The Community Meditation Center located on Manhattan’s upper west side

ALLAN LOKOS is the founder and guiding teacher of The Community Meditation Center. He is the author of the best seller, Patience: The Art of Peaceful Living and Pocket Peace: Effective Practices for Enlightened Living. His writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, Tricycle magazine, and Beliefnet, and he has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and on more than fifty radio and TV programs. Among the places he has taught are Columbia University Teachers College, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Marymount College, The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, The Rubin Museum (Brainwave Series), NY Insight Meditation Center, The NY Open Center, Tibet House USA, and Insight Meditation Community of Washington. Allan has practiced meditation since the mid-nineties and studied with such renowned teachers as Sharon Salzberg, Thich Nhat Hanh, Joseph Goldstein, Andrew Olendzki, and Stephen Batchelor. Earlier in this life Allan enjoyed a successful career as a professional singer appearing in the original Broadway companies of Oliver!, Pickwick, and the Stratford Festival/Broadway production of The Pirates of Penzance.

Sharon Salzberg is one of America's leading spiritual teachers and authors. She is cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, MA and has played a crucial role in bringing Asian meditation practices to the West. The ancient Buddhist practices of vipassana (mindfulness) and metta (lovingkindness) are the foundations of her work. She is the author of numerous books including Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love and Compassion, and Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation.

Stephen Batchelor is one of the world's leading scholars, authors, and teachers of Buddhist thought. He was a monk in the Tibetan and Zen traditions for ten years. Known for his agnostic and secular approach to the Dhamma, he has authored several books, including the bestselling Buddhism Without Beliefs, Living With The Devil and Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. He lives in France with his wife Martine and teaches seminars and leads meditation retreats worldwide.

Venerable Metteyya was featured in the PBS special The Buddha. He was born in Lumbini, Nepal, the same place as the Buddha. He primarily studied in the Theravada tradition but has also received teachings directly from His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche as well as in the Vietnamese Pure Land tradition. Ven. Metteyya founded the Metta Children's School in Nepal which provides free education to over 800 impoverished local children. He, along with his Dharma mother, built the Sakyadhita Nunnery to provide educational options to local girls who would otherwise face child marriage.

Andrew Olendzki, Ph.D., is the senior scholar and executive director of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, MS, and the editor of the Insight Journal. He was trained in Buddhist Studies at Lancaster University in England, as well as at Harvard University and the University of Sri Lanka. The former executive director of Insight Meditation Society, he has had published an enormous selection of essays, articles, studies, and poetry. He is the author of Unlimiting Mind: The Radically Experiential Psychology of Buddhism.

George Pitagorsky is a senior teacher at NY Insight Meditation Center where he was also on the board of directors. He blends Buddhism, systems thinking, and non-dual philosophy into a practical approach to living consciously, compassionately, and wisely. He has practiced yoga and Vipassana meditation since the early 1970's and has studied with teachers of Advaita, Dzogchen and other Buddhist traditions. As a multi-disciplinary management consultant and coach, he focuses on applying open-minded mindfulness with systems and process thinking to achieve optimal performance. George is author of The Zen Approach to Project Management, editor of the Breakthrough Newsletter, and is currently working on a book on Mindfully Managing Conflict. He co-developed and facilitates the five month Conscious Living/Conscious Working program, now in its eighth year.

Mu Soeng is the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies program director and resident scholar. He trained in the Korean Zen tradition and was a monk for eleven years. He is the author of The Heart of the Universe: Exploring the Heart Sutra,Thousand Peaks: Korean Zen (Tradition and Teachers); The Diamond Sutra: Transforming the Way We Perceive the World; and Trust in Mind: The Rebellion of Chinese Zen.

Jon Aaron is a teacher at NY Insight Meditation Center, the guiding teacher of the Havurah of Dedicated Practitioners at the JCC and a teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. He has done teacher training with Matthew Flickstein of the Forest Way, completed the Integrated Study and Practice Program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and the Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Care at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.