A number of teachers have regularly visited Insight Chicago over the years to give dhamma talks and lead retreats.
Santikaro
Santikaro, (of Liberation Park, now in Norwalk, Wisconsin) was ordained in Thailand as a Theravada monk in 1985, and subsequently trained at Suan Mokkh with Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a leading Thai teacher, scholar, and reformer of Theravada Buddhism. He lived in Thailand as a Buddhist monk for 16 years. He became Ajahn Buddhadasa’s primary English translator and was abbot of nearby Suan Atammayatarama. He is a founding member of Think Sangha, a community of socially engaged Buddhist activists that has given special attention to the ethical and spiritual impact of consumerism and militarism. He led meditation retreats at Suan Mokkh for many years before returning to the USA’s Midwest in 2001. In 2004 he returned to lay life. He continues to teach in the Buddhist tradition with an emphasis on the early Pali sources. He is the founder of Liberation Park, a modern American expression of Buddhist practice, study, and social responsibility within community. There he continues to teach, study, practice, translate the work of his teacher, engage in social activism, and imagine the future of Buddha-Dhamma in the West. Although he and Liberation Park have moved to Norwalk Wisconsin, he continues to sit with us once about a month. His schedule of talks is posted on liberationpark.org.
Sandra Hammond
Sandra Hammond began the Prairie Sangha for Mindfulness Meditation in 1990 and has been teaching in the Prairie Sangha Network since 1997. Insight Chicago grew out of her work in Chicago. She is a graduate of the first Community Dharma Leaders program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In the 1960s, she was one of the founders of the Boston Family Institute, and in the mid 1970s, introduced Character Work, which is a Dhamma-based form of investigating and healing one’s life. Sandra was a faculty member of the Family Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University, for many years. She’s been a student of Tsoknyi Rinpoche for many years and also serves on Board of Directors of Pundarika Foundation which supports Rinpoche’s activities, where she is Director of Retreats for the Foundation. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Mid America Dharma.
Now in Crestone Colorado, Sandra continues to offer Individual Practice Development Program (IPD) via phone/e-mail, a wonderful opportunity to make a commitment to one’s practice for a fixed period of time. Students get regular support from Sandra via email and phone. Anyone interested in participating, please contact Sandra Hammond at sandrah@prairiesangha.org. Some of Sandra’s writings are available at prairiesangha.org.
Andrew Getz
Andrew Getz lives in California and has practiced Therevadan Vipassana meditation for 30 years. He was ordained as a monk in Thailand and Burma, where he lived for many years. He studied under U Pandita of the Mahasi Meditation Center in Burma, and spent a period of time in the monasteries of Ajahn Buddhadasa of Thailand. He is also a student of Christopher Titmuss and has taught at Spirit Rock and Barre. Andrew is a nurse and was trained as a mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. He has worked extensively teaching mindfulness in healthcare community settings and with incarcerated teens. Andrew frequently offers days of mindfulness and short retreats locally for Insight Chicago. He also teaches at Spirit Rock, near his home in California, and the Insight Meditation Center in Barre MA.
Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia
Taraniya led a four day retreat for Insight Chicago in 2006 at the Portiuncula Center for Prayer in Frankfort IL. She has been a Dharma teacher since 1990 and is a disciple of Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Chah. She is a Lay Buddhist Minister with Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Mendocino, California, and was a resident teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts from 1996 through 1999. She teaches at the Barre and at other Dharma centers in the United States.
Howard Cohn
Howard Cohn, a practitioner since 1972 has studied with Theravada, Zen, Dzogchen, and Advaita Vedanta, and Indian master H.W. Poonja. He led a four day retreat for Insight Chicago in May of 2006.
