Nun Tour Info and Women in Buddhism
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