Adyashanti

Born Stephen Gray in 1962 in Cupertino, California, Adyashanti grew up as a competitive bicycle racer before becoming interested in enlightenment at 19. At 20 he began studying Zen Buddhism under Arvis Joen Justi (a student of Taizan Maezumi Roshi) and attended long retreats with Jakusho Kwong Roshi of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, building a meditation hut in his parents' backyard while working at his father's machine shop.

At 25 he had his first awakening; at 31, soon after marrying Anne Marie Gunning (now the teacher known as Mukti), he had a second, more profound awakening. Within months, his teacher asked him to begin teaching. In 2000, Open Gate Sangha, Inc. was established as a nonprofit to make his teachings available to all who seek peace and freedom.

He has taught throughout the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, and Australia, through evening meetings, weekend intensives, silent retreats, live internet broadcasts, and online courses. He is the author of eleven books, including The Direct Way, The Way of Liberation, Resurrecting Jesus, Falling into Grace, and True Meditation, translated into nine languages. Open Gate Sangha has published more than 100 DVDs and 800 audio recordings of his teaching, alongside over 130 free live broadcasts.

Now retired, Adyashanti lives in the Eastern Sierras with his wife Mukti.