Kalapa Acharya Adam Lobel
Description
Biography
Adam Lobel was first inspired to explore meditation at age 16, driven by his response to the social and ecological injustices around him. Soon after, he discovered the writings and vision of Tibetan meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Moved by the path of warriorship and the ideal of enlightened society, he went on to deepen his practice through meditation retreats and training in the Shambhala Buddhist path.
During a retreat in Parphing, Nepal in 1997, Adam met Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the head of the Shambhala lineage. He later co-edited the Sakyong’s book Turning the Mind into an Ally. In 2004, he was named an Acharya, and he completed a Masters of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. In 2008, the Sakyong appointed him Kalapa Acharya.
As Kalapa Acharya, he oversees the Pillar of Practice and Education within Shambhala, with particular responsibility for curriculum and path development, as well as training Shambhala teachers. He is also engaged in a range of social and ecological transformation initiatives inside and outside Shambhala. Adam is a doctoral candidate at Harvard University and lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife and two sons.