Meet Your Instructors

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

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Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is a widely celebrated Buddhist teacher and the author of Emotional Rescue, Rebel Buddha, and other books. A lover of music, art and urban culture, Rinpoche is a poet, photographer, accomplished calligrapher and visual artist, as well as a prolific author. Rinpoche is the founder, president, and spiritual director of Nalandabodhi, an international community of Buddhist centers.

Rinpoche is acknowledged as one of the foremost scholars and meditation masters of his generation in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He is known for his sharp intellect, humor, and easygoing teaching style, for launching the kindness initiative #GoKind and for his outreach to communities internationally.

Mitra Tyler Dewar

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Mitra Tyler was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. He has been engaged in the study and practice of Buddhism since 1996, becoming a student of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche two years later. He began studying the Tibetan language in 1997, and became an oral interpreter and textual translator for Nitartha Institute and Nalandabodhi in 2000.

Tyler joined the faculty of Nitartha Institute in 2003 and was appointed as a senior teacher in Nalandabodhi in 2005. He has served as an oral interpreter for lineage-holding masters of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Tyler enjoys teaching on such topics as the four immeasurables, and exploring how the great Buddhist forebears inspire and inform life in the 21st century.

A musician and singer, he has participated in the creation of several ‘melodized’ liturgies and ‘dharma songs.’ Tyler is the father of an amazing daughter and lives in Seattle, Washington.

Tyler holds the title of “Mitra.” In 2005, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche empowered a group of his long-time students to be senior teachers of Nalandabodhi. He gave each of them the title Mitra, which is drawn from the Sanskrit term Kalyanamitra, “spiritual friend.” The Mitras guide Nalandabodhi’s three paths of Study, Meditation, and Mindful Activity and teach throughout the world.

Mitra Karl Brunnhölzl

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Mitra Karl was born in Munich, Germany, and originally trained as a physician before becoming a Buddhist translator and teacher. After  completing five-years of training in Buddhist philosophy, he went on to receive Buddhist and Tibetan language training, as well as study Tibetology, Buddhology, and Sanskrit. In 1989, Karl began serving as a translator, interpreter, and Buddhist teacher in Europe, India, and Nepal. He is the author and translator of several Buddhist books, including The Center of the Sunlit Sky, The Heart Attack Sutra, and A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart.

Mitra Karl first met Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche in 1986 during Rinpoche’s first European teaching tour. He served as Rinpoche’s personal translator during his tours in Europe from 1999 to 2005. After having lived in Seattle for 15 years, Karl currently resides in Munich, where he works as a Tibetan and Sanskrit translator.

Mitra Karl supervises Nalandabodhi’s Path of Study courses, leads Path of Study classes, presents weekend courses and open house talks, offers teachings to practice communities, and provides personal guidance as a Practice Instructor. He also teaches weekend seminars and courses at Nalandabodhi centers in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Europe.

Mitra Karl is especially enthusiastic about the teachings on Mahamudra, Dzogchen, Yogacara, Buddha Nature, and the doha (songs of realization) tradition. Currently, Karl is focused on translating the collection of Indian Mahamudra texts compiled by the Seventh Karmapa, which includes the vast majority of songs of realization in the Tibetan canon.

Karl holds the title of “Mitra.” In 2005, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche empowered a group of his long-time students to be senior teachers of Nalandabodhi. He gave each of them the title Mitra, which is drawn from the Sanskrit term Kalyanamitra, “spiritual friend.” The Mitras guide Nalandabodhi’s three paths of Study, Meditation, and Mindful Activity and teach throughout the world.

Mitra Lee Worley

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Mitra Lee was born in Glen Cove, New York. She graduated from Mt. Holyoke College with a BA in English Drama, and later from The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Her acting career led her to discover Buddhism in 1973 while attending a theater conference in Boulder, Colorado, where she was invited to teach acting at the Naropa Institute. While teaching, she began meditating and attending talks by Naropa’s founder Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

In 1975, Chogyam Trungpa asked Lee to head the Theater Studies program at Naropa. While shepherding the theater program through its early years, she also helped launch the Ngedon School of Buddhist Studies. In 1996, Lee received an MA in Buddhist Studies from Naropa University.

Lee met Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche at Naropa and became his student. She took on the role of practice coordinator in Boulder, and then of national practice coordinator for Nalandabodhi. Lee was appointed as a Mitra in 2005, and currently oversees the Path of Meditation within the Mitra Council.

As a practitioner, Lee aims to be a champion of meditation both on and off the cushion. “I look for the truth that underlies the dharma,” she says, “and seek ways to bring it into moment-to-moment life beyond any dogma.” Mitra Lee lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she is a recently retired Professor of Theater and Contemplative Education at Naropa University.

Lee holds the title of “Mitra.” In 2005, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche empowered a group of his long-time students to be senior teachers of Nalandabodhi. He gave each of them the title Mitra, which is drawn from the Sanskrit term Kalyanamitra, “spiritual friend.” The Mitras guide Nalandabodhi’s three paths of Study, Meditation, and Mindful Activity and teach throughout the world.

Mitra Mark Power

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Mitra Mark has been a student of the Dharma for several decades and has studied with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche since the early 1990s. Over the years, Mark served in a variety of leadership and service roles within Nalandabodhi. In 2005, he was appointed as a teacher (Mitra) and made a member of the Mitra Council where his focus is the Path of Mindful Activity — the intersection of dharma and daily life.

Mark worked for many years as a chaplain and palliative care consultant in healthcare settings and is now a life coach with a focus on creative life transitions.

Mark lives in the Hudson Valley town of Red Hook, NY with his wife Marion. Something you probably wouldn’t guess about Mark is that he is an avid wooden spoon carver; he describes carving as a hands-on way of bringing dharma and creativity together.

