Tibetan Buddhist Nonduality | Mahayana Buddhism

Peter is a leader in the adaption and transmission of Asian nondual wisdom worldwide. He is a pioneer in the development of nondual therapy and creator of the 9-month Radiant Mind Course® and the Natural Awakening: Advanced Nondual Training. He was a celibate monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for nine years and has a Ph.D. in the philosophical psychology of Mahayana Buddhism.

Peter’s main specialty is in the development of freeform pointing out instructions, using silence and unfindability inquiry in order to directly reveal the nature of pure awareness itself. Peter does this individually and in group settings where people are supported in their own discovery of the state of nonduality or nonreferentiality. By freeform Peter means using whatever arises in a group in the moment it occurs as the material/constructs, to be seen through, or self-dissolve. This reveals

the nature of pure mind–that which is our natural, unfabricated, effortless mode of existence.

Peter had the good fortune to meet the Tibetan lama Thubten Yeshe, founder of the Foundation for the Presentation of the Mahayana Tradition, in 1974. Lama Yeshe accepted him as his student, and in 1978 he was ordained as a monk. He was a celibate monk in the Tibetan Buddhist traditions for nine years.

In 1983 he completed a Ph.D. in the philosophical psychology of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism. His other teachers included Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Thubten Loden, Geshe Lhundup Sopa, Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and Sogyal Rinpoche. After nine years as a celibate monk, Peter handed back his ordination. As a post-monastic he embarked on an intensive exploration of Western forms of healing and therapy.

In 1986 he began offering adaptations of Mahayana wisdom to mental health professionals. His workshops integrated Buddhist nondual wisdom with an understanding of group dynamics. He subsequently founded Timeless Wisdom (wisdom.org), a Californian nonprofit organization, which offers contemplative dialogues, and retreats in Australia, USA, Europe and Israel.

In response to requests from the many mental health professionals who attended his workshops, Peter has taught the principles and practices for a nondual psychotherapy. He also offers individual counseling sessions to clients in many countries.

In 1998 he teamed up with Dr. Jean-Marc Mantel (President of the Association Internationale de Psychiatrie Spirituelle) to organize the first-ever conference focusing on the contribution of nondual spiritual experience to psychotherapy. This took place at the Mount Madonna Center, California.

Peter has created and delivers the 9-month Radiant Mind Course and the 10-month Natural Awakening Training.

Peter’s books include Radiant Mind: Awakening Unconditioned Awareness (Sounds True, 2007), The Ontology of the Middle Way (Kluwer, 1990), Reasoning into Reality (Wisdom Publications, 1994), Essential Wisdom Teachings (with Penny Fenner, Nicolas-Hays, 2001), The Edge of Certainty: Paradoxes on the Buddhist Path (Nicolas-Hays, 2002), Sacred Mirror: Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy (Editor, Omega Books, 2003).

His psychological essays have appeared in journals such as the Journal of Contemplative Psychotherapy, Revision, Journal of the International Association for Spiritual Psychiatry, Psychologia (Tokyo), and 3e millénaire.

Besides offering experiential workshops, Peter has given presentations of his work at institutions such as Stanford Medical School, Columbia University, Saybrook College, California Institute of Integral Studies and Naropa University. He is a regular presenter at the Science and Nonduality Conference.

Peter is the Founder, Director of Education, Superviser, and Spiritual Counselor in Timeless Wisdom. Timeless Wisdom is an independent Buddhist church registered in California as a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt organisation.