Our Visiting Teachers

Instruction and guidance is provided without charge to anyone who attends a course at BMIMC. This is part of the Buddhist tradition of freely offering the Buddha’s teachings. The teachings flourish in an atmosphere of generosity (dāna) and gratitude. These qualities in turn support the growth of wisdom and compassion.

There is an opportunity to offer contributions to the teachers at the end of your retreat, as well as at anytime throughout the year. This can be done either personally at the Centre’s office, by using the donation box located in the main building, or by mail or electronic funds transfer.

Your donations help some teachers to lead a life devoted to teaching. Your gifts may also allow teachers to take time for their own practice, ensuring that their teachings are continuously enriched.
Sayadaw U Lakkhana Sayadaw U Pannathami Sayadaw U Vivekananda Venerable Pannyavaro Venerable Ariya Nani
Sayadaw U Lakkhana is a senior meditation teacher in the Mahasi tradition. He is abbot of a monastery and meditation centre in northern Burma, and is a regular guest teacher at BMIMC.

Sayadaw U Pannathami is a senior student of U Pandita and the abbot of the Sydney Panditarama Meditation Centre. he was the first resident teacher of BMIMC. Sayadaw speaks excellent English, and frequently teaches overseas.

Sayadaw U Vivekananda is a senior meditation teacher in the Mahasi tradition and the abbot of Panditarama International Meditation Centre in Lumbini, Nepal. He also teaches a busy schedule in North America and Europe.

Venerable Pannyavaro is an Australian Buddhist monk and an experienced meditation teacher who has spent long periods of intensive practice in Burma and Sri Lanka. He teaches both insight and loving-kindness meditation. He is the founder and webmaster of BuddhaNet and the Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery and Retreat Centre, near Lismore NSW.

Venerable Ariya Nani is a Swiss-born Buddhist nun who lives and works in Burma at the Chanmyay Myaing Meditation Centre in Yangon, established by Sayadaw U Indaka where she guides foreign yogis in their vipassana and metta meditation practice.
Steven Smith Patrick Kearney Michael Dash Danny Taylor
Graham Wheeler Lesley Lebkowicz Tara Frances Jill Shepherd
Lay teachers at BMIMC

The foundation of Buddhist practice rests upon ethical guidelines (known as sīla). In Buddhist countries meditation teachers are usually monks or nuns who have committed themselves to living by the traditional code of ethical conduct. For Theravadan monks this is governed by 227 vows contained in the vinaya and for nuns it is the 10 precepts. In countries that do not have a traditional Buddhist culture (like Australia) meditation is often taught by lay teachers who are not necessarily committed to one of the traditional codes of conduct. The Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre recognises the importance of maintaining the tradition of ethical integrity for teachers of the Buddha Dhamma. In keeping with this understanding all teachers at the BMIMC:

1. Have made a personal commitment to live in accordance with the Buddhist precepts.
For lay teachers this means the five precepts of - refraining from killing¸ refraining from stealing, refraining from sexual misconduct, refraining from false or harsh speech, and refraining from intoxicants that cause heedlessness or loss of awareness.
2. Are current meditation practitioners with at least 10 years experience in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw.
3. Have undertaken to maintain confidentiality in relation to each student’s personal information.
4. Offer their teachings at the Centre freely.

Steven Smith is a founder of Vipassana Hawai'i and Kyaswa Valley Retreat Centre and MettaDana health and education project both in Myanmar. Steve has practised and studied vipassana as a monk and layperson for more than 30 years and is anchored in the Theravadan tradition.

Patrick Kearney is an independent dharma teacher in the lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw. His principal teachers were Panditarama Sayadaw and John Hale. Patrick was for some years after 2001 resident teacher at BMIMC. For further details see his website at dharmasalon.net.

Michael Dash has been a Buddhist practitioner for over 20 years, studying in Australia, Thailand and Burma, where he trained in vipassana meditation in the Mahasi tradition. He also teaches at the Wat Buddha Dhamma and is a leader of the Sydney meditation group.

Danny Taylor has been a student of Eastern traditions since the early 1970s, and a practitioner of Buddhist meditation in the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition since 1986. He has worked as a psychologist and is a management consultant. Danny emphasises the integration of meditation with our daily reality. He is also a leader of the group’s meditation sessions in Sydney.

Graham Wheeler has been practising vipassana meditation for over thirty years, studying in Australia, Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka. He also has been leading the centre’s group meditation sessions in Sydney since 1999. He has his own legal practice in Sydney and much of his work is with community-based organisations.

Lesley Lebkowicz has practised vipassana meditation since 1983 and has spent several years in silent retreat in Australia, the USA and Burma. She has worked as a teacher, counsellor and writer and currently divides her time between formal spiritual practice and writing. She leads the Canberra Insight Meditation Group.

Tara Frances (formerly MacLachlan) is a trustee of the Buddha Sàsana Association and was a co-founder and major sponsor of the establishment of the Centre. She has practised vipassanà meditation for 30 years in Burma, Nepal and Australia, with Sayadaw U Pandiita, the senior disciple of Mahasi Sayadaw, and other senior teachers.Tara was a member of the BMIMC management committee from the centre's inception up to her six year term as resident manager, which ended in November 2010.

Jill Shepherd began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999. A former manager of BMIMC, she recently spent seven years on staff at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where she participated in many long retreats and also offered weekly meditation classes at a nearby prison. She has been invited into the current teacher training program jointly offered by Spirit Rock and IMS in the US. For further details see Jill's website - jill0shepherd.wordpress.com.