Description of Ralph's Buddhist Lineage in Asia

Ralph studied and practiced with the highly regarded Adhidhamma and Vipassana Master Sayadaw U Janakabhivamsa for four months during the annual rains retreat. Janakabhivamsa is a Sanskrit, Hindi, and English scholar at the Chanmyay Yeiktha Meditation Centre near Rangoon. Ralph also studied and practiced Sunlun Meditation methods with U' Vinay Sayadaw, a student of Sunlun Sayadaw, age 87. He concluded his stay in Myanmar studying with Tammaya Sayadaw, the most Senior monk in Myanmar and the advisor to Aug San Suu Kyi. In Western society, Ralph Steele was granted authorization to teach Vipassana, Sunlun and Metta meditation.
 

In Thailand he received instructions at the monastery of Ajhan Chah from Ajahn Jayasaro, master of various ascetic practices. He practiced with Ajahn Jayasaro and other forest monks in the deep jungle on the border of Myanmar and Thailand. He also received instruction from Maha Boowa, age 87, the most senior monk in Thailand. Ralph concluded his training with the guidance of Ajahn Jumnien, a Shaman and highly respected forest meditation master in Southern Thailand.

Ralph Steele’s Buddhist Study and Teachers

2001 - present
- Study with Pasanno Bhikkhu, Amaro Bhikkhu, Anandabodhi Bhikkhuni, Thanissaro Bhikkhu

- 1999/2000
An ordained monk in Burma and Thailand

1994 - 2008
- Meditation study with Lobsang Lhalungpa

1988 - 2001
- Vipassana Teacher Training with Jack Kornfield

1984 - present
- Member of the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram, Taos, New Mexico

1994 - 1996
~ Soto Zen retreats with Richard Baker Roshi

1989
- Study with H.H., The Dalai Lama, Dzogchen, Padmasambhava
Teachings

1976 - 1989
- Death and Dying retreats with Stephen Levine, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, and Ram Dass

1979
- Began solitary retreats of varying lengths

1979 - Present
- Study with Kalu Rinpoche (Old & New)

1975 - 1979
- Study with Sogyal Rinpoche

1977 - 1978
~ Study with Koben Chino, Soto Zen

1977
~ Study with H.H., The 16th Karmapa

1974 - 1976
~ Study with Lama Thubten Yeshe

1975
~ Theravada Insight Meditation Retreats: Began two 4-day retreats per year with Stephen Levine; two 10-day retreats per year with Sharon Salzburg, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield

1975
- Study with H.H., The Dalai Lama

1971
- Ralph began to practice Insight Meditation.

1964 - 1967
~ Ralph’s Introduction to Buddhism, Japan

Mindful of his memories from his Gullah childhood on Pawleys Island to the seeds of his career as a meditation teacher and therapist in Santa Fe, Ralph Steele forges his distinctively African American Buddhist story.

"Being born in a particular culture leads to a particular kind of suffering. My own cultural beginnings were unique and powerful. Through them, and through experiences ranging from war to highly disciplined religious training, I have learned the path of personal freedom from suffering."-Ralph Steele

In 2014, Ralph has a published autobiography entitled

Tending the Fire
Through War and the Path of Meditation

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