Teacher Biographies

Chögyam Trungpa

Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche was a lineage holder and meditation master in the Kagyu and Nyingma Lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the president of Vajradhatu, an association of more than a hundred meditation centres in North America and Europe. He was the founder of Shambhala Training and the founder of Naropa Institute, an innovative liberal arts college based on contemplative principles. He was an artist who engaged many disciplines including calligraphy, poetry and Ikebana (flower arrangement). Chögyam Trungpa wrote many books including Dharma Art, Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior, First Thought, Best Thought, and the Myth of Freedom.

Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin

Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin was the heart son and a dharma heir of Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. He was one of the first western students to hold a dharma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the author of Buddha in the Palm of Your Hand. His interest in photography led him to start the first Miksang group for exploring the possibilities of a contemplative approach. Later he encouraged and supervised the development of the current Miksang Society. In 1985, he approved the Miksang course of training and officially established the Miksang Society as a vehicle for exploring and presenting contemplative photography. Ösel Tendzin's calligraphy "Miksang" serves as the masthead of our stationary.

Mipham Rinpoche

Mipham Rinpoche is the son and dharma heir of Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. He is a lineage holder of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. In 1995, he was enthroned as Sakyong, the holder of the Shambhala lineage. Mipham Rinpoche is the president of Shambhala International which oversees meditation centres around the world. He is an artist who practices many disciplines, including calligraphy, Kyudo (the art of the bow) and poetry. He has published a collection of his poetry: The Smile of the Tiger.

John McQuade

John McQuade has been a student of Trungpa Rinpoche since 1978. He was a close student of Vajra Rengent Ösel Tendzin and now studies with Mipham Rinpoche. He was authorized as a meditation instructor in 1984. He is authorized to teach the introductory levels of Shambhala Training. He served on the Toronto Dharmadhatu and Shambhala Council from 1979 to 1999. His positions included Co-ordinator, Head of Education and Nalanada Co-ordinator. He teaches Buddhadharma, Shambhala and contemplative aesthetics at the Toronto Shambhala Centre and taught Miksang at the summer Naropa programs in Halifax.

John McQuade began contemplative photography practice in the summer of 1983 and, with Michael Wood, developed the Miksang teachings and path of training. He is the co-author of Looking and Seeing: A Contemplative Photography Sourcebook and is the principle Miksang teacher in Toronto. His photographs have been exhibited in Toronto, Vermont and Halifax. He is the curator of the Nalanda Gallery program in Toronto. He studied phenomenology and sociology at Trent University and York University. He holds an M.A. and has taught sociology in universities and community colleges.

Michael Wood

Michael Wood has been a student of Trungpa, Rinpoche since 1976. He was a close student of Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin and now studies with Mipham Rinpoche. He studied photography at Sheridan College of Visual Arts and holds a Photographic Arts Diploma. Since 1970, he was worked as a professional photographer and has received several photography awards including the Kodak Newspaper Snapshot Award and the Canadian Magazine Photographer Award. His photographs were featured in an issue of Camera Canada and prints have been exhibited in Toronto, Peterborough, Vermont and Halifax. Since 1989, he worked for Heritage Canada as the audio-visual director for parks and historic sites in the Atlantic provinces.

Michael Wood developed the first Miksang course which he taught for Nalanada in Toronto in the spring of 1983; and with John McQuade he developed the Miksang teachings and path of training. He co-authored Looking and Seeing: A Contemplative Photography Sourcebook. He taught Miksang in Toronto, at the Naropa Summer Sessions in Halifax and is the principle Miksang teacher in Halifax. Michael Wood is currently working as an alternative health care practitioner and a songwriter/performer. He recently released a collection of songs: Blue Vervain, Into the Blue. To view a slection of Michael Wood's photographs, visit the Michael Wood Fine Art Photography web site.