Senior Advisors
JOHN TRAVIS is the founding teacher of Mountain Stream Meditation Center and a member of the Senior Teachers Council of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He studied in Asia for many years with many of the Buddhist masters who have influenced a generation of American meditation teachers—Thubten Yeshe, Kalu Rinpoche, Anagarika Munidra, S.N. Goenka, and Traungpula. He has also trained with and received teaching authorization from Jack Kornfield.
John was a critical force in the early growth of the Sacramento meditation community through his regular presence, guidance, and teachings during the 1990s. His sound and thoughtful advice has been instrumental to the development of Sacramento Insight Meditation. He now teaches regularly in various meditation centers in the United States and overseas. His teachings are characterized by his kindness, compassion, the depth of his meditation experience, and his ability to see deeply into the minds and hearts of those with whom he is working.
To listen to some of John’s previously recorded talks, visit SIM’s audio dharma library: click here.
KAMALA MASTERS is one of the founders and teachers of the Vipassana Metta Foundation on Maui. She teaches retreats in the Theravada tradition at venues worldwide, including being a Guiding Teacher and member of the Board of Directors at the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts. Practicing since 1975, her teachers have been the late Anagarika Munindra of India and Sayadaw U Pandita of Burma, and Sayadaw U Tejaniya of Burma with whom she continues to practice. Kamala has a commitment to carrying and offering the purity of the teachings of the Buddha in a way that touches our common sense and compassion as human beings, and allows the natural inner growth of wisdom. She lives on Maui where she raised four children, and is now blessed with five grandchildren. Kamala has practiced both insight and loving kindness meditations intensively under the guidance and preceptorship of Sayadaw U Pandita, in the USA, Australia and in Burma as a nun and a lay woman.
To listen to some of Kamala’s contributions to SIM’s audio dharma library, click here.
STEVE ARMSTRONG is one of the founders and guiding teachers at the Vipassana Metta Foundation in Maui, Hawaii. He has been leading meditation retreats internationally since 1990, including the annual three-month retreat at Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. He has been a senior teacher, Board member, and one of the three member teacher training team at IMS for many years.
Steve has studied the dhamma and practiced Insight Meditation since 1975. Under the guidance of Sayadaw U Pandita he undertook five years of intensive, silent practice of insight and lovingkindness meditations as an ordained monk at the Mahasi Meditation Center in Rangoon. He has studied the Buddhist psychology (abhidhamma) with Sayadaw U Zagara in Australia and continues his practice under the guidance of Sayadaw U Tejaniya at the Shwe Oo Min Meditation Center in Rangoon.
Steve’s teaching focuses on encouraging spiritual development through cultivating insightful awareness and liberating understanding of the core teachings of the Buddha in all life activities.