Sith Chaisurote, the president of World Peace Initiative (WPI), will participate on a panel session of the Northwest Dharma Association (NWDA) 2011 Annual Gathering - Dharma, Conflict and Peace.

In honor of this theme, we are calling our 2011 Annual Gathering:

The Annual Gathering will take place on February 26, from 10AM to 4PM in Portland, Oregon at the Portland Insight Meditation Center at 6536 SE Duke St. Please see map at the bottom of the page for directions to PIMC.

The keynote speaker: Dr. Sharif Abdullah is an author and advocate for inclusivity and the social/spiritual transformation of society. Sharif works in the field of societal transformation, working to align our global human societies with our common spiritual and moral values. His vision and work for a world that works for all beings stems from his spiritual awareness, his early background and his experiences in over 100 distinct cultures, spanning 36 countries. He is founder and director of Commonway Institute for Societal Transformation.

His books include The Power of One: Authentic Leadership in Turbulent Times, the award-winning Creating a World That Works for All, and Seven Seeds for a New Society, in addition to numerous articles and other publications.

His books will be available for purchase at the event!

For more information visit www.commonway.org

Sith Chaisurote is Assistant Professor of Finance at University of Oregon.  He completed his Ph.D at Stanford University; and while he was a graduate student there, he annually organized the World Peace Ethics Contest, which is an academic competition for students from around the world to learn about Buddhist principles and participate in an examination.  While residing in Northern California, he also helped in founding a Theravada Buddhist Temple, Wat Bhavana San Jose.

Currently, he is the President of Peace Revolution Project, a platform that combines social networking together with meditation to facilitate a grass-root movement for peace. At the conference, he will talk about the Peace Revolution Project and how it can contribute to world peace, one person at a time.

For more information visit www.peacerevolution2010.org

Dr. Robert Gould co-founded Portland State University's Graduate Program in Conflict Resolution in 1993 and serves as its Chair. In 1984, he co-founded the Oregon Peace Institute with Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, and continues to serve on OPI's Board of Directors. More recently, he co-founded the Northwest Institute for Conflict Resolution, the Newhall Nonviolence Institute, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Consortium.

Dr. Gould will talk about Buddhism and conflict resolution, with a focus on how to manage paradoxes and the "should monster" in everyday conflicts.

Ruby Grad has been meditating in the Theravada tradition since 1988. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock's Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader programs. She served on the Board of Directors of Spirit Rock Meditation Center from 2000-2006, and was president of the Board from 2004-2006. She has served on Spirit Rock's Ethics and Reconciliation Council since 2004 and continues to serve on the Council. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Portland Friends of the Dhamma (since 2008) and is currently serving as president of the Board (since 2009). 

For more information visit Spirit Rock's Ethics & Reconciliation Council

Venerable Khenpo Jampa Tenphel comes to us from Dzongsar University in India where he served as library director and tutor for many years. He received the degree of Acharya (equivalent to an M.A.) in Buddhist Philosophy, Tantra and Sutra in 2002 and was ordained as an Abbott (Khenpo) in 2004.

He has received many teachings and initiations from all four sects of Tibetan Buddhism (Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, Gelug). Many of those teachings and initiations were from H.H. the Dalai Lama and H.H. Sakya Trizin. He received special teachings and initiations from H.H. Sakya Trizin, H.H. Dagchen Rinpoche, and H.H. Karmapa.

At the Virupa Educational Institute in Seattle, Khenpo Rinpoche teaches intermediate and advanced level classes on Buddhist philosophy and also serves as the librarian for the growing collection of Tibetan Buddhist scriptures.

Khenpo’s talk will be about “The Bodhisattva's View and Conduct: Understanding Conflict in the World”.

For more information visit www.sakya.org

LaShelle Lowe-Charde holds a master’s degree in psychology and has been certified as a trainer in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as founded by Marshall Rosenberg.  She has been offering classes and workshops for the last thirteen years.  She is a committed Zen practitioner and this shows in the clarity and depth of her work. LaShelle delights in helping others learn to relate from a place of connection, compassion, and integrity. 

As spiritual practioners, compassion, wisdom, clarity, and peace are values we hold deeply.  It can be disheartening and frustrating to see the places in our lives where we are not living these values.

Nonviolent Communication offers a perspective and set of tools to help manifest these values in daily practice.  LaShelle will talk about how this works.

For more information visit www.wiseheartpdx.org

For more information about this event, please visit the NWDA's website.