WESTERN TEACHERS

Tushita is blessed with several highly-experienced Western Buddhist practitioners who share the responsibility of teaching our courses and leading retreats. When you come for a course or retreat at Tushita you may have the opportunity to study with some or all of the following teachers:

Venerable Rita Riniker (Lobsang Palmo)

Venerable Rita was born in 1950, she grew up in Switzerland. She ran her own restaurant business for many years then decided to go travelling. She met Buddhism at Kopan Monastery in Nepal in 1990 and there met her main teacher, Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche and took ordination from Rinpoche in 1991.

Ani Rita has been living at Tushita since then, initially studying at the Tibetan Library of Works and Archives for 6 years and in recent years has been one of the main teachers of Tushita's famous "Introduction to Buddhism" courses. She also lead many of the retreats taking place at Tushita including leading five Vajrasattva retreats, and she is especially well known for leading Nyung Nay. In 1998 she took six months off and completed 80 consecutive Nyung Nays.

Ani Rita has also been teaching in Europe, United States, Israel and New Zealand.

Venerable Sangye Khadro (Kathleen McDonald)

Venerable Sangye Khadro (Kathleen McDonald) was born in California, and took her first courses in Buddhism in Dharamsala, India in 1973. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in 1974. She has studied Buddhism with various teachers such as Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Thubten Yeshe, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey and Geshe Jampa Tegchog, and in various countries such as India, Nepal, England, France, and Australia.

At the request of her teachers Ven Sangye Khadro began teaching in 1979, while living in England, and since then has taught in many countries around the world, most recently at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore,  for 11 years. In 1988 Sangye Khadro took the full ordination or Gelongma vows. Her book, How to Meditate, is a best selling book of Wisdom Publications now in its 14th printing.

Venerable David Marks (Thubten Lungtok)

Born in 1955, raised in Melbourne, Australia, David graduated from Law School in 1978. He then set off travelling through Asia for one and a half years, then returned to Australia, where he met his main teacher, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. He became ordained at the end of 1981 and studied at Nalanda Monastery in France for three and a half years.   Since then he has lived mainly in India.  David began teaching in 1986 and has been a regular teacher at Tushita since 1998.   Currently he divides his time between doing personal retreats and teaching.

Venerable Robina Courtin

Ven. Robina Courtin was ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun at Kopan Monastery in 1978. She has worked full time since then for Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, first as editorial director of Wisdom Publications and then as editor of the FPMT magazine, Mandala. She is now director of Liberation Prison Project, which supports the Buddhist practice and studies of thousands of prisoners in the USA and Australia. Since 1987 she has taught Buddhist courses and retreats at FPMT centers worldwide. 

Born in Australia, she studied classical singing in Melbourne until her early twenties. In London she was involved with the radical left and feminism and then, in her quest for a spiritual path, studied martial arts. 

An award-winning film, Chasing Buddha, made by her nephew Amiel Courtin-Wilson, documents her life and includes her work at Kentucky State Prison. She is one of the subjects of Vicki Mackenzie's Why Buddhism?, and a film by Christine Lundberg, On the Road Home".

Venerable Lobsang Namgyel

Venerable Lobsang Namgyel, from Australia, has been living in India and studying Buddhism here for more than 20 years with such Masters as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Denma Locho Rinpoche, Choden Rinpoche and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. During this time he has completed a cumulative total of four years of Lam Rim (sutra) retreats, as well as many tantric retreats. Ven. Namgyel has 20 years of experience teaching Buddhism in FPMT Centres and is well loved by students for his humour and open heart.

Jimi Neal (Jigme Jamyang)

Born in 1948 in Italy, to American parents, he was raised in America and attended the University of Southern California.   He became interested in Buddhism when three of his friends became monks in the Chinese Tradition.   Jimi came to India in 1971-72, and in 1974 met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa at Kopan Monastery, Nepal.   He was ordained by Lama Yeshe at Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharamsala in 1980.  A monk for 15 years, Jimi divided his time between Nalanda Monastery in France, and India. After disrobing, Jimi has lived permanently in Dharamsala, India. He began teaching in 1992 and has taught many times at Tushita Meditation Centre and elsewhere, over the years.   He recently did a teaching tour of Israel where he led the first Lama Chopa puja there!

MAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY!