local
Matthew Zalichin
Matthew Zalichin began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate in 1971. His teachers include many of the past and current century’s most eminent Tibetan lamas of all main lineages, but principally the Kagyu and Nyingma through his two root gurus Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, whom he met in 1977. He has, for the […]
Transforming the Mind: The Practice of Lojong in Everyday Life, The Song of Lodro Thaye: A Study in Mahamudra, The Four Foundations: A Tibetan New Year's Retreat 2024,
Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman has spent 50 years in an intensive study of philosophy in general and the nature of mind in particular. He completed the traditional three-year retreat in 1989 in Dordogne, France under the guidance of H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Taklung Tsetrul Tulku Pema Wangyal, and at present teaches weekly at Samye Hermitage New […]
Andrea Sherman
Andrea Sherman, Ph.D., is a gerontologist, educator, trainer and end-of-life doula, and is co-author of Transitional Keys: Rituals to Improve Quality of Life for Older Adults. She is Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and New York Academy of Medicine, former Curriculum Consultant to the Bronx VA, and National Center for Creative Aging, and […]
Week Six: Noble Living, Noble Caring, Noble Dying: Healing Practices in Buddhism,
Tsunma Jamyang Donma
Tsunma Jamyang Donma, RP, CRPO, is a certified clinical chaplain and pastoral counselor. She serves as Lead for Spiritual & Religious Care and The Mindfulness Project at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada and is an ordained Buddhist nun. Tsunma provides ongoing support to patients, families, and staff, as well as on-call throughout […]
Week Six: Noble Living, Noble Caring, Noble Dying: Healing Practices in Buddhism,
Oriane Lavole
Oriane Lavole is a translator and interpreter of Tibetan Buddhist texts and teachings, as well as a PhD candidate in Buddhist Studies (Religious Studies department) at Stanford University. Her research centers on ecology in Tibetan Buddhism, land-based rituals, and the relationship to sacred sites. In parallel, Oriane is training as a Buddhist eco-chaplain and developing […]
Sophie (Shu-chin) Wu
Trained in Chinese intellectual history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Sophie teaches Asian history and philosophy, including Buddhism, as an associate professor at Agnes Scott College. Her current academic research focuses on Chinese and Tibetan independent films and contemplative education. As a longtime student of Buddhism, Sophie is a board member and meditation instructor for […]
Tawni Tidwell
Tawni Tidwell, TMD, PhD, is a biocultural anthropologist and Tibetan medical doctor, the first non-Asian to complete formal Tibetan medical training alongside Tibetan peers. She integrates Tibetan medicine, neuroscience, and Buddhist epistemology in her research, focusing on diagnostic practices for cancer and metabolic disorders. As a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she […]
Hilary Herdman
Hilary Herdman, PhD, studied and taught at Rangjung Yeshe Institute at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling monastery since 2000. Hilary was a founding member of the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. She completed an MA and later a Ph.D in Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, UK. Her thesis concerned the origins of pilgrimage and her research interests […]
Week One: The Inner Science of Awakening Dignity, Week Two: Tibetan Medicine & the Science of Wellbeing, Week Three: Buddhist Sacred Art & Artisanry,
John Makransky
John Makransky, PhD, is a professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College, senior advisor for Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche's Centre of Buddhist Studies in Nepal, a fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, and developer of the Sustainable Compassion Training model for accessing innate capacities of compassion and awareness. John's scholarly writings have focused […]
Seth Auster-Rosen
Dr. Seth Auster-Rosen received his PhD in Philosophy of Religions at the University of Chicago and has been attending teachings at Samye NY for ten years. His dissertation is a study and translation of two Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophical texts by the 8th Karmapa Mikyö Dorje on the nature of reality, what we can know about […]
Week One: The Inner Science of Awakening Dignity, Week Two: Tibetan Medicine & the Science of Wellbeing, Week Four: Buddhist Philosophy I – Understanding Reality by Knowing the Mind, Week Five: Buddhist Philosophy II – The Nature of Thought, Perception, and Insight,
Urgyen Gyalpo
Urgyen Gyalpo is a traditionally trained Himalayan artist specializing in authentic Buddhist Thangka painting. From 1996 to 2006, he studied at the renowned Tsering Art School in Kathmandu, Nepal, under the mentorship of the esteemed master painter Venerable Konchog Ladrepa. He was trained in the Karma Gadri style—an Eastern Tibetan tradition known for its spacious […]