Cecilie Kwiat is from Canada and is the resident guide and teacher for the Novayana Society for Eastern and Western Studies, based in Edmonton, Alberta. Since the mid 1960's when she met her first Buddhist teacher – The Venerable Namgyal Rinpoché - she has received teachings from the three main schools of Sakyamuni Buddha's lineage - most notably H.H. the Dalai Lama, H.H. the 16th Karmapa, H.H. Sakya Trinzin and H.H. Penor Rinpoché. Cecilie has studied Soto Zen Buddhism, spending nine months in Japan sitting in a Soto temple under the guidance of Ven. Uchiyana Roshi. She has also spent 21 months in Thailand doing practice, and studying the Theravadin path. Cecilie is a gifted writer and poet, as well as a Dharma teacher. She considers herself to be a Buddhist practitioner rooted in North American culture. She teaches extensively in Dharma Centers across Canada and at various Centres in Tasmania, Australia, New Zealand, England, France, and North America.

Sonia Moriceau met her first meditation teacher, John Garrie Roshi, in 1974 and under his guidance began training in Satipatthana, the Way of Mindfulness. In 1982 Roshi gave her permission to teach in her own right the Way of Mindfulness. During that time Sonia was also introduced to healing and subsequently to shiatsu under Master Ohashi. In 1997 Sonia met the Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche who became a strong influence in her life and attended many of his regular and intensive retreats in Vajrayana Buddhism. In 2001 she did a one year retreat at the Dharma Centre of Canada under his guidance. This was a deeply transformative, enriching and fulfilling year. Sonia’s teaching is characterised by simplicity, humour and clarity, bringing forth her joy and vitality in sharing the gifts of wisdom and compassion she was so generously bestowed by her teachers. Since 1983, with her partner Ad Brugman, Sonia runs “The Orchard,” a Meditation and Study Centre which offers conducive and supportive conditions for training and retreats in both the healing arts and meditation. For information about Sonia see http://www.healing-shiatsu.org

Mark Webber (Lama Karma Tenpa Lekshe Yongdu) is a Resident Teacher for the Crystal Mountain Retreat Centre, Galiano Island, B.C. Mark was the Resident Teacher at the Dharma Centre of Canada in Kinmount, Ontario, and teaches at other centres in Canada and internationally. Mark has been studying and teaching Buddha Dharma and meditation for twenty-seven years. He began formally studying Buddhist meditation with his first teachers Chorpel Dolma (Beatrice Raff) and Karma Thinley Rinpoche and in the same year he met his principle teacher the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche. He was instructed by Namgyal Rimpoche to begin teaching Abhidharma in 1975. In 1976 he was ordained, and since 1980 he has held a lay ordination. He has also studied with many other outstanding teachers from Eastern traditions, including H.H. the 16th Karmapa, H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama, and H.E. Chogye Trinchen Rimpoche. He has authorization to bestow empowerments (wong-kur) in the Vajrayana tantric tradition. Mark’s teaching is classically founded, but well integrated with science, art and nature. For more information about Mark see http://www.markwebber.org

Achariya Doug Duncan Sensei was born in Canada, and is known for his energetic, insightful, humorous, and highly practical approach to teaching paths of awakening. His inquisitive nature has led him around the world exploring many cultures, religions and mystical beliefs. His principal teacher was the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche with whom he studied for decades. Doug has been the resident teacher for the Dharma Centre's Summer School in years past and has been teaching in Dharma at centers around the world for over fifteen years. He has take residence and been teaching Dharma in Kyoko Japan since 1998. Doug has done extensive insight practice and has received teachings from numerous Tibetan meditation masters including the 16th Karmapa, Kalu Rinpoche, Sakya Trenzin Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and the Dalai Lama among others. He is well versed in teachings such as the six yogas of Naropa, Mahamudra and Dzogchen. In addition, Doug is experienced in Sufi, Taoist, Zen and Western mystical traditions, along with a strong base in Abhidhamma (Buddhist psychology). With a thorough grasp of the sciences and arts, Doug is also considered an excellent therapist by those who have worked with him. For more information about Doug see http://www.DharmaJapan

Sonam Gyatso met his root guru the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche in 1961, while studying Mathematics at Cambridge, with whom he studied and travelled the planet for 38 years. Following two years' intensive training in the Theravada tradition, he accompanied Namgyal Rinpoche to Toronto where he became a founder member of the Dharma Centre of Canada. He also made several pilgrimages to India, Burma, Sri Lanka and other Far Eastern lands. During twenty years of constant travel and meditation retreat work with Namgyal Rinpoche, he met and studied with H.H. Gyalwa Karmapa, H.H. Sakya Trizen, the Ven. Kalu Rinpoche and other high lamas, receiving all the major Empowerments of the Tibetan lineages, and translating numerous Sadhanas and Wongkur texts into English. Having received the higher ordination from the XVI Karmapa in 1972, Sonam lived the life of a Buddhist monk for ten years before taking lama couple ordination with his partner Merrilee. He now lives and teaches in Toronto. In 1998, Sonam was authorised by Namgyal Rinpoche to transmit the Vajrayana Empowerments and has since visited several centres to give Wongkur and teaching. Since his retirement in 2003, Lama Sonam now travels extensively sharing his knowledge with great clarity and compassion. For more information about Sonam see http://www.dharmacentre.org

Ad Brugman started practicing the way of Mindfulness Meditation and T’ai-Ji in 1975. Dutch by birth, he came to the UK in 1979 to work more closely with his first meditation teacher John Garrie Roshi. He has also worked extensively with the late Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche, Chungliang Al Huang and Suprapto Suryodarmo. As Ad’s teaching commitments increased he decided to focus solely on developing his teaching skills and develop ‘The Orchard’ as a meditation centre in the heart of the Herefordshire countryside. Ad has also developed “Touching Stillness” which expresses a unique blend of mindfulness meditation and T’ai-Ji in a non-intrusive, non-forcing manner, emphasising lightness and space. This evolved over a period of more than 24 years of teaching both in the UK and abroad. He also completed a diploma course in counselling and a one-year training in sensorimotor psychotherapy for trauma recovery. A profound deepening of his meditation practice occurred under the late Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche with whom he studied intensively during retreats ranging from two weeks to six months. Ad continues to study with his teachers and spend a minimum of 3 months a year on workshops and retreats. For more information about Ad see http://www.touchingstillness.co.uk

Mala Sikka's journey started in the arts in 1975 which in turn led to her specialising in dance theatre and specifically the study Kathakali in Paris, and in Kerala in southern India. In 1985 Zen master - John Garrie Roshi - gave her his blessing to teach Zen and Satipattana (mindfulness training) following many years of training, latterly with the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche. Mala has been practicing Healing-Shiatsu since 1991, through her busy practice in Cardiff, and now also practices Seiki-Soho there as a result of her studies with Japanese Master Akinobu Kishi. Her spiritual path has culminated in a tapestry of over twenty years of practice and teaching. For more information about Mala see http://www.malasikka.net