April 9, 2026

7:30 pm - 9:30 pm ET

(check local time)


Welcome friends.

Five sanghas from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta have come together to create this special lineage story series. Read more about us. And, we are delighted to be partnering with IMS Online to bring this to the wider sangha. We offer a warm prairie welcome to all practitioners!

Our vision is to have our teachers share stories about their teachers, to honour our gratitude to the Asian roots of the practice; to give a sense of these teachings being handed down, generation to generation; and to give current practitioners a sense of carrying this precious gift forward.

Our collective practice is primarily rooted in the Burmese and Thai Forest lineages through Mahasi Sayadaw and Ajahn Mun, and, is also influenced by many other traditions. We will build a virtual lineage image as we go along, to create a visual sense of our practice and its roots.

Our Burmese lineage has been influenced in a very unique way by Sayadaw U Tejaniya, a former householder and businessman who trained under the late Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, and who now teaches at the Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Forest Meditation Center in Yangon, Myanmar.  Carol, Alexis, Neesha and Andrea will share stories of this living master and give us a sense of how our collective practice has benefitted and is now shaped by his perspectives.


Meet Your Teachers

Carol Wilson first began practicing Vipassana or Insight meditation in 1971, with S.N. Goenka, in Bodh Gaya, India. Since then she has studied and practiced with a number of Theravada teachers, both Asian and Western. She has been particularly influenced by the teachings and practice styles of Sayadaw U Pandita, and in the past ten years, of Ashin U Tejaniya. In the 1980s she spent a year in Thailand as a Buddhist nun, which she continues to appreciate as an immensely valuable and inspiring experience.


Alexis Santos has practiced insight meditation since 2001, including training as a Buddhist monk in Burma with Sayadaw U Tejaniya. He brings a practical, intuitive and compassionate approach to the development of wisdom. Teaching retreats in the US and internationally, he offers daily life practice support online at his website www.alexissantos.io.


Neesha Patel has been drawn to the teachings of the Buddha ever since she first read comic books about the Buddha as a child. She has been fortunate to have been infused by and practiced the dhamma in both Asia and the US. Her practice has been influenced by the guidance of many wonderful teachers, including Sayadaw U Tejaniya and Ajahn Sucitto. Though her dhamma practice primarily derives from Vipassana traditions, she has benefited deeply from wisdom expressed in the Zen/Chan and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.  She loves both intensive longer retreat practice, as well as daily life practice, and is inspired by the radical inclusivity of the dhamma. Neesha currently resides in Northern California. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner Program, and is a current participant in the 2017-2021 IMS Teacher Training Program.


Andrea Fella has practiced insight meditation since 1996, studying with both Western and Asian teachers. Her teaching emphasizes clarity and practicality. She is co-guiding teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA, a member of the Spirit Rock Governing Teacher’s Council, and teaches retreats nationally. For more information about Andrea and her teaching schedule, visit her website at www.andreafella.org.


More Information

  • Registration Deadline

    Registration for this program closes on April 9, 2026 at 6:30 pm ET.

  • Program Recordings

    This program will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing after the live sessions. On-demand videos will be available to registered participants only for 90 days.

  • Additional Questions

    If you have additional questions please contact us at [email protected].