Achan Da Nilpant is an ordained Thai monk. He has been teaching meditation for half a century and is the Abbot of the Center for Mindfulness & Insight Meditation in Redding. In Thailand, Ajahn Da was one of the closest students of Luangpor Teean Jittasubho, who was the founder of the Dynamic Insight or Mahasati lineage and was widely regarded as a modern day enlightened master. Ajahn Da was born in Nonsawang village, Roiet Province, in Northeast Thailand, on August 16, 1951. After finishing elementary school, he became a novice monk for five years. He disrobed at the age of 17 when his parents moved from Roiet to Nakonpanom. He worked on their farm planting rice and other crops, but they struggled to survive. After three years, he returned to the monkhood with his parents’ approval and was ordained at Supararam Forest Monastery in 1971. After hearing about Luangpor Teean’s direct method of practice leading to the ending of all suffering, Achan Da determined to search him out, but they didn’t actually meet until two years later. When they finally met, Ajahn Da committed himself to studying intensively under Luangpor Teean’s guidance and did so for three years. Practicing patiently and diligently, he proceeded step by step through the stages of practice until he reached the end of suffering. Luangpor Teean then encouraged Achan Da to teach throughout Thailand, and they worked together until Teean died in 1988. Achan Da made his first visit to America in 1993 to help realize a desire expressed by Luangpor Teean that his direct path of realization be shared with the Western world –particularly America. He eventually immigrated to the United States and served as the Abbot of a Thai temple in Nevada before relocating to Connecticut in 2004 to serve as the Abbot of the Center in Redding.

Phra Tavivat Sukhavatthano is currently an ordained Thai monk. He has been teaching Mahasati Insight meditation, the dynamic vipassana practice developed by Luangpor Teean since the late 1980s. He studied under Luangpor Teean as a lay practitioner and worked closely with him prior to his death. It was Tavivat who first brought Luangpor Teean’s practice to the United States while a lay Ph.D. student at Temple University where he received a doctorate in Religion and Society. After receiving his doctoral degree, Tavivat had a distinguished career in academia and public service. He was a member of the “Committee on Reform of Thai Buddhism” of the Thai Parliament and a member of the “Subcommittee on Ethics” of the Thai Senate. He was a visiting lecturer at Thammasat University, in Bangkok, and a faculty member of Mahidol University, in Salaya, Thailand, where he served as Chairman of the graduate program in Comparative Religion, and was Director of the Research and Development Institute of the World Buddhist University in Bangkok. Tavivat is the author of numerous publications in Thai and English including the book, “To One That Feels,” and the biography of Luangpor Teean that is included in the appendix of Michael’s recent book. Phra Tavivat retired from his academic posts and ordained in 2024 under Ajahn Anake. He dedicates himself to spreading the Dhamma of Luangpor Teean in both Thailand and here in the United States.

Michael is a senior lay teacher and founder of the Center for Mindfulness & Insight Meditation in Redding. He has been practicing Mahasati Insight Meditation since 1991 and is a licensed psychologist and author. Michael also founded the Wenham Insight Meditation Center, in Wenham Massachusetts, and the Mahasati Insight Meditation Association. Michael was born in 1958. While in his twenties, he began investigating Buddhist meditation to alleviate his existential suffering. He studied Zen for several years, including with Chan Master, Sheng Yen, before turning to Mahasati Insight Meditation. He encountered this dynamic form of vipassana practice in 1991 after meeting Tavivat Puntarigvivat, a lay student of the Thai meditation master Luangpor Teean Jittasubho. In 1992, Michael began studying more intensively with visiting Thai Forest monks, Ajahn Thong Abhakaro, and Ajahn Da Sammakhato. Michael quickly realized the value of Mahasati Insight practice and has played a leading role in introducing Luangpor Teean’s teaching and practice to the West. As part of these efforts, he recently published the book, “Awareness in Action: A Practitioners Guide to Mahasati Insight Meditation,” which has also been translated to Thai for distribution in Thailand.