The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
 
Dharma Teachers of Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
Donald Rothberg
Donald Rothberg, PhD, has practiced Insight Meditation since 1976, and has also received training in Tibetan Dzogchen and Mahamudra practice and the Hakomi approach to body-based psychotherapy. Formerly on the faculties of the University of Kentucky, Kenyon College, and Saybrook Graduate School, he currently writes and teaches classes, groups and retreats on meditation, daily life practice, spirituality and psychology, and socially engaged Buddhism. An organizer, teacher, and former board member for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Donald has helped to guide three six-month to two-year training programs in socially engaged spirituality through Buddhist Peace Fellowship (the BASE Program), Saybrook (the Socially Engaged Spirituality Program), and Spirit Rock (the Path of Engagement Program). He is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World and the co-editor of Ken Wilber in Dialogue: Conversations with Leading Transpersonal Thinkers.

Elissa Epel and James Baraz

Ernest Isaacs
I have been involved in dharma practice since 1977 and a member of the Spirit Rock community since it opened. I have been doing one or two retreats a year since 1981, including six weeks at IMS in 1997. I have been the teacher for a weekly sitting group since 1989 and graduated from the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders training in 2001. I teach several six-week beginners classes each year. I have also been a student of Hameed Ali in the Diamond Heart work since 1991. I am a psychotherapist in private practice.

Eve Decker
Eve is a long time student of the dharma. She began practicing Vipassana in the early 1990s, trained in mindfulness-based social action through the two-year Path of Engagement program at Spirit Rock. and is a certified meditation teacher through the Community Dharma Leader Program. Eve is also a performing artist and co-founded the feminist folk trio Rebecca Riots(1993-2009). They were dubbed “Best Band with a Conscience” by the SF Bay Guardian, toured nationally, and released five CDs. In 2006 Eve released a solo CD, “Commentary on the Perfections of the Heart”, ten original songs based on a Buddhist list of qualities that promote a contented heart. A review of the CD in Tricycle magazine said, “Decker’s melodies, and her luscious, inventive phrasing, give her songs the power of a transmission”. Here's what James Baraz has to say, "Listening to Eve’s songs are often just what I need to remind myself of the truth inside. They’ve been a big part of my daily life practice to inspire and open my heart. I love Eve Decker’s music!"

Gregory Kramer
Gregory has been teaching meditation since 1980. He developed the practice of Insight Dialogue, offering retreats worldwide and authoring books including Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom and Dharma Contemplation: Meditating Together with Wisdom Texts.

Heather Sundberg
Heather Sundberg has taught insight meditation since 1999 and completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training. Beginning her own meditation practice in her late teens, for the last 25 years, Heather has studied with senior teachers in the Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vajrayana) traditions and has sat 1-3 months of retreat a year for almost 20 years. She was the Spirit Rock Family & Teen Program Teacher & Manager for a decade. Between 2010- 2015 she spent a cumulative one-year in study, practice, and pilgrimage in Asia. Since 2011, she has been a Teacher at Mountain Stream Meditation Center and sister communities in the Sierra Foothills, and also teaches nationally, especially at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Her teaching emphasizes embodiment, compassion and practical wisdom.

Jacques Verduin
Jacques Verduin, M. A. Somatic Psychology, is the Founder and Director of Insight-Out, a non-profit which aims to turn violence and suffering into opportunities for healing and learning for prisoners and challenged youth.

Jalaja Bonheim
Jalaja's great passion is peace. She is internationally known for her groundbreaking use of circle gatherings as a tool for empowering women, healing individuals and communities, and cultivating peace. For over 25 years, she has been leading circles, studying the dynamics of the circle, and developing a community of Circlework practitioners. Since 2005, she has traveled regularly to Israel and Palestine, where she empowers Jewish and Palestinian women to serve as agents of peace and healing in their communities. She's trained hundreds of Circlework leaders in America, Canada, and the Middle East, including ministers, teachers, social workers, psychotherapists, and corporate executives. Jalaya is the author of the soon to be released: Evolving Toward Peace: Awakening the Global Heart.

James Baraz
I try to convey that the wisdom and compassion we are looking for is already inside of us. I see practice as learning how to purify our mind and heart so we can hear the Buddha inside. In doing so, we naturally embody the dharma and help awaken that understanding and love in others we meet.

Jane Baraz

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