Lama Willa Baker – Media & External Events

Lama Willa is the Founding Teacher and Spiritual Co-Director of  Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA, and its retreat center Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH. She was authorized as a dharma teacher and lineage holder in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition (Kagyu, Nyingma and Shangpa Lineages) after twelve years of monastic training and two consecutive three-year retreats. In 2013, Willa completed a doctorate at Harvard University, and was Visiting Lecturer in Buddhist Ministry from 2013 to 2017.

Willa is author of several books including The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (Shambhala Publications, 2021), The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (Wisdom Publications, 2012), Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You (Quest Books, 2009), Essence of Ambrosia: A Guide to Buddhist Contemplations (Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2005), and the upcoming book Appearances Unleashed: A Memior of Jigme Lingpa (Shambhala Publications, 2023).

Willa's articles and translations have appeared in Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, Buddhadharma, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Tibet Journal, and other periodicals and anthologies. She is a Contemplative Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, an original member of The Council of the Uncertain Human Future, and an Advisor for One Earth Sangha.

At present, Willa writes and teaches students interested in cultivating a deep meditation practice in daily life. Her teaching interests include the wisdom of the body, eco-dharma, non-dual awareness, and compassion. Her primary translation interests are in the genres of poetry and autobiography.