Rodney Smith

Rodney Smith spent eight years in Buddhist monastic settings, both at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, and in Asia. He ordained with Mahasi Sayadaw in Burma, then practiced for three years with Ajahn Buddhadassa in Thailand. He disrobed as a monk in 1983 and, after returning to the West, started working in hospice care and teaching Vipassana throughout the United States.

Smith has devoted much of his energy to serving the dying—both in direct service positions and, until 2000, within hospice management. Since then he has been a full-time dharma teacher, conducting meditation classes and retreats and offering spiritual consultations. He serves as a guiding teacher for IMS and is the founding and guiding teacher for the Seattle Insight Meditation Society. His teaching emphasis is on awakening within the forms of daily life.