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Mukpo Institute Faculty

Members of our core faculty are listed here. The Institute also invites visiting teachers to teach selected courses. For more information consult the course schedule.

Ashe Acharya John Rockwell has been a student of Buddhism and the Shambhala teachings for 30 years. He was professor of Buddhist Studies at the Naropa Institute for 12 years, co-director of Karmê Chöling Meditation Center for 4 years, and Director of Shambhala International for 5 years. He is a member of the Nalanda Translation Committee, which translates Buddhist texts and liturgies into English. In 1996, he was appointed by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche to be an acharya or senior teacher for the Shambhala community, and in 2001, he became the Ashe Acharya, in charge of the International Office of Practice and Education. Currently, he lives at Karmê Chöling as the Resident Acharya.

Acharya Michael Greenleaf began his dharma practice as a teenager after meeting a senior student from Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's sangha in 1974. He attended the 1978 Shambhala Vajrayana seminary with Trungpa Rinpoche and has twice served as residential staff at Karmê Chöling Shambhala Meditation Center. For the past several years, he has studied and taught at the Vajrayana Seminaries led by Trungpa Rinpoche's dharma heir, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

A long-time student of Buddhism and the Shambhala teachings, Acharya Arawana Hayashi is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher, with roots in Asian and Western arts. She has been on the faculty of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School and Naropa University. Acharya Hayashi teaches meditation and creative process at the Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership in Halifax and innovative leadership workshops. She has also served as teacher-in-residence at Karmê Chöling.

Acharya Suzann Duquette: A student in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage for more than thirty years, Acharya Duquette is a senior meditation instructor and teaches widely in the United States and Canada, including introductory weekend and week-long meditation programs, dathuns, and retreats for Vajrayana practitioners. Acharya Duquette is a former co-director of Karmê Chöling and is a member of the Denma Translation Group, which published Sun Tzu's Art of War, A New Translation.