Dharma Teachers

Meditation retreats and classes are led by a wide variety of visiting and local teachers.

Steve Armstrong has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1975, leading retreats since 1990, and is currently one of the guiding senior Dharma teachers at the IMS three-month retreat. As a layperson he was active for many years at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts as a retreat manager and Board member.

As a monk for 5 years in Burma under the guidance of Sayadaw U Pandita Steve undertook intensive, silent practice of insight and lovingkindness meditations. He has also intensively studied Buddhist psychology (Abhidhamma) with Sayadaw U Zagara, and presents the Abhidhamma in practical and easily understood terms. He makes his home on Maui and is co-founder and guiding teacher of Vipassana Metta on Maui.

Howard Cohn has practiced meditation since 1972 and has taught Vipassana meditation since 1985. He is a senior Dharma teacher at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California and leads ongoing classes in San Francisco and Marin.

Howard has studied with many Asian and Western teachers of several traditions including Theravada, Zen, Tibetan and Advaita Vedanta and incorporates a non-dual perspective in his teaching. He is a Ph.D. candidate in East/West psychology and has a private practice in counselling.

Christina Feldman has been studying and training in the Tibetan, Mahayana and Theravada traditions since 1970 and teaching meditation worldwide since 1974. She is co-founder and a guiding teacher of Gaia House in England and is a guiding senior Dharma teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.

Christina is author of Woman Awake!, The Quest of the Warrior Woman, Principles of Meditation, and Compassion; and co-editor of Soul Food.

Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and lovingkindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and of The Forest Refuge Center for long-term meditation practice.

Joseph first became interested in Buddhism as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand in 1965. Since 1967 he has studied and practiced different forms of Buddhist meditation under eminent teachers from India, Burma and Tibet. He is the author of Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom; The Experience of Insight; Seeking the Heart of Wisdom; One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism; and A Heart Full of Peace.

Kamala Masters has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1975. Under the guidance of Sayadaw U Pandita and Anagarika Munindra she has been trained in Vipassana and Metta meditation. She is co-founder of the Vipassana Metta Foundation on Maui and is currently developing Ho’omalamalama, a sanctuary-hermitage for longterm practice.

Kamala teaches meditation internationally and leads Metta and Vipassana retreats annually in Vancouver. She is also a co-founder and guiding teacher of Vipassana Metta on Maui.

Linda McDonald began Vipassana and Metta meditation in 1987. Prior to formal meditation practice, her spiritual journey included a foundation of Christian mysticism, Native American spirituality, and contemplative self-inquiry practices. Since 1987, Linda has led sitting groups, managed retreats, and served as a Board member in the Vancouver meditation community. She has also worked as a psychotherapist for twenty-five years and continues to work as the Executive Director of the Westcoast Dharma Society.

Linda is a graduate of the Insight Meditation Society teacher training program and has been teaching meditation since 2001. Her teaching emphasizes lovingkindness, the awakening heart of bodhicitta, and unshakeable trust in the unfolding of our experiencing.

Michele McDonald has practiced Vipassana meditation since 1975 and has been teaching worldwide since 1982. She is a senior Dharma teacher at IMS, a founder of Vipassana Hawaii and the Metta Dana Project in Burma, and a current developer of a regional international retreat center in Hawaii.

Michele is deeply interested in exploring the relationship between intensive practice, daily life practice, and psychotherapy, in preserving the ancient teachings, and in finding ways of expression that make them more accessible and authentic for us in this time. She is particularly drawn to the teachings on liberation - the very real possibility of freedom from greed, hatred and delusion in this life.

Phillip Moffitt is the founder and president of the Life Balance Institute, a non-profit organization devoted to the study and practice of spiritual values in daily life, and a member of the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California. He teaches vipassana meditation at retreat centers around the United States and holds a weekly meditation class in Marin County, California.

Phillip is the author of Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering (Rodale, April 2008) and is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal. 

Adrianne Ross, MD, has been involved with meditation and healing since 1978. Her teaching is influenced by Burmese and Thai streams of Theravada as well as Dzogchen and contemplative practices.

Adrianne teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to people with chronic pain and illness. She recently retired from working as a family physician to devote more time to personal practice and teaching retreats in Canada and in the United States.

Donald Rothberg a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and Executive Faculty at Saybrook Graduate School, writes and teaches retreats on meditation, daily life practice, and socially engaged Buddhism.

A long-time organizer, teacher, and board member for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, he directs “The Path of Engagement,” a two-year Spirit Rock training program connecting inner and outer transformation, and is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World.

Rodney Smith has been practicing Insight Meditation since 1975 including several years as a Buddhist monk in Asia and teaching meditation since 1983.

Rodney has worked in hospice care in a variety of roles for 16 years. He is currently a senior Dharma teacher for the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts and the founding and guiding teacher for the Seattle Insight MeditationSociety and Insight Meditation Houston. He is author of the book, Lessons from the Dying.

Steven Smith teaches Metta (lovingkindness) and Vipassana retreats worldwide.  Anchored in theTheravadan tradition of Southeast Asia since1974, he has trained as a monk and layperson with the Burmese meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita.

Steven is a co-founder of Vipassana Hawaii and the Metta Dana Project in Burma, and is a current developer of a regional international retreat center in Hawaii. He is also a Working Group member and senior advisor on comtemplative practice for the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, whose mission is to integrate contemplative awareness into contemporary life. Through CMIS Steven develops programs for, and teaches meditation to, national environmental leaders, business executives, journalists, and philanthropists.