Lama Tsultrim Allione is the bestselling author of Women of Wisdom (1984), Feeding Your Demons (2008), and Wisdom Rising Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine (2018). Lama Tsultrim is the founder of Tara Mandala, a 700-acre retreat center with the three-story temple and library dedicated to the divine feminine in the Buddhist tradition near Pagosa Springs, in southwest Colorado. She leads a vibrant international community with over forty groups around the world.
Born in New England, she traveled to Asia in her late teens and in 1970 at the age of 22 in Bodhgaya, India she became the first American to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. She later disrobed, married and became the mother of three and now is grandmother of six. In 2007 she was recognized in Tibet and Nepal as the emanation of the renowned 11th-century Tibetan yogini, Machig Labdrön, and she is one of the few women Lamas in the world today. In 2012 she received the Machig Labdron Empowerment from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa. She was awarded international recognition as an “Outstanding Woman in Buddhism” in 2009 by a panel of distinguished scholars and practitioners in Bangkok, Thailand.
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 and has a long history of assisting others in establishing and maintaining a daily practice. Tuere can be contacted at tueresala.org and at https://www.dharmaground.org.
Ursula Flückiger praktiziert Vipassana Meditation seit 1980 mit LehrerInnen wie Ven. Ajahn Sumedho, Joseph Goldstein, Christina Feldman u.a.. Sie erhielt viele Belehrungen in der tibetischen Mahayana Tradition und fühlt sich vor allem durch die Mitgefühlspraktiken sehr inspiriert. Sie arbeitete 17 Jahre für die Organisation der Retreats der Dhamma Gruppe Schweiz und zehn Jahre in eigener Praxis für Hakomi Psychotherapie. Seit 1990 wirkt sie als Meditationslehrerin und ist Mitbegründerin des Meditationszentrums Beatenberg.
Vance Pryor, PsyD, began insight meditation in 1998. He has been deeply influenced by the teachings of Sayadaw U Pandita and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. His training to become a teacher has been supported by the mentorship of Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters. He is currently participating in IMS’s 2017-2021 Teacher Training Program.
Victor von der Heyde is an Australian dharma teacher. His main influence in the dharma world was Rob Burbea. Victor was co-founder of Sydney Insight Meditators and the Bodhgaya Development Association.
He writes: These days my passions in teaching - and practice - include exploring the various responses to climate breakdown, the way we treat others on the planet, and the ways that we often get stuck with particular concepts of self and world. And stuck with particular meditation practices. My intention is to open up freeing and soulful possibilities for people.
Victoria Cary has been practicing insight meditation and studying the Dharma since 2006. She is currently in Retreat Teacher Training at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, where she previously graduated from the Community Dharma Leaders program. Victoria is the co-founder and one of the core teachers of San Francisco People of Color Insight Sangha. Victoria has worked as a volunteer at Zen Hospice and is particularly interested in the integration of the Dharma in everyday life.
Vimalo, Anagarika (Walter Kulbarz): German-born meditation teacher. Born 1931. 1958: samanera ordination at former Thai Embassy, London with twin brother (Dhamko) by Chao Khun Vimaladhammo, Abbot of Wat Mahathat, Bangkok. Both trained as samaneras under Ven Pannavaddho. Bhikkhu ordination in Rangoon. 1967-76: resident in Thailand. Returned to Germany, disrobed and is currently attached to Haus der Stile, Roseburg, near Hamburg. (quoted from The Buddhist Handbook by John Snelling, 1991).
Vinny Ferraro has been practicing meditation since 1993. He has studied with several renowned spiritual teachers including Ajahn Sumedho and the Dalai Lama. In 1998, he spent a year sitting bedside with the dying through the San Francisco Zen Center Hospice Program, as well as experiencing "A Year to Live" practice (based on the book by Stephen Levine). He has taught meditation to incarcerated youth and adults and is currently the head trainer for MBA, The Mind Body Awareness Project. Vinny also leads workshops for youth in schools internationally for a non-profit organization called Challenge Day. He is a Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader and has been teaching the weekly Friday night insight meditation group Urban Dharma in San Francisco since 2004.
Walt Opie was first introduced to insight meditation in 1993 and began sitting retreats in 2005. Currently, his most influential teachers include Bhikkhu Analayo, Joseph Goldstein, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, and Gil Fronsdal. Walt is a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS Teacher Training Program, as well as Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders program. He has led sitting groups for people in recovery and served as a volunteer teacher in several California prisons.
