Lopon Barbara DuBois
About the Teacher
Why study with them?
Lopön Barbara Du Bois, PhD, is known for the clarity, freshness, humor, and fearless love with which she meets us, shining a frank Western light on the path. Her principal gurus in this lifetime are H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and H.E. Garchen Rinpoche.
Barbara has been teaching Buddhadharma since the mid-1980s. In 2002 H.H. Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang Rinpoche conveyed the blessing of the lineage, his hands upon her crown, and in 2004 H.E. Garchen Rinpoche appointed her Lopön (Master Dharma Teacher); she is the only disciple to receive this title from Garchen Rinpoche in the United States. He has said of Lopön Barbara that she is “an authentic, genuine lama, able to tame beings according to their needs.” In accord with Rinpoche’s personal instructions, Barbara’s teachings elucidate the essence of the Buddhadharma, pointing always to the union of the Two Truths.
Barbara’s long lifetime of service has included work with the United Nations, disarmament, refugees from colonial regimes and genocide, and an indigenous women’s peace movement during an active civil war in Africa. Formerly also a social scientist and artist, Barbara is more recently the author of Brave, Generous, & Undefended: Heart Teachings on the 37 Bodhisattva Practices (2020) and Light Years: A Spiritual Memoir (2011); she has also compiled and edited works by two Western indigenous spiritual teachers, Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo and David Chethlahe Paladin. Lopön Barbara currently resides in Arizona.
Barbara has been teaching Buddhadharma since the mid-1980s. In 2002 H.H. Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang Rinpoche conveyed the blessing of the lineage, his hands upon her crown, and in 2004 H.E. Garchen Rinpoche appointed her Lopön (Master Dharma Teacher); she is the only disciple to receive this title from Garchen Rinpoche in the United States. He has said of Lopön Barbara that she is “an authentic, genuine lama, able to tame beings according to their needs.” In accord with Rinpoche’s personal instructions, Barbara’s teachings elucidate the essence of the Buddhadharma, pointing always to the union of the Two Truths.
Barbara’s long lifetime of service has included work with the United Nations, disarmament, refugees from colonial regimes and genocide, and an indigenous women’s peace movement during an active civil war in Africa. Formerly also a social scientist and artist, Barbara is more recently the author of Brave, Generous, & Undefended: Heart Teachings on the 37 Bodhisattva Practices (2020) and Light Years: A Spiritual Memoir (2011); she has also compiled and edited works by two Western indigenous spiritual teachers, Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo and David Chethlahe Paladin. Lopön Barbara currently resides in Arizona.
