Copper Mountain Institute
Teachers
CMI operates under the spiritual guidance and direction of Adzom Paylo and Adzom Gylse, Rinpoches.
Our primary teachings follow the Three Yana or Vehicle, path of the Buddhadharma as taught by the Buddha, Sakyamuni, placing special emphasis on the Longchen Nyingthig path of the Nyingma or “Ancient” school of Tibetan Buddhism, In addition, CMI offers programs and studies the revealed treasure lineages of “Terma” - teachings first established by the 8th Century Saint Padmahambhava.
In this way CMI considers itself both vanguard and curator of these revered teachings, helping secure their continued transmission and practical effacy to the present day.
Adzom Paylo, Rinpoche
Adzom Paylo Rinpoche, a highly realized Dzogchen Master, directs students towards the highest levels of realization. Rinpoche is Non-Sectarian (Rime) and holds practice lineages of both Dzogchen and Mahamudra. Adzom Rinpoche is invited to teach in all orders of Tibetan Buddhist Traditions including Bon. He is regarded as an incarnation of Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa as well as Pema Wangyal, son of the great Adzom Drukpa. Rinpoche is recognized as a reincarnation of Vimalamitra, Ngari Panchen, King Trisong Detson and Speech Emanation of Manjushri.
Adzom Gyalse Rinpoche
Adzom Gyalse Rinpoche is recognized as the reincarnation of a great meditation master and son of Adzom Drukpa. Beginning at the age of 8, he entered monastic life and studied with revered Dzogchen Masters such as HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
He resides and teaches at Shechen Monastery in Nepal. He began teaching world-wide in 2014. He is a lineage holder for the ancient and expansive Dzogchen teachings of the Longchen Nyingthig. More info about Rinpoche can be found at: http://adzomgyalsetulku.com/en/
Resident Teachers
Additionally, CMI operates under the watchful care of its founders, xxx and xxx, dedicated, lifelong students and practitioners who maintain CMI’s facilities and lead both in-person and, online courses.
Lama Gendun Drolma, Carol Hoy
Carol has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1976. She has studied and practiced under Theravada, Sutra, Tantra, Mahamudra and Dzogchen Masters. She has been on pilgrimage led by Lama Tsultrim Allione (1996,)and Lama Anne C. Klein/Rigzin Drolma (2001) to many sacred sites of Buddhism and has visited great teachers in India, Nepal and Tibet. In 2019, she organized a pilgrimage led by Ad.zom Gyalse Rinpoche in his homeland, Bhutan.
As a Meditation Instructor at Vajradhatu in Boulder, Colorado and later in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she taught Shamatha-Vipassana and Tonglen under Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1983-90.) She attended Trungpa’s Dharma Arts Seminars and she taught Fine Art classes and co-taught Creative and Expressive Therapies with Arawana Hyashi (dance,) Jerry Granelli (music,) Lee Worley (theater,) and Cynthia Kneen (philosophy) at Naropa Institute.
Since 1995, she has studied and practiced with Lama Tsultrim Allione at Tara Mandala Retreat Center near Pagosa Springs, CO and with Lama Anne Klein and Lama Harvey Aronson at Dawn Mountain in Houston, TX and has served Tibetan Masters who taught at Tara Mandala (1995-2007) and Dawn Mountain (2001-2008,) She assisted a meditation group in the Albuquerque area for the teachings of Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche (1996-1999.)
She has been Co-founder and Resident Teacher at Copper Mountain Institute in Corrales, NM since 2000. She teaches Longchen Nyingthig Ngondro, Green Tara and Chod tantric practices as well as Beginning Meditation and Teachings of the Buddha, such as The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge, Prajnaparamita Sutra. Her teacher, Ad.zom Gyalse Rinpoche, authorized her as a Lama in 2021.
She holds an MA in Visual Arts. In her journey as an artist, meditation practice has been foundational to her creative process. The capacity to clear obstruction, to open one’s heart and to discover a fresh sense of being are invaluable means to liberate the flow of energy for the expression of one’s true self.
David Paul Boaz, Dechen Wangdu
David is Co-Founding Director and Vice President of Copper Mountain Institute, Inc., a tax exempt Buddhist Temple and Buddhist and contemplative studies research institute where he teaches Buddhist studies and mindfulness meditation.
He is Founding Director of the Copper Mountain Institute Mindfulness Prison Project where he teaches Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and secular mindfulness meditation in correctional settings. Here he has established several Buddhist sanghas. He specializes in Psychiatric Services corrections, and works with General Population.
David has a doctorate in philosophy (Religious Studies), and has lectured in Western philosophy at California State University, and in Eastern philosophy at the American Institute of Oriental Medicine. He has studied and practiced extensively with Buddhist Mahayana/Vajrayana and Vedanta meditation masters, and has been a disciple of Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen and Mahamudra master Adzom Rinpoche since 1999. He has written and taught consciousness studies, contemplative studies, Buddhist studies, and meditation practice for over forty years.
David has done original work in East-West philosophy of mind and consciousness studies through his integration of nondual Buddhist Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, with Western Panpsychism (primary monistic cosmopsychism)—the view that all relative physical, mental and spiritual reality arises from an all-pervading ultimate consciousness ground. He is an outspoken critic of Metaphysical Materialism and Physicalism, and Metaphysical Dualism in science and philosophy, and has written extensively on the wisdom unity of East and West.
David is a philosopher of physics and cosmology with a special interest in quantum gravity, and its impact upon our emerging Noetic Revolution—the 21st century rapprochement of objective Science and subjective Spirit with its emerging unifying contemplative science. His work bespeaks the prior unity of Science and Spirit.
David is author of five books, including The Teaching of the Buddha: Being Happy Now (2020); Buddhist Dzogchen (2021); Mindfulness Meditation:108 Seconds to Now (2021); The Collapse of Objective Reality: Quantum Nonlocality and Buddhist Emptiness (2021); The Noetic Revolution: Toward an Integral Science of Matter, Mind and Spirit (2021). His other works include Being and Time: Toward a Post-Standard Model Noetic Reality (2015); Phenomenology of Consciousness: Unifying East and West (unpublished doctoral dissertation); Pictures From Cathedral Peak (a book of poems and photographs) (2011); and The Zen of Wine (a mindful introduction to wine, 2015). He has published more than 100 essays and articles. For excerpts from his work please visit davidpaulboaz.org. Also visit coppermount.org. For critical reviews and translations google David Paul Boaz.