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Elephant Dharma is a group of teachers of dharma and meditation united around a similar philosophy. The core of this philosophy is student-centered teaching, meaning that students and teachers collaborate to determine the content being taught. So one thing youâll notice at an Elephant Dharma meditation retreat is that, rather than all students practicing the same technique, students generally choose what theyâd like to learn from the teacher. We aim for students to get as much personal attention from teachers as theyâd like, so in addition to one-on-one interviews, our retreats offer frequent open office hours.
While Elephant Dharma teachers are grounded in Buddhist meditation and philosophy, we take an approach where we try to integrate teachings from many other lineages and traditions, both spiritual and secular.
Elephant Dharma teachers believe in the interplay of dharma and psychology, rather than dharma alone healing all psychological problems. Long periods of silence will often bring up psychological content, and while sometimes continued meditation will cause the content to heal on its own, other times the content needs to be directly addressed. Rather than giving all students the same instructions regardless of whatâs going on for them, we provide the option for frequent meetings to help students navigate the nuances of dharma and the mindâs response to it. All of our teachers take trainings in how to work with studentsâ mental health.
Elephant Dharma aims to keep retreats & teachings available regardless of income level. This is accomplished by retreats being offered at cost and retreat teachings on Dana, courses with sliding scale or by-donation costs, and free resources such as writings, guided meditations, and interviews online. We offer multiple opportunities every week for students to meet with teachers by donation, or for free if students arenât able to donate. We also support and encourage the organizing of no-cost, peer-led communities. Several Elephant Dharma teachers were founding members of the
Open Dharma Foundation, which provides scholarships to students who otherwise couldnât afford to attend meditation retreats.
Dr. Tucker Peck is a meditation teacher and Clinical Psychologist. He studied meditation with Sharon Salzberg and then with Upasaka Culadasa. A former professor, he is the founding director of the scholarship fund Open Dharma Foundation, and co-host of the podcast Teaching Meditation. He lives in Alameda, California, an island in the San Francisco Bay. You can read more about Tucker here.
Upasaka Upali is a Dharma teacher who works with practitioners to create consistency, depth, and integration amidst modern lay life. Upali teaches in a Buddhist lineage that can be traced back to the Buddha through Namgyal Rinpoche (Ananda Bodhi), and he took his Upasaka vows in 2015. He has a degree from St. Olaf College and is formally trained in the Shamatha Vipassana path expounded upon in The Mind Illuminated. He is also completing a 3-year training and certification in Nuerosystemics.
Kynan Tan is a meditation teacher who is interested in helping students to achieve their meditation goals, whatever they may be. He takes a collaborative and student-centred approach to exploring the depths of what is possible through the many dimensions of practice. Kynan believes that meditation has enormous potential for creating positive change and opening up space for new ways of relating to experience.
Kynan has experience across a range of meditative and introspective traditions and techniques. He brings his experience as an artist, musician, and programmer into his understanding and sharing of Dharma teachings in a way that is clear, practical, and creative. Kynan is authorised to teach by Dr. Tucker Peck, a clinical psychologist and meditation teacher.
Please get in touch via email on the teachersâ websites.