About Teachers
Monastic Teachers
Ajahn Vimalo was ordained in 1991 in Thailand, where he spent three
years as a monk before leaving to spend 2 years in Australia followed by
5 years in Sri Lanka. For the past 7 years Ajahn Vimalo has been a
resident at Amaravati. As a lay person, Ajahn Vimalo married and had
three children. He is an artist and has recently completed a multi-year
art project at Amaravati...more information
Ajahn Ananadabodhi has been an ordained nun in the Forest Tradition of
Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho since 1995. She has lived in Cittavivak
(Chithurst) and Hartridge monasteries and now resides at Amaravati
Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire, England, where she takes part in
the daily running of the monastery and teaching retreats. She
particularly enjoys "tudong" - walking on faith and taking the sign
of the samana (mendicant) out into the world....more information.
Ajahn Thitamedha has been an ordained nun in the Forest Tradition of
Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho since 1997. She graduated as a medical
doctor and worked for four years in Russia. Facing human suffering and
death brought her a strong sense of urgency to understand the human
predicament and to find a way out of suffering. She resides in
Cittaviveka (Chithurst) Monastery. She loves going on pindapat
(alms-around) and walking on tudong, being exposed to nature and to be
open to human kindness....more information
Lay Teachers
June Durkin has been practicing and teaching yoga for 25years and is
qualified by the British Wheel of yoga. After studying various mind body
disciplines, she was introduced to an approach in yoga pioneered by the
late Vanda Scaravelli in 1990, which changed her life. June also built
Rusheens Yoga Centre in 1990 to promote the benefits of Yoga.
www.rusheensyogacentre.com
Bart Gruzalski taught courses on Eastern Religions at Northeastern University, Boston,. He voluntarily left his position to help found a centre for sustainable living, focusing on the ecological, social and psychological needs of people to live more sustainably, in community, and with a shared inner practice. Bart has written a book on Buddhism and a book on the philosophy of Gandhi. He has over 35 years of meditation practice, has focused for the past 25 years on mindfulness mediation, has taught meditation in a number of venues, and currently is a co-manager and resident teacher at Sunyata.
Marion Gruzalski, after losing two daughters and a son, founded the Hospice at the Texas Medical Center. Her work in hospice ended in 2007 when she left the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco, where she led weekly meditations and also led one day retreats at Green Gulch, a Zen monastery in Marin County. Marion has practiced meditation for over 25 years, spent many monastic winter retreat periods at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery under the spiritual guidance of Ajahn Sumedho, co-led a weekly group in Boston, and is the co-manager and a resident teacher at Sunyata Retreat Centre.
Cait Ni Loinsigh was a member of a religious congregation for 29 years. In 1995 she felt a call to return to Ireland to delve into Celtic Spirituality and in 1997 felt a call to India, where she spent a year and a half sitting at the feet of many holy men and women of different religious persuasions. Cait now lives in West Clare where she works with senior citizens while endeavoring to live a contemplative lifestyle and put what she has learnt into practice.
Camilla O'Callaghan has been practising yoga for 36 years. For the last 20 years she has studied Viniyoga and Yoga Therapy in Berlin, Bristol and Dublin. Camilla has been teaching for 20 years.
Richard O'Gorman has been meditating for over twenty years. A lover of nature and wildlife since childhood, he has nurtured and released injured wildlife and has worked in conservation. He currently works in horticulture and periodically teaches horticulture in Adult and Community Education for the VEC in Ennis.
Marjo Oosterhoff has been practicing and teaching insight and loving-kindness meditation for many years. She trained and continues to train in monasteries in Burma, where she ordains for the duration of her stays. She works and teaches at a small meditation centre - Passaddhi - in the southwest of Ireland.
Catherine Sutton teaches Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy to groups and individuals. She is completing an MA in Mindfulness Based Approaches to Healthcare and has practiced meditation for over 20 years.
Simon Thomas has studied with some of the leading masters in Qigong ranging from the Shaolin Temple to the International Institute of Qigong, USA . He is qualified in all 4 branches of Chinese Medicine as well as Astrology and Feng Shui.