Shemaleiah Geremia-Smylie

The daughter of two nature-loving Episcopal priests, Shemaleiah came to the Buddhadharma in her twenties through Brown University’s Contemplative Studies Program. After a decade of Rinzai Zen practice, she found her heart’s home in Vajrayana Buddhism. She resonates deeply with the Vajrayana view that all phenomena are inherently sacred and that even intense or difficult emotions are welcomed onto the path as precious fuel for liberation. Ritual speaks to her as a language of the heartmind, and she is devoted to practices that honor embodied experience, our elemental and animal nature, and the cyclic rhythms of our living planet.

Throughout her life, the Earth has been her most steady and profound teacher. She feels called to support others in rediscovering body, land, and the more-than-human world as interconnected expressions of Buddha Nature, cultivating spaces where experience can be welcomed without judgment.

She holds deep gratitude for the many teachers who shaped her path, including Harold (Kendo) Roth, Ph.D., who introduced her to Buddhism; Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi, with whom she first took refuge; and her primary teachers, Lama Willa Blythe Baker and Lama Liz Monson.

Since joining Natural Dharma Fellowship in 2019, Shemaleiah has served in various volunteer and staff roles. She currently works as Spiritual Programming Manager and is training to become a dharma teacher with NDF’s Advanced Teacher Initiative. She lives onsite with her husband and their two cats at the Farmhouse beside Wonderwell Mountain Refuge.