About

Thanissara

Bio: Thanissara is Anglo-Irish and originally from London. She trained in the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah for 12 years as a Buddhist nun. With Kittisaro, her husband and teaching partner, she has taught meditation retreats internationally since 1992. In 2000 they founded Dharmagiri Insight Meditation Centre on the border of South Africa and Lesotho - http://www.dharmagiri.org - and helped initiate, fund, and guide several AIDS response projects in KwaZulu Natal. Currently they support http://www.kulungilekids.org Thanissara has an MA in Mindfulness Psychotherapy Practice from the UK, and is a core teacher at Insight Meditation Society, MA, and a member of the Teacher Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA, USA. She is co-author with Kittisaro of Listening to the Heart, A Contemplative Guide to Engaged Buddhism, author of Time To Stand Up, A Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth, and of two poetry books, Heart of the Bitter Almond Hedge Sutra, and Garden of the Midnight Rosary. With Kittisaro, she recently launched Sacred Mountain Sangha USA - http://www.sacredmountainsangha.org - a California based Non Profit that hosts the Dharmapala Training, a two year, seven module training in the USA facilitated by Kittisaro & Thanissara. Thanissara lives in the Bay area and spends time each year in South Africa, teaching and supporting Dharmagiri. She also continues to teach in the UK.

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