Teachers in Training &
Contact People

"You go to some Buddhist groups and you feel that the teachers are just giving you the party line but on Discovering the Heart of Buddhism I felt that it was coming out fresh every time from their own experience."

~Therapist and mother

Lama Shenpen has encouraged her senior students to take up teaching as part of their practice. The main way they do this is to serve as contact people for new students on the Discovering the Heart of Buddhism course and teaching on weekend events and in local groups.

We all seek a ground of genuineness and openness within ourselves and with others. The teachers are there to communicate that awake, living and sensitive quality which is uncovered by meditation and awareness practice. All of us, teachers and students alike, are human beings treading the path alongside each other, connected to the lineage of those who have trodden the path and shown us the way. The living presence of, and our direct relationship with, the lineage helps us to cut through our unrealistic expectations and attempts to hide from the truth about ourselves and others.

What are Contact People?

All students not only have access to Lama Shenpen, but also to a contact person who serves as a Dharma friend, someone who can encourage you and with whom you can discuss your inspiration, difficulties and experiences on the Discovering the Heart of Buddhism course. Contact people are senior students with many years of meditation practice. Their job is not particularly to "instruct" you, but rather to help you explore your experience and the course materials.

What is the Teachers Group?

All of us who follow the path to awakening are going to be called on to teach Dharma in some way. The Teachers Group is a group of senior students who have taken this up as a practice. They find that teaching others is an alive and stimulating way of deepening their own understanding and sharing their inspiration with others.