insightpv - teachers, insight meditation, Western Mass Meditation, Easthampton Meditation, Springfield Area Meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation workshops, meditation practices, Andrew Berger, Adi Bemak, Rebecca Bradshaw, Paul Coombs, Jean Esther, Theravadan tradition

Rebecca Bradshaw is the Guiding Teacher at Insight PV. She has been practicing vipassana meditation since 1983 in the United States and Myanmar (Burma). She teaches at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, at other locations in the United States, and at Kyaswa Monastery in Sagaing, Myanmar. She is a psychotherapist and the Buddhist Advisor at Mt Holyoke College. Her teaching emphasizes love, gentleness, and balance as we open to the full range of life's experiences.
Please view Rebecca's Teaching Schedule for 2008-2009

Arinna Weisman is the Founding Teacher of Insight PV. She has studied Vipassana (Insight) Meditation since 1979 and has been teaching since 1988. Her root teacher is Ruth Denison who was empowered by the great teacher U Bha Khin. She has also studied with Thich Nhat Hanh in the Zen tradition, Punjaji in the Advaita tradition and Tsokney Rinpoche in the Dzogchen tradition. She was the first resident teacher at Insight Meditation Society and is the founding teacher of Dhamma Dena Meditation Center. She is also co-author of the book, A Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation. She teaches throughout the U.S. and Europe. Arinna is currently in a period of exploration, between periodic visits to our center, continually unfolding in the dharma.
For more information about Arinna see: arinnaweisman.org

Mark Hart has practiced Insight Meditation for 19 years, studying primarily at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. He has taught Insight Meditation for 13 years and is founder and guiding teacher of the Bodhisãra Dharma Community in the Amherst area. He holds a Master’s of Counseling degree and Ph.D. in theology, has a practice of psychotherapy in Amherst, and is a lecturer in religious studies at local colleges. His teaching reflects his experience as parent, therapist, scholar, and one who has lived with chronic illness.
For more information please see: bodhisara.org

Lila Kate Wheeler began practicing Buddhism in 1977 and teaching it in the mid-1980s. She was ordained for some time as a nun, and practices in the Tibetan tradition as well as the Theravadin. She writes fiction and personal essays, and lives in Boston

Chas DiCapua started meditating in 1989 in the Soto Zen tradition. He sat his first Vipassana retreat in 1995 at IMS and has called IMS home ever since. He has practiced in both the Mahasi Style as well as the Thai Forest Tradition as taught by Ajahn Sumedo and others. Chas has served as Resident Teacher at IMS since 2003.

Adi Bemak has been a practitioner of Insight Meditation for 30 years. She has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) since 1993, and has a mindfulness-based counseling practice in Amherst & Northampton. Adi received her training as a Community Dharma Leader at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California.

Jean Esther has been training in meditation practice since 1975 and teaching regularly since 2001. She has been a practicing psychotherapist in Northampton for over 27 years. Jean has also completed certification in Advanced Leadership Training with internationally known Jungian analyst Marion Woodman. This work includes the interface of psychology, spirituality and the arts through the perspective of the body.

Peggy Gillespie has been a student of Insight Meditation since 1976. She was on staff at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre in 1979 and Assistant Director of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program at UMass Medical Center in the l980's, where she also worked in the hospice unit. She has just completed the Community Dharma Leader Program through Spirit Rock Retreat Center in California.

Kim Weeber started practicing meditation in 1987 in the yoga tradition, and studied Zen in Denver with Danan Henry Roshi for 8 years. She started practicing Vipassana in 1997 with Bhante Gunaratana, and studied the teaching of the Dharma with
Jacqueline Mandell, one of the early American Vipassana teachers. She has completed the Community Dharma Leader training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California.
Her teaching experience includes meditation instruction at a
prison in Ohio for 2 years, and leading local sittings at Insight PV.