Archives: Authors
Sarika S. Gupta
Sarika S. Gupta, PhD, is a contemplative researcher developing ecological mapping methodologies that make visible the invisible networks where thriving happens. Drawing from two decades in educational systems research and seventeen years of Iyengar yoga practice, she creates frameworks that center embodied inquiry as a tool for personal and institutional transformation.
Amma Thanasanti
Amma Thanasanti began meditating in 1979 under the guidance of Jack Engler, Ajahn Chah, and Dipa Ma — teachers whose influence continues to shape her work today. She spent 28 years as a Buddhist nun, including 20 years in Ajahn Chah monasteries, and has taught intensive retreats worldwide since 1996. As founder of Awakening Truth and the Integrated Meditation Program, she teaches practitioners to recognize trauma, repair attachment wounds, and identify narcissistic patterns — understanding what meditation alone can't heal.
Nikhil Stewart
Nikhil Stewart is currently a researcher for the Religions and Ancient Civilizations department at the University of Hawai’i Mānoa. His research interests span Indian and Tibet Buddhist philosophy, political theory, semiotics, media theory, and linguistics. His current project ‘Digital Dharma: Tibetan Buddhism and Social Media in the Kathmandu Valley’ is an ethnographic study exploring how social media alters the life ways of Tibetan Buddhist monastic communities in the Kathmandu Valley.
Colin H. Simonds
Colin H. Simonds currently lives in Nepal at Tergar Osel Ling monastery and teaches at the Tergar Institute under the guidance of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. He is an assistant teaching professor at the University of Alberta, where he teaches Buddhism at the undergraduate level.
Madeline Drexler
Madeline Drexler is an award-winning Boston-based journalist and author who has studied with Larry Rosenberg since 2000. For 10 years she served as editor of Harvard Public Health magazine. Drexler’s work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Tricycle, Undark, The Nation, The American Prospect, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Saveur, Nieman Reports, and other publications.
Kody Muncaster
Kody Muncaster, PhD, is an ocswssw Psychotherapist and Clinical Director of Pink Lotus Counselling & Psychotherapy, specializing in trauma therapy, mindfulness, gender, and sexuality. They are queer and non-binary. They have taught at the Buddhism, Psychology, and Mental Health program at the University of Toronto: New College as well as at Western University’s Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. They began a three-year training to become a Zen priest under Venerable Bhikkhuni Thích Nũ' Tinh Quang in 2024.
Drala Mountain Center
Set high in the Rocky Mountains, Drala Mountain Center is a sanctuary for deep spiritual practice, transformation, and peace. Here, stillness reveals clarity, nature reflects our own brilliance, and ancient wisdom takes root in a modern world. Through meditation, community, and land stewardship, Drala Mountain Center serves to impact the world — one awakened heart at a time.
Peace Twesigye
Peace Twesigye is the former Director of Programming for Buddhist Studies and the Thích Nhất Hạnh Program for Engaged Buddhism at Union Theological Seminary. Peace has taught meditation and Buddhadharma in the northeastern U.S. and in France. A recognized Insight Dialogue teacher, Peace brings together meditative awareness, Buddhist wisdom, and our relational nature as a path to awakening. Peace is currently in the retreat teacher training program offered by Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center which will conclude in 2028. Additionally, Peace serves on the board of Lion’s Roar Foundation and previously served on the board of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Peace Twesigye has two master’s degrees; the first in violin performance, and the second in education, with a specialization in students with disabilities, and is committed to the path of being a lifelong student.
Hoo Nam Seelmann
Dr. Hoo Nam Seelmann is a journalist and author who was born and raised in South Korea and now lives in Switzerland. She's the author of <i>Korean Temple Cooking: Lessons on Life and Buddhism, with Recipes, the Life and Work of Jeongkwan Snim</i>.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche (1945–2023) taught Tibetan Buddhism on every continent and for over 30 years oversaw the spiritual activities of the extensive worldwide network of centers, projects, and services that form the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) which he founded with Lama Thubten Yeshe. Lama Zopa took over as spiritual director of FPMT after Lama Yeshe passed away, and authored many books about Buddhist philosophy and practice.
Tashi Choedup
Tashi Choedup [They/She] is a Transfeminine Buddhist monastic and a social justice activist. They work towards integrating contemplative practices with social justice work. They are currently working with Queer-Trans Wellness & Support Center in Hyderabad, India which a friend and they co-founded.
Rachel Boughton
Rachel Boughton is a Zen teacher and Jungian Analyst. She founded and has taught at Flower Mountain Zen (<a href="http://www.flowermountainzen.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.flowermountainzen.org</a>) since January 2020. Her interests include rediscovering the work of women in the Chan and Zen traditions.
Amie Barrodale
Amie Barrodale’s debut novel Trip (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), begins with the sudden death of the protagonist. She tries to send a message to her son from beyond, but the mystics she hopes will help are distracted.
Deborah McGlauflin
Deborah McGlauflin has been a Vajrayana practitioner since 1993. She focuses on Tara practice, phowa, and studying classical Tibetan language. Before retiring at the end of 2024, she was was on the philanthropy team of Hospice of the Chesapeake for the last 11 years of her career, serving as the team’s AI lead for the last 5 years. She is married, has ten grandchildren, and is the primary caregiver for her 94-year-old mother. She writes poetry and shares wisdom with young professionals as CoffeeBreakMentor on The Leap platform.
Sharon Lukert
Sharon Lukert is a retired Buddhist chaplain and the author of <em>Until My Memory Fails Me: Mindfulness Practices for Cultivating Resilience and Self-Compassion in the Face of Cognitive Decline.</em>
Lyle Weinstein
Lyle Weinstein is the author of The <i>Alzheimer’s Family Manual</i> and a coauthor of <i>The Montessori Alzheimer’s Project</i>. His work with caregivers was originally inspired by father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati
Originally from Hollywood, Sadhviji is a Vedic monk who has lived in the Himalayas for almost 30 years where she leads a variety of humanitarian projects. A Stanford grad with a psychology PhD, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by President Biden and is speaker at global forums including TED and the United Nations. She’s the author of <em>Hollywood to the Himalayas</em> and <em>Come Home to Yourself.</em>
Diane Esguerra
strong>Diane Esguerra</strong> is a psychotherapist. Her book <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Night-Into-Light-Mothers-Transformation/dp/1785633910/ref=sr_1_1?crid=J9UT2MFXLHMQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GCkhdQeG4Z5WN_j2yNBCjoKVeftpHhDUf-AYxrT1L2uaavoP-dTtAKgZQhu2bf0ux_sj_Th6zVmy-ElY2okdPQ.2VmKztWYPsBzrysLimXVmf2s9K8uTtjxieqf73dkqro&dib_tag=se&keywords=Diane+Esguerra&qid=1754041232&sprefix=diane+esguerra%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Night into Light: A Mother’s Journey of Grief and Transformation </a></em>was published by Eye Books in 2024.
Daniel Ahearn
Daniel Ahearn is a Los Angeles–based psychotherapist specializing in attachment repair through Integrative Attachment Therapy (IAT). He’s also the father of two boys, Wyeth and Lev.
