Shambhala Acharyas

Acharya is a Sanskrit word that means "teacher." It refers to individuals that Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has empowered to represent him and the Kagyu, Nyingma, and Shambhala lineages he holds. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche chose these individuals because of their knowledge, wisdom, and commitment to the confluence of teachings found in Shambhala. Acharyas travel to Shambhala Meditation Centers to lead dharma programs and perform Refuge and Bodhisattva Vow ceremonies for those who would like to commit themselves to the Buddhist path. Some have selected certain teachings to be their main focus (such a Maitri, Death & Dying, etc.).

Ashe Acharya, John Rockwell	Dale Asrael	Samuel Bercholz	Emily Bower
Christie Cashman	Pema Chödrön	Suzann Duquette	Gaylon Ferguson
Michael Greenleaf	Moh Hardin	Arawana Hayashi	Jeremy Hayward
Fenja Heupers	David Hope	Richard John	Mitchell Levy
Judy Lief	Adam Lobel	Dorje Loppön Lodrö Dorje	Allyn Lyon
Barbara Märtens	Fleet Maull	Norbu McKeever	Larry Mermelstein
Mathias Pongracz	No Picture Available Robert Puts	Eve Rosenthal	David Schneider
Judith Simmer-Brown	Eric Spiegel	Jenny Warwick	Han de Wit
In Memoriam
Simon Luna

Current Combined Acharya Schedules

Monthy schedules

Individual schedules

Acharya Protocol

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Write to Lin Waters to get additional information on the acharyas and their schedules.

Teachers and Teacher Training

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the founder of the Shambhala Mandala, had the profound conviction that the teachings he held could be transmitted to students in other cultures and that they, in turn, could be empowered to teach and lead others. Thus, within the Shambhala Mandala, there is a strong emphasis on cultivating different levels of teachers and leaders. There are programs to train Shambhala Guides. Meditation Instructors, Buddhist Teachers and Directors and Assistant Directors of Shambhala Training. In addition to the Acharyas listed above, there are hundreds of meditation instructors and teachers worldwide, working with students at local centres and leading weekly classes and major programs. The teachers leading programs are normally featured in conjunction with the specific programs they are teaching, which can be found on Find a Program.