Mark holds the title of “Mitra.” In 2005, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche empowered a group of his long-time students to be senior teachers of Nalandabodhi. He gave each of them the title Mitra, which is drawn from the Sanskrit term Kalyanamitra, “spiritual friend.” The Mitras guide Nalandabodhi’s three paths of Study, Meditation, and Mindful Activity and teach throughout the world.

Sandra Roscoe

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Dr. Sandra Roscoe has been involved with Buddhist studies and practices since 1984 and a student of Tibetan Buddhism since 1996. She began her Tibetan studies and practices in earnest when she met Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche in 2000. She started studying at Nitartha Institute in 2002 and she became a student of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche the same year. Sandra holds a PhD in psychology with a focus on family systems and was a graduate and undergraduate professor at NSU. Sandra was on the Nalandabodhi Executive Council (NEC) for several years and was director of Nitartha Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies for 3½ years. She began teaching at Nitartha Institute in 2013 and became a fully authorized faculty member in 2016. Sandra lives in a quiet community outside of Seattle, and loves the opportunity to focus her life on dharma studies and practices, and going for long walks with a very smart Australian shepherd.

Dan Hirshberg

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Dan Hirshberg, PhD completed his doctorate in Tibetan Studies at Harvard University. Formerly a tenured professor of Asian religions, he has also held year-long fellowships at UC Santa Barbara, LMU Munich, and UVA’s Contemplative Sciences Center. Specializing in the history and iconography of the renowned Vajrayana adept Padmasambhava (8th ce. CE), Dan is Visiting Faculty at University of Colorado-Boulder and Naropa University, as well as Executive Director of SŌTERIC Contemplative Training, which he founded at the direction of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche in 2021.

Susan Stewart

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Susan Stewart lives in Vancouver, BC, and has been a student of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche since 1998. She has facilitated and taught the complete Nalandabodhi study curriculum in Vancouver, as well as serving as study director for Nalandabodhi Canada. Susan attended Nitartha Institute for many years and in 2019, she joined Nitartha Institute Faculty

Susan is a social practice artist and photographer, as well as a professional educator. She is an Associate Professor Emeritus at Emily Carr University of Art & Design, where she was the founding Dean for the Faculty of Culture and Community.

Her work includes documentary video, photography, writing, and multi-media performances and installations. Many projects are collaborative and community based and in recent years have addressed aspects of social/ecological change and resilience. (Examples:  In the Present Moment: Buddhism, Contemporary Art, and Social Practice by Haema Sivanesan, Figure.1, 2021.)

Nick Vail

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Nick was born on the coast of Maine, and spent formative years growing up in Stockholm, Sweden.

The son of college professors and meditators, from a young age Nick read dharma books around the house and observed his father meditating in the mornings before school, which contributed to his nascent path.

At Middlebury College in Vermont he double-majored in Theater and Asian History. The creative process and the deep exploration of psychology in method acting informed his spiritual development. He specialized in Mongolian history, and studied anthropology and history abroad in Mongolia for a semester in 2000. This included extended home stays with nomad host families, expeditions, and learning Buddhist philosophy and meditation from Australian Tibetan Buddhist monk Venerable Thubten Gyatso.

After graduating and a stint in the theater scene in Manhattan, Nick earned a Master of Arts degree in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan Language from Naropa University. Most importantly, he met Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, of whom he became a student at Nitartha Institute in 2004.

In 2007 he was offered the job to manage Nalanda West, and moved to Seattle, Washington. For four years he managed the dharma center and hosted dozens of amazing teachers. He then became Co-Director of the Nalandabodhi Seattle sangha for four years. He was also on the Board of Directors and served as President of the Northwest Dharma Association for three years. Nick is a member of the Nitartha Translation Network, translating and arranging many of Ponlop Rinpoche’s poems and setting them to music.

Nick enjoys playing the guitar and singing, dancing, and spending quality time in nature with his son, Julien.

Diane Biray Gregorio

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Diane Biray Gregorio, Ph.D. is a Harvard-trained social psychologist, applied researcher, nonprofit executive, speaker, and trainer. Since 1991 she has focused on global health, mindfulness, gender, poverty, and human rights. Dr. Gregorio combines meditation and scientific and philosophical studies with engaged action to alleviate human suffering. She has been trained by some of the top teachers in her fields, and by highly esteemed Buddhist masters.

Ben Mikolaj

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Born in Colorado Springs, Ben feels most at home in the mountains. He began Buddhist study and practice in 2005 and became a student of Ponlop Rinpoche in 2009. A combat veteran and psychiatric nurse, Ben is currently pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice in psychiatric mental health at Colorado State University in Pueblo. 

In Nalandabodhi, Ben has served as a Practice Instructor (PI), Chief Operating Officer, and attendant to Ponlop Rinpoche. He is also a teacher-in-training at Nitartha Institute.

Ben has a special appreciation for the teachings on bodhicitta, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen. His passion for musical theater makes singing dohas (songs of realization) one of his favorite practices. In their free time Ben can be found hiking, trail running, or walking his dog.

Stephanie Mikolaj

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Stephanie Mikolaj is an adjunct faculty at Naropa University. She received her Bachelor’s from Carthage College in 2012 in Religious Studies and Psychology and then began pursuing her studies in Buddhism graduating from Naropa in 2018 with a Master of Arts in Indo-Tibetan Religious Studies focusing on Sanskrit and Tibetan Language. Stephanie has held administrative roles in Nalandabodhi International and Nitartha Institute, and is currently completing her clinical studies in end of life spiritual care. She currently teaches in Religious Studies at Naropa University.