About SