Local Teachers

Acharyas (Senior Teachers)

The acharyas of Shambhala are senior teachers appointed by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. As the Sakyong’s representatives, the Acharyas, who are empowered to offer refuge and bodhisattva vows, bring the continuity of the lineage into the living teaching environment of local Shambhala centers. Providence has the good fortune to host many of the acharyas as visiting teachers, and we are extremely honored to have Acharya Mitchell Levy and Acharya Fleet Maull living in Providence.


Acharya Mitchell Levy

Dr. Mitchell Levy has been practicing critical care medicine for 25 years and meditating for over 40.  He is Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and is Medical Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Rhode Island Hospital.  He is an Acharya — a senior teacher — in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition.  He teaches Buddhism worldwide and combines his professional and spiritual practices through research in and education on end-of-life care.

 

Fleet Maull
Acharya Fleet Maull

Acharya Fleet Maull, a senior student of the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, has been a Shambhala practitioner since 1977. He is currently a senior teacher (acharya) who teaches at Shambhala centers worldwide. Acharya Maull earned a masters degree in Buddhist and Western Psychology from Naropa University in 1979. He founded Prison Mindfulness Institute (aka Prison Dharma Network) an international nonprofit now located in Rhode Island. Read more about Fleet on the Shambhala International website.

 

Shastris:

In Sanskrit, shastri literally means “teacher learned in the texts and commentaries”. The shastris have been selected from our dedicated senior teachers, as well as from newer, youger teachers and will serve a term of three years. The shastris role is to bring the current understanding of the Shambhala Buddhist vision and teachings to their centres, to be a reference point for questions about the path, and in particular to help establish The Way of Shambhala curriculum as the core path. A major role of the shastri is to personally mentor and strengthen the local teaching mandala.


Shastri Richard Sylvester

Shastri Richard Sylvester has been a Shambhala Buddhist since 1978.  He is a Shambhala Training and Buddhist teacher and also presents as a musician and contemplative psychotherapist.

 

Meditation Instructors:

 


Douglas Anderson

Douglas Anderson began studying and practicing the Buddhist and Shambhala teachings in 1975.  He was a personal attendant and student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and is currently a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.  He held leadership positions in the Dorje Kasung for 20 years and numerous teaching and administrative positions within the Shambhala Mandala.  He was Head of Practice and Education for the Providence Center for several years.  He is a Shambhala Training Director, meditation instructor and has held staff positions at numerous Shambhala International programs over the past several years.

 

 

Channing Gray
Channing Gray

Channing Gray is a Shambhala Teacher, Assistant Director, and Head of Practice and Education for the Shambhala Meditation Center of Providence. He entered into the Shambhala path in the 1980’s and is a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. Channing has extensive experience as an instructor of meditation.

Ginny Adams
Ginny Adams

Ginny Adams has been practicing and studying meditation in Shambhala since the early 1990s, and is a student of Sakyong Mipham. She is a Meditation Instructor and programs Assistant Director. Ginny currently holds the position of Center Director, and previously served as the Center’s Rusung, or head of protection. Ginny is an active member of the Dorje Kasung. She is an architectural historian who works in and teaches historic preservation throughout the Northeast.

 

Jane Ferguson
Jane Ferguson

Jane Ferguson, a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, is a meditation instructor and assistant director. She began practicing and studying meditation a number of years ago at the Phoenix Shambhala Meditation Center and more recently became a member of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Providence. Jane is the Director of Practice and Education on the center council. Now retired, she had a long career as a senior consultant in public relations and marketing communications.

Lisa Fiore

David Margolis

Lucy McKenna

Shambhala Training Assistant Directors:

 

Mona Barbera
Mona Barbera

Mona Barbera is a Shambhala Guide and Assistant Director. She began her Shambhala studies in 2000 with the late Tessa Pybus. She is a graduate of Warrior Assembly. She was a shrinekeeper in Boston for seven years. She is a couples therapist, an Assistant Trainer for Internal Family Systems, and the author of “Bring Yourself to Love: How Couples Can Turn Disconnection into Intimacy,” She is in private practice as a psychologist in Rhode Island, and leads couples workshops twice a year. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband.

Shambhala Guides:

 

Abby Test
Abby Test

Abby Test is a Shambhala Guide and Finance Manager for the Shambhala Center of Providence. She began her Shambhala Meditation training with Archarya Fleet Maull at the end of 2011. She appreciates meditation practice as a compliment to her work as an artist and finds that it enriches all of her experiences. Her daily practice is an essential coping mechanism for the challenges of everyday life.

Ed Hathaway