Insight Meditation Institute lead teachers of the Faculty
The lead teachers and founders of the Institute are Subhana Barzaghi and Alan Bassal. They are responsible for the spiritual vision of the organisation, the design of the curriculum and its teacher training programs.
Subhana Barzaghi - Dharma teacher pathway lead teacher & Mentor
Subhana is a Zen roshi and a senior teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition. She is a resident teacher of the Sydney Zen Centre and founding teacher of both the Bluegum Sangha in Sydney and the Kuan Yin Meditation Centre in Lismore. Subhana’s teaching emphasises liberation here and now through the practice of calm abiding and enquiry. She leads Zen and Insight Meditation retreats in Australia, New Zealand and India 
Alan Bassal- Dharma teacher pathway lead teacher & Mentor
Alan has been studying and practicing Buddha’s teachings for over 35 years beginning in the Vipassana meditation tradition and then developing in Eastern and Western Insight. For over 28 years he worked internationally in the field of management and organisational change and for many years has integrated mindfulness and mindfulness based psychotherapy in his leadership development work. Alan’s Insight Meditation teaching is eclectic and practical, he encourages people to awaken to each moment and find the fulfillment they seek. |
Will James - Dharma teacher pathway lead teacher & Mentor
Will attended his first Insight Meditation reteat in late 1970s with Christopher Titmus, this meeting kindled a deep interest in meditation and a great love for the Dharma teachings and practices.
Will is the guiding teacher at the Tallowwood Sangha in Bellingen NSW, he regularly leads retreats in Bellingen, Byron Bay and annually in Bali.
Will teaching lays great emphasis on seeing into the ‘dependent arising’ and empty nature of all phenomena. This seeing makes possible for a deep understanding that frees the mins and opens the heart.
Will attended his first Insight Meditation reteat in late 1970s with Christopher Titmus, this meeting kindled a deep interest in meditation and a great love for the Dharma teachings and practices.
Will is the guiding teacher at the Tallowwood Sangha in Bellingen NSW, he regularly leads retreats in Bellingen, Byron Bay and annually in Bali.
Will teaching lays great emphasis on seeing into the ‘dependent arising’ and empty nature of all phenomena. This seeing makes possible for a deep understanding that frees the mins and opens the heart.
Insight Dharma Teachers supporting the Mindfulness & Compassion Teacher Training
Suzie Brown - Mindfulness & Compassion teacher training mentor
Suzie co-founded the Melbourne Insight Meditation Group in 2009 and has trained as an Insight Dharma Teacher both in Australia with the Insight Meditation Institute, and in the USA, with James Baraz.
Suzie works as a Mentor in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) taught by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach and is also a Dharma teacher in their online dharma platform, Banyan (formerly Cloud Sangha).
She also trained as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and has taught mindfulness courses in the community and workplaces for 12 years.
Suzie has also worked as a climate and environmental activist for two decades and teaches Eco-dharma and mindful approaches to dealing with climate anxiety and grief.
Suzie co-founded the Melbourne Insight Meditation Group in 2009 and has trained as an Insight Dharma Teacher both in Australia with the Insight Meditation Institute, and in the USA, with James Baraz.
Suzie works as a Mentor in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) taught by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach and is also a Dharma teacher in their online dharma platform, Banyan (formerly Cloud Sangha).
She also trained as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and has taught mindfulness courses in the community and workplaces for 12 years.
Suzie has also worked as a climate and environmental activist for two decades and teaches Eco-dharma and mindful approaches to dealing with climate anxiety and grief.
Insight Dharma Teachers supporting the Dharma Teacher Pathway
The Institute’s Dharma Teacher Mentors are an integral part of our faculty. They offer wise counsel to the Institute and mentoring and support to individuals on the path of becoming Insight Meditation Dharma teachers.
The teachers listed here have practiced Insight Meditation for more than 20 years. Some have trained in monasteries in Asia. They have taught dozens of 5 to 10 day retreats, Dharma Gatherings, Mindfulness programs and a range of professional workshops over the years. They have mentored individuals, founded, supported and lead Sanghas.
Teachers also continue as students themselves, dedicated to ongoing study and dharma practice to deepen their understanding and embodiment of the Buddha Way.
The teachers listed here have practiced Insight Meditation for more than 20 years. Some have trained in monasteries in Asia. They have taught dozens of 5 to 10 day retreats, Dharma Gatherings, Mindfulness programs and a range of professional workshops over the years. They have mentored individuals, founded, supported and lead Sanghas.
Teachers also continue as students themselves, dedicated to ongoing study and dharma practice to deepen their understanding and embodiment of the Buddha Way.
Carol Perry - Dharma teacher pathway mentor
Carol has more than forty years meditation experience in the Insight tradition. She is a senior teacher with Melbourne Insight Meditation. In 1972 Carol co-founded a rural community called Dharmananda. She continues to live there with around twenty three people, working together to grow a wide range of organic foods and maintaining the land.
Carol is a long-time social activist on ecological issues and is passionate about supporting cohesive and harmonious community in all its forms. She has a mindfulness-based (Hakomi) psychotherapy practice in Lismore NSW and globally by Skype. She teaches a dharma-based workshop called Communicating Mindfully.
Carol has more than forty years meditation experience in the Insight tradition. She is a senior teacher with Melbourne Insight Meditation. In 1972 Carol co-founded a rural community called Dharmananda. She continues to live there with around twenty three people, working together to grow a wide range of organic foods and maintaining the land.
Carol is a long-time social activist on ecological issues and is passionate about supporting cohesive and harmonious community in all its forms. She has a mindfulness-based (Hakomi) psychotherapy practice in Lismore NSW and globally by Skype. She teaches a dharma-based workshop called Communicating Mindfully.
Victor von der Heyde - Dharma teacher pathway mentor
Victor von der Heyde has practiced meditation for thirty five years. He studied with a wide range of dharma teachers, he's spent over two years in total in silent retreats and taken dharma teaching roles since the mid 1990s. Victor has an interest helping people understand the varieties of meditation and dharma perspectives so that they're in a position to choose what works for them. He has had a long term interest in environmental ethics, he spent two decades helping manage a small overseas aid organisation and worked for many years as a counselor.
Victor von der Heyde has practiced meditation for thirty five years. He studied with a wide range of dharma teachers, he's spent over two years in total in silent retreats and taken dharma teaching roles since the mid 1990s. Victor has an interest helping people understand the varieties of meditation and dharma perspectives so that they're in a position to choose what works for them. He has had a long term interest in environmental ethics, he spent two decades helping manage a small overseas aid organisation and worked for many years as a counselor.
Jill Shepherd - Dharma teacher pathway mentor
Jill began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and since that time has lived and worked at several meditation centers and monasteries in the US, Australia, England, and Thailand. She is a graduate of the IMS / Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal.
Currently, Jill teaches vipassana and brahma vihara retreats and offers ongoing study and practice groups focused on bringing the dharma into daily life. She also leads courses and non-residential workshops exploring the relational practice of Insight Dialogue, as developed by Gregory Kramer and colleagues
Jill began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and since that time has lived and worked at several meditation centers and monasteries in the US, Australia, England, and Thailand. She is a graduate of the IMS / Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal.
Currently, Jill teaches vipassana and brahma vihara retreats and offers ongoing study and practice groups focused on bringing the dharma into daily life. She also leads courses and non-residential workshops exploring the relational practice of Insight Dialogue, as developed by Gregory Kramer and colleagues
Mal Huxter - Dharma teacher pathway mentor
Mal has been practicing mindfulness and related practices such as loving kindness and compassion for 45 years and been teaching it in both clinical and public settings for 30 years. Mal originally learnt these practices from the Buddhist tradition, ordaining as a Buddhist monk in Thailand for 2 years in his early 20’s. Mal has mostly practiced in the Theravada traditions but has also practiced with Tibetan and Zen Buddhist teachers.
Mal has been practicing mindfulness and related practices such as loving kindness and compassion for 45 years and been teaching it in both clinical and public settings for 30 years. Mal originally learnt these practices from the Buddhist tradition, ordaining as a Buddhist monk in Thailand for 2 years in his early 20’s. Mal has mostly practiced in the Theravada traditions but has also practiced with Tibetan and Zen Buddhist teachers.
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Angela McGee - Dharma teacher pathway mentor
Angela has been studying, practising and teaching in various contemplative traditions for over 30 years in India and Australia, beginning in the the Krishnamacharya Yoga Dharma tradition and then developing in Western Insight Dharma. Angela believes these ancient teachings are a complete map of the human life, mind and heart and can act as a guide to our potential for liberation and freedom from suffering. Angela regularly teaches with Melbourne Insight Meditation Group's weekly sits, residential retreats in Victoria as well as annual retreats in Bali. She is also a psychotherapist in private practice in Melbourne. |
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Jess Huon- Dharma teacher pathway mentor
Jess has trained in traditional Buddhist monastic settings, in inter-faith contexts of meditative inquiry, and also within long periods of solitary forest practice. This training has taken place in India, Australia, Spain, and the USA. In 2009 Jess was awarded a scholarship to study Buddhist texts at Spirit Rock, near San Francisco. She holds a bachelor of Creative Arts (VCA), and a post graduate degree in Therapeutic Arts practice (RMIT). Jess brings traditional teaching alive in a fresh, feminine, and transformative manner. A natural orator, her talks have been described as “street language for the soul.” Whilst deeply informed but not bound by tradition, her style is grounded in contemporary life. |
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Jeremy Logan - Dharma teacher pathway mentor
Jeremy has been involved in Insight Meditation or Vipassana for over 30 years. He is a qualified counsellor and a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. He has been teaching Insight Meditation and Mindfulness since 1990 throughout New Zealand and has helped to set up Waiwaste, a local food rescue organisation providing food for people experiencing food poverty and reducing food waste and greenhouse gas emissions. |
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Lizzie Turnbull - Dharma teacher pathway mentor (currently on sabbatical)
Lizzie began her practice of Buddhist meditation and training in 1985 first in Tibetan Buddhism and then in the Zen and Insight traditions. Her comparative studies and love of the wide open fields of inquiry have led to a non-sectarian and contemporary perspective. Her years working as a psychotherapist, educator and sociologist, have provided many perspectives on the human condition. In her teaching Lizzie enjoys supporting whatever this mysterious movement is that lies within each of us - the awakening impulse that senses the freedom that is always already here. |