What is the Ri-mé Society?

Ri-mé Society Steering Committee and Core Faculty. Hazel was born and raised in Southern California, getting a B.A. in anthropology from San Francisco State College. She studied and taught modern dance, becoming interested in book design when her husband started Shambhala Publications. She had the good fortune to meet Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970, and recognizing pure gold when she encountered it, studied with him from then on. As art director at Shambhala Publications, she worked on many of Rinpoche’s books. She was nudged into teaching dharma by the Trungpa Rinpoche and was co-resident director of Shambhala Training in Halifax, Nova Scotia for five years. Through family karma, she later became a student of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche as well. Hazel now lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Ri-mé Society Core Faculty and Founding Member. Bob grew up in Michigan and came to Colorado for college, graduating from the University of Colorado in 1969. The following year, Bob and wife Lindy met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and became his students. About the same time, Bob started his construction company while participating in various Buddhist sangha activities, including Kasung, Kusung, Upaya Council, teaching Ngedon School and more than enough sangha construction projects. In 1985 while living in Nepal with his family, Bob made an intimate connection with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and studied Dzogchen with Rinpoche until his passing in 1996. Bob feels any understanding of the Dharma he might have is mostly due to spending time in solitary retreat, inspired by Tulku Ugyen Rinpoche's guidance and emphasis on retreat practice. Bob and Lindy still live in Boulder dividing time between three children, five grandchildren, work, practice, and helping out a bit when friends pass on. Bob does not consider himself a scholar; he loves the mystery of our true nature and having conversations about just that.

Ri-mé Society Steering Committee and Technical Director. Marv grew up in Oakland, California, where in 1971 he met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche one night and became his recording engineer the following day. Wanting to become part of Rinpoche’s world, he came to Boulder shortly after. He had received a Sociology degree from San Francisco State which led to becoming a founding member of Centre Productions, a film company in Boulder which made films for the educational market and for Trungpa Rinpoche. As his 40th birthday approached, he took a tech job at Ball Aerospace, designing antennas. With the engineers he met there and the relationships that ensued, he developed a career that spanned the next 35 years in various companies, some of which he helped start. He continues today as a part-time consultant. Marv is a founding member, treasurer, and technical lead for Ri-mé Society (www.rimesociety.org), dedicated to the preservation and continuation of the Vajrayana teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche and the Ri-mé (non-sectarian) Buddhist movement. Marv lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Ri-mé Society Core Faculty. John began studying with Trungpa Rinpoche at the University of Colorado in the winter semester of 1974. He graduated from C.U. (as did his parents and grandparents before him), and using his BFA degree, John worked in the graphic design field for the next 25 years. John spent a decade living in Buddhist practice and monastic centers; during this period he served as an attendant to Trungpa Rinpoche. Later he completed a Masters in Divinity at Naropa University and worked for a few years as an inter-religious chaplain in both hospital and hospice settings. John has taught Buddha Dharma and the Shambhala teachings for many years. He recently retired from fourteen years of administration and teaching at Naropa and now lives with his wife, daughter, and frisky dog, in Boulder, Colorado

Ri-mé Society Steering Committee and Core Faculty. Clarke became a student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970, following a two-year period as a Zen student. He has taught Buddha Dharma and the Shambhala teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche for many years and was a core faculty of the Ngedön School for Higher Learning. Clarke directed and taught Buddhist Studies in the Naropa University Study Abroad Program in Nepal and Sikkim, India, for thirteen years. He is a founding member and president of Ri-mé Society (www.rimesociety.org), dedicated to the preservation and continuation of the Vajrayana teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche and the Ri- mé (non-sectarian) Buddhist movement. He is now a student of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. Clarke currently works with his wife’s agency, Parasol Elder Care, as a caregiver. He and his wife, Pemba Dolma Warren, live in Erie, Colorado.