Sentha Sivabalan has over 20 years of experience in studying, practicing and teaching meditation in all three current streams of Buddhism: Chan (Chinese precursor to Zen) Buddhism with Gilbert Gutierrez, Tibetan and Theravada Buddhism with Marvin Treiger. Both of her teachers have authorized and encouraged her to teach. Gilbert often says to Sentha, “You’ve received my marrow.” Marv says about Sentha, “Sentha is that rare combination of loving Grace & Precision—Wisdom that informs and inspires the student towards their best.”
Sentha’s teaching style invites and evokes direct experience of what is being taught, so that you can ehipassiko, come and see for yourself. She teaches the buddhayana (Buddha Vehicle) / ekayana (One Vehicle) in the syncretic spirit of Early Chan.
Just like the ancient Silk Road facilitated all previous streams of Buddhist teachings to come together, be integrated and presented in the most relevant way to what is called for, Sentha weaves together the strands made available through our golden information era to present the Dharma in a way that awakens students to what is.
Hailing from India, Sentha brings to her teaching an awareness of the nuances of Indic language terms and customs as they present in the Dharma. She has a particular skill for translating old texts and elaborating on existing translations in a way that brings profound depth to the material.
Sentha is keenly interested in secular ways of presenting the Dharma, both to reach new audiences who may benefit, as well as to reach Dharmic practitioners in new and natural ways that deepen their practice. She has taught five year-long courses in Compassionate Communication and Presence, based on Non-Violent Communication. Her interest, understanding, and study of trauma resilience informs her approach to teaching; she completed her TRM (Trauma Resiliency Model) Level 1 Training in December 2015 at the Trauma Resource Institute. Sentha also has training in Inner Relationship Focusing (PFP, 2026), an embodied way of being with whatever comes up in our experiencing, just as it is, that allows it to dissolve and resolve. Her practice is honed by the journey of motherhood where the rubber meets the road for her in the application of the Dharma.
Sentha is committed to meeting and honoring students where they are to point out what is intrinsically and already present.