Meet Our Meditation Instructors

The Northern California Shambhala Centers are wonderful places to learn how to meditate and to work compassionately with our lives.

Pema Chödrön

Anyone pursuing a meditation practice is encouraged to work with a Meditation Instructor (MI) or a Shambhala Guide. This relationship is based on friendship, mentoring and confidentiality. Arrangements are entirely individualized, from a meeting or two to clarify points of practice to an ongoing relationship involving more regular meetings.

Meditation Instructors at a Shambhala Meditation Center are people who have years of commitment to personal practice, and are carefully trained to provide instruction, support and direction to students. They are also involved at the Center as Shambhala Training Directors and Assistant Directors, teachers of Buddhist classes, and group Meditation Instructors.

Shambhala Guides can provide initial meditation instruction on a one-to-one basis, give several follow-up sessions, and then refer students who want an ongoing relationship to an MI.

Students are invited to choose an MI or Shambhala Guide on their own. Our center currently has four meditation instructors. We invite you to meet them here, through their own words, and to contact them - as many as you wish - in order to receive personalized, one-on-one instruction and/or support.

We have listed a few Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of this page. If you have any additional questions or concerns, feel free to ask one of these volunteers or to contact the center at tamalpaishambhala@gmail.com or (415) 457-4157. Thank you!

Mia Greene

Mia grew up in the Bay Area and dipped her toe in Buddhism at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in the 1980s. In the 1990s she practiced informally at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She was introduced to the writings of Pema Chödrön in1999 after going through a rough patch in her life and was moved to begin a more serious practice. After learning that Pema was the senior teacher for Northern California Shambhala, Mia found a community in the Berkeley center and attended several retreats with Pema, including the last two years of the Way of the Bodhisattva City Retreat.

Mia has been a friend of the Tamalpais Shambhala Meditation Group since early 2004, and a committed member since 2005, taking a seat on the group’s first Council in 2006. She took refuge with Acharya Christie Cashman in the spring of 2005, and became a Shambhala Guide in February of 2008.

Mia can be reached at mia.greene@gmail.com

John Kreibel

John took refuge with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1982 and has studied with many Buddhist teachers.  He attended the 1993 Rigpa three-month, nine-yana retreat and the 2007 Shambhala Vajrayana Seminary.  He completed Shambhala Meditation Instructor training in early 2008.  John is an educator in a local high school and the proud father of two extraordinary young women. 

John can be reached at kilaya726@hotmail.com or (415) 482-1027

Marc Matheson

A native Californian, Marc began meditating in 1974 with Kobun Chino Otogawa, a Soto Zen Buddhist teacher; took refuge in 1975; and in 1977 met his first teacher, His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa of Tibet. Following the parinirvana of His Holiness, Marc met Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in 1987.

Marc completed Shambhala seminary in 1996 and trained as a meditation instructor in 2000. He then helped start and coordinated the Tamalpais Shambhala Meditation Group, and coordinated events for Northern California Shambhala, until 2007.

Prior to his recent retirement, Marc worked in a variety of organizational, administrative and management situations for over 30 years, and was the primary caregiver for both of his parents and a partner who died of AIDS. Marc and his husband, Christopher Miles, were married in 2005 on Mount Tamalpais, in a service composed by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. They live in Gerstle Park, San Rafael, where Marc enjoys gardening, cooking and entertaining.

Marc can be reached at tigermind@earthlink.net or (415) 497-8657

Christina Sears

Christina grew up in Berkeley in the 60’s, where she read Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, by Paul Reps, which she found a fitting description of the times. She went “back to the land” in the 70’s and started reading about meditation. In a northern California land center (Padma Jong) that is no more, Christina started practicing meditation and studying dharma. Her first dathün was during her first pregnancy in 1977. She met the Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche during the 16th Karmapa’s visit during 1977.

Shambhala Training was just beginning and Christina had the opportunity to hear the Vajra Regent, Ösel Tenzin and Chögyam Trungpa give Levels IV and V. She had another pregnancy dathun in 1981. Both of her children, by the way, are practitioners. Christina took them to seminary with her in 1984, in Bedford Springs, Pennyslvania. After a seminary romance, she moved to Chicago to live in a practice house, and returned to the Bay Area in 1986. After a few summers at Karma Choling, she was able to take the Vajrayogini abisheka in 1990. She moved to Petaluma in 1999 and attended the Sonoma Shambhala Center.

For the last four years Christina has been in Phoenix where she helped start and coordinate the Phoenix Shambhala Meditation Group. Last summer she signed on as staff at Shambhala Mountain Center. Back home in the Bay Area, she is now the practice coordinator of the Tamalpais Shambhala Meditation Center. Christina is a kindergarten teacher and is working on her masters in Advanced Studies in Waldorf Education.

Christina can be reached at cacsears@gmail.com or (415) 297-7134

Frequently Asked Questions about Meditation Instruction

How can I get meditation instruction?
You can get meditation instruction in a number of ways at our Center. Most people receive their first instruction at our Tuesday night Open House, given weekly at 7:00 PM, or on the second and fourth Sunday mornings of each month, at 9:00 AM.

A more detailed approach to instruction is given in our monthly Shambhala practice session, held on the fourth Sunday morning of each month. (See our Schedule page here for details.)

Some people receive their first instruction at Level 1 of Shambhala Training, and in some cases it is given individually by appointment.

What does it cost?
Meditation instruction at the Open House, Sunday mornings, or with an MI, is free of charge. There are fees associated with the Shambhala Training.

What happens in meditation interviews?
Interviews are opportunities for you and the MI to get to know each other and to discuss your practice. Initially, they serve to clarify the basic meditation technique and any questions you have about it. Other questions sometimes asked by beginning meditators include how to set up a place to meditate at home and how to set up a reasonable home meditation schedule.

As your practice develops, the subjects for meditation interviews will arise naturally out of your experience. An MI can also provide guidance to you about what is available in terms of study and practice at the Center.

What if I feel uncomfortable with my Meditation Instructor?
If you are feeling uncomfortable with your MI, you are encouraged and welcomed to talk about your concerns to the Center Director, any member of our Shambhala Council, or any other Center member with whom you are comfortable. You are also free to change your MI as your path evolves.

If you would like any further information, please, contact the center at tamalpaishambhala@gmail.com or (415) 457-4157. Thank you!

Learn more about meditation and buddhism at shambhala.org

Search  Home   Programs   Meditation   Buddhist Study   Shambhala Training   Arts   Community

Tamalpais Shambhala Meditation Group
734 A Street, Suite G, San Rafael,  CA 94901
Tel. 415 457 4157    Email: tamalpaishambhala@gmail.com