Teachers

Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa

As one of the last generation of Tibetan Buddhist scholars to begin their educational careers in Tibet prior to the Chinese invasion, Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa has played an instrumental role in the reestablishment and preservation of Tibetan Buddhist traditions in exile, and in the spread of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western world. Highly regarded for his scholarship and depth of religious practice, Rinpoche teaches frequently in New York, Washington D.C., and at Do Ngak Kunphen Ling (DNKL), a Tibetan Buddhist center in Connecticut, where he hosted a visit from the Dalai Lama in 2012. He is abbot emeritus of Gyumed Tantric College, head of Mey College’s Thewo regional house at Sera Monastery—one of the largest Tibetan monasteries in exile—and Spiritual Director of DNKL where he resides.

Ven. Gyalten Palmo

Having a long-held interest in the mind's capacity for transformation, Ven. Gyalten Palmo left home to spend 4½ months in India with an enlightened master in the late 1970's. Ven. Palmo started studying Tibetan Buddhism 16 years ago. She has studied closely under Ribur Rinpoche, Choden Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Dakpa and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. She went on to complete the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition's (FPMT) Basic Program coursework and retreats. In 2012, she was ordained by Choden Rinpoche at Sera Jey Monastic University in India. As an FPMT-registered teacher, she has been teaching Discovering Buddhism regularly at Tse Chen Ling Center in San Francisco since 2013. Ven. Palmo loves studying and sharing the Dharma with others.

Don Isaacson

Don Isaacson is an advanced Dharma student having followed the FPMT Basic Program courses in person for many years, and the FPMT Masters Program online, 2008 to 2013. Don currently serves on the Board of Directors at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel.

Karuna Cayton

Karuna Cayton has been a student of Buddhist psychology and philosophy for over 40 years. A long time student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, he worked for the lamas at Kopan Monastery from 1975-1988. During that time he created and taught the secular studies program for the resident Tibetan and Nepali monks. He also assisted in running the Buddhist programs for foreign visitors and was the co-founder and director of the city center in Kathmandu, Himalayan Yogic Institute.

After returning to the US in 1988 he received his MA in Clinical Psychology from JFK University in 1992. He has worked at the Children's Health Council at Stanford University and trained interns in Narrative Therapy at Mental Research Institute (MRI) in Palo Alto.

Presently, he is the director of The Karuna Group a coaching and counseling project. The Karuna Group works with individuals, couples and families as well as assists business leaders in transforming their organizations into preeminent enterprises based upon the Buddhist principles of Wisdom, Compassion, and Ethics. Karuna also teaches workshops and classes in the integration of western and Buddhist psychology.