Shantigarbha

Shantigarbha is an activist, mediator and author of I'll Meet You There: a practical guide to empathy, mindfulness and communication. Read the first chapter and order the paperback and e-book here.

He has been practising meditation and Buddhism since 1985, and in 1996 he was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order. He was given the name Shantigarbha, which means “seed of peace”, hence the name of his organization. He currently serves as Secretary of the Triratna Trust (the Order charity), is the UK and Ireland Order delegate to the Triratna International Council, and is on the coordinating group for the Triratna Restorative Project.

Shantigarbha is an international Nonviolent Communication (NVC) trainer, certified with the International Centre for Nonviolent Communication. He teaches on CNVC’s International Intensive Trainings (IITs), is a CNVC Assessor-in-training, and has served on the Social Change and Peacebuilding working group.

Shantigarbha studied at Oxford University in the UK before embarking on a career in charities and Arts Publishing. He worked for several years for The Karuna Trust, a charity funding health and educational projects among the “Dalits” — some of the poorest people in India. Subsequently he ran a charity producing cassettes on meditation and Buddhism, worked as a mental health nursing assistant and as the sales and marketing manager for a software company. For ten years he published and co-edited Urthona, the only Buddhist arts magazine.

Shantigarbha has led NVC workshops and retreats in the UK, the Middle East, the US, India and Sri Lanka and offers coaching / counselling for individuals and couples. In 2011 he ran a reconciliation retreat for 100 Israelis and Palestinians near the Dead Sea. He’s author of a forthcoming book on empathy. In 2015 he led a reconciliation event in Nepal between 'victims', ex-combatants and government officials, which was the subject of the documentary:

He says: “Communication can change the world! I want to connect with people, to create a safe learning environment, to have fun, to mourn and celebrate!”

'Why I do what I do': read an interview with Shantigarbha from Bristol’s Spark Magazine.

Find out more about his NVC work at Seed of Peace.