The Rain of Blessings: An Exploration of Guru Yoga

Walker Blaine has been part of the Shambhala community for more than 35 years, spending many of those years working, living, or on retreat at rural land centers. In addition to being a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Walker studied intensively under the guidance of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, one of the great meditation masters who left Tibet in the late 1950s. Since 2012, Walker has provided background support for the texts and instructions of the Sakyong lineage teachings, as well as overseeing Tibetan translation projects for Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. His account of the Rinchen Terdzö received by the Sakyong in 2008 can be downloaded here. Walker lives with his wife Patricia and their son Griffin in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is working on a book about Shambhala Buddhism.

Marianne Bots lives in The Netherlands and joined the Shambhala community in 1977. She is a psychologist and psychotherapist who has worked for more than 30 years in a clinic for young adolescents. She teaches throughout Europe.

Christie Cashman first studied the dharma with Suzuki Roshi and then, in 1971, entered the Shambhala Buddhist path with Trungpa Rinpoche in Boulder, Colorado. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche appointed Christie as an acharya in 1999, thus beginning for her a life of traveling and teaching. Her main teaching focus has been on the Vajrayana path retreats. She lives with her husband, Paul, in Halifax, and is an avid gardener.

Daniel Hessey has been a student of Shambhala Buddhism since 1973 and has taught extensively throughout the U.S. and South America. He was the resident Acharya at Drala Mountain Center and currently lives at Karmê Chöling.

Mathias Pongracz has been a student of both the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (since 1983) and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (since 1991), as well as student of Kobun Chino Roshi. He teaches in Austria, Hungary and France.

Eric Spiegel has been a student and teacher in the Shambhala tradition since his teens. He was an early member of the Boulder community, deepened his practice at Karmê Chöling, and was the resident acharya for the New York sangha for many years. He lives in the Hudson Valley, New York State.