Instructional Team

Geshe Sonam Gurung received his training for the Geshe degree under the guidance of His Holiness the 33rd Menri Trizin, the Abbot of Bon Menri Monastery and lineage holder of the Yungdrung Bon spiritual tradition. Geshe Sonam served as personal assistant to His Holiness. Following the direction and continued guidance of His Holiness, Geshe Sonam translated many of the key texts in the Bon Dzogchen canon. In particular, he translated significant works from Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche. Shardza Rinpoche’s key texts – Heart Drops of Kuntuzangpo, Kusum Rangshar; and the Treasury of the Expanse – are detailed yogic roadmaps of the Bon Dzogchen pathway to enlightenment, combining both utterly clear philosophic foundation as well as detailed practice explanation. Geshe Sonam’s goal is to make these teachings available on a global basis in forms appropriate for the 21st Century.

In addition to teaching and translating, Geshe Sonam oversees the Mustang Cultural and Education Center in Jomsom.

Amchi (Dr.) Khedup Loden Gurung has been associated with our Foundation and MCECE for many years and has been collaborating with the Foundation on initiatives associated with the  Chebumedical clinic in the Mustang Valley in Nepal.  He is widely regarded as a highly accomplished doctor versed in Tibetan Bon Medicine.  The purpose of the medical clinic is to provide communities in the Mustang Valley area with greater access to traditional Tibetan Bon medical practices.  The Mustang Cultural and Educational Center MCEC currently has only one Bon doctor, Khedup Loden Gurung, offering medical treatments from a room that is adjacent to the MCEC children’s home in Jomson. The facilities are limited and demand from Mustang villages has been overwhelming with people traveling from far-away regions to receive treatment. Amchi Khedup Loden currently treats around 300 patients per month. The construction of a dedicated medical clinic at the Monastery will enable MCEC to vastly expand both the volume, variety, and quality of treatments.

John has been practicing a variety of methods of meditation for over 45 years, spending lengthy periods of time in retreat in Menri and Triten Norbutse monasteries in India and Nepal, as well as studying with His Holiness Lungtog Tenpai Nyima the 33^rd Menri Trinzin and His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche – the two most senior teachers of the Bön lineage. He completed a four-year teacher training program with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.  Since 2010, he has led approximately 100 meditation retreats and courses in 13 countries. He was co-leader for the 3 Doors Academy of Europe, an intensive three-year program for gaining deep experience in the Tibetan practices of body, speech and mind.

John was an acclaimed professor and educational researcher of medical informatics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine for 23 years, and served for a time as the Assistant Dean of Medical Information. He has also been an integral participant in the creation and stewardship of various retreat centers, including the Ligmincha Institute, the Chamma Ling Retreat Center of Colorado, and the Lishu Institute. In 2009, he created Ligmincha Learning, which now offers 36 online meditation courses in six languages. In addition to teaching, he also works as a certified Life Coach with clients around the globe.

Today, John enjoys drawing on his meditation and education backgrounds to collaborate with senior Bonpo lamas to create meaningful and powerful meditation training programs.

For more than a half-century, Gary has, “slow-by-slow”, studied and practiced the Dharma of several traditions. He is a student of Geshe Sonam Gurung, and has studied with His Holiness the 33rd Menri Trizin, Rahob Rinpoche, and Daniel Brown, amongst others. He has been lucky enough to recognize the transformative power of a relationship with a spiritual mentor. As Geshe Wangyal, the teacher of one of his teachers said, “I bow down especially to my own teachers, the lamas from whom I directly received these teachings. Even that knowledge I have of English came from them and from my heart I honor them as would a son, though I can never repay their great kindness.”

Worth practices Dzogchen with guidance from George Protos, Gary Freeman and Geshe Sonam Gurung; with inspiration from H.H. Menri Trizin 33 Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche and Rahob Tulku Thupten Kalsang Rinpoche; and with appreciation to Dr. John Churchill and Dr. Daniel P. Brown. It is his great joy to talk with and practice with the Washington D.C. Sangha and the many other students of Geshe Sonam.

Debby Kirkman is serving as head of instructional efforts at Mustang Bon Foundation. Her first exposure to insight meditation was through her martial arts practice. She was introduced to Tibetan meditation practices through her relationship with Dr. John Churchill, and has also studied with Dr. Dan Brown. A registered yoga teacher (RYT-500, EYT-200), her advanced yoga training has also included a concentration in meditation and mind-body relationships. More recently, she has been studying with Geshe Sonam. In her role as a director in the Mustang Bon Foundation, Ms. Kirkman is deeply committed to preserving the Bön cultural practices while helping to build communities and bringing these teachings to a Western audience through on-line and in-person educational events. And where possible, she aims to add lightness and laughter to those who are interested in sharing and exploring these precious teachings.