Teachers

Heart Sangha’s guiding teacher is Sunisa Manning. She teaches on Saturdays and leads Heart Sangha’s retreats.

Sunisa was given lineage by her teacher Anam Thubten. She is the latest recipient of an unbroken wisdom transmission from teacher to student that dates to the 8th century in Tibet.

Sunisa teaches in the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.

“Buddhism is a system of self-governance where you take responsibility for yourself.”

- Elizabeth Matthis Namgyal

Lineage

Guru Padmasambhava

Yeshe Tsogyal

Machig Lapdron

Longchenpa

Jigme Lingpa

Dudjom Lingpa

Anam Chatral Choying Phuntsok

Choje Jigme Phuntsok

Lama Tsurlo

Lama Garwang

Khenpo Nangdzad Dorje

Khenpo Thubten Tsering Chöpel

Anam Thubten

Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the U.S. and abroad.

His books in English include: Choosing Compassion, No Self No Problem, Into the Haunted Ground, and The Citadel of Awareness. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through sharing his wisdom and personal experience on the spiritual path, Anam Thubten brings alive the timeless teachings of Buddhism.

Sunisa Manning

Sunisa Manning is Heart Sangha’s guiding teacher.

She was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, into a devout Theravada Buddhist family. She continues to draw on these roots in her teaching. When Sunisa was in college she found Tibetan Buddhism.

Sunisa lived in the Bay Area, practicing and studying the dharma under her teacher Anam Thubten. Her day jobs have included working in rural development in Southeast Asia; working with young unhoused people in Australia; as a teacher in Northern California; and publishing a novel on democracy and dictatorship in 1970s Thailand.

When Sunisa and her family moved to Philadelphia, Anam Thubten asked Sunisa to become a dharma teacher. Sunisa is married and a mother to two young boys. She teaches from her everyday experience as a householder and mom. Her main practice is Machig Labdron’s Chod.