IMS Online Learning Center

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her forthcoming release, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom, is set for release in April of 2023 from Flatiron Books. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.

Bonnie Pitman is the Director Art-Brain Innovations, Center for BrainHealth® and a Distinguished Scholar for the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, The University of Dallas at Texas. Pitman was the former Eugene McDermott Director for The Dallas Museum of Art. As Director of Art-Brain Innovations at the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth®, Pitman expands her research and teaching of the Power of Observation and her “Do Something New” Practice to foster brain health. These initiatives connect neurological research and foster brain health with the process of seeing, looking, and observing, and experiencing life with innovation and resilience. She has been a meditator since the 1980s and a student of Sharon Salzberg for more than a decade.

Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. After graduating from Dartmouth College in Asian Studies in 1967 he joined the Peace Corps and worked on tropical medicine teams in the Mekong River valley. He met and studied as a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma. Returning to the United States, Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. Over the years, Jack has taught in centers and universities worldwide, led International Buddhist Teacher meetings, and worked with many of the great teachers of our time. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a father, husband and activist.

John Spalding is the Director of Partnerships and Communications for the Insight Meditation Society. He hosts the IMS Book Club through IMS Online, and his article, "The Art of IMS: Exploring the History and Role of Art at Our Centers," featured in the 2022 IMS Annual Bulletin, was the inspiration for this online course. After a 27-year career in magazine and book publishing professional, John joined the IMS staff in 2018. He has a master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School and a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.

Jacqueline Chao, Ph.D., is an art historian and curator of Asian art. A specialist in East Asian and Buddhist art, she is a widely published author and frequent lecturer on Asian art. She currently serves as The Cecil and Ida Green Curator of Asian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, where she oversees the care and presentation of the museum’s significant holdings of Asian art, guides the acquisition of new works into the collection, organizes special exhibitions highlighting Asian art, and contributes new scholarly research and writing.

devon hase is empowered to teach in the Insight and Vajrayana traditions of western Buddhism. Since discovering meditation in 2000, she has put dharma and community at the center of her life: she spent a decade bringing mindfulness to high school and college classrooms before entering several years of silent, solitary retreat in the mountains of Oregon. She now teaches at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and the Forest Refuge, among others. She enjoys supporting practitioners in long and short retreats, and also with personal mentoring, emphasizing relational practice and the natural world. Along with her life partner nico, devon co-authored How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Buddhist Survival Guide for Modern Life. When she’s not traveling and teaching in their van, she’s most likely in wilderness retreat. For more, visit devonandnicohase.com.

Tuere Sala is a Guiding Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society and the founding teacher of the Capitol Hill Meditation Group. She is a retired prosecuting attorney who has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 30 years.  Tuere believes that urban meditation is the foundation for today’s practitioner’s path to liberation.  She is inspired by bringing the Dharma to nontraditional places and is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, past trauma and difficulties sitting still.  Tuere has been teaching since 2010 and has a long history of assisting others in establishing and maintaining a daily practice.