religion teacher color article_title background birth_date school name occupation
tibetan buddhism kalu rinpoche black ken mcleod
 #ffd 068 1948 karma kagyu ken mcleod translator , author and teacher
ken mcleod

ken mcleod -lrb- born 1948 -rrb- is a senior western translator , author and teacher of tibetan buddhism .
he received traditional training mainly in the shangpa-kagyu lineage , through a long association with his principal teacher kalu rinpoche , whom he met in 1970 .
mcleod resides in los angeles , ca where he founded unfettered mind .
he is currently on sabbatical and no longer conducts classes , workshops , meditation retreats , individual practice consultations , or teacher training .
-lsb- http://www.unfetteredmind.org/um/] under kalu rinpoche 's guidance mcleod learned the tibetan language and completed two , traditional three-year retreats -lrb- 1976-83 -rrb- .
in the years that followed , he traveled and worked with kalu rinpoche on various projects and became a prominent translator of buddhist texts .
this includes a landmark translation of `` the great path of awakening '' by jamgon kongtrul , a key text in the teaching of lojong -lrb- the seven points of mind training -rrb- .
in 1985 he settled in los angeles to run kalu rinpoche 's dharma center .
he did so until 1990 , when he founded his own organization , unfettered mind .
he teaches strictly traditional material but is recognized -lrb- 1 -rrb- for having pioneered a new teacher-student model , based upon ongoing , one-on-one consultations and upon small teaching groups that have a high degree of teacher-student interaction ; and -lrb- 2 -rrb- for his `` pragmatic '' approach to teaching , translation and practice .
the intent of `` pragmatic buddhism '' is to preserve the essence of the teachings , unchanged , but to make them more directly accessible to the westerner .
it does so by bypassing the eastern , cultural overlay and using simple , clear language and methods that elicit direct experience in the practitioner .
also , it emphasizes an individualized practice path -- with a key element being ongoing practice consults that allow the teacher to shape a path that 's tailored to each practitioner 's specific needs and makeup .
-lrb- see ideas , below -rrb- mcleod has made this model available for others to use via the unfettered mind website , his teacher development program , and his publications -- especially `` wake up to your life '' , which lays out the buddhist path & practices .
his non-traditional commentary on the heart sutra , `` an arrow to the heart '' , presents a way into the material that 's poetic and experiential .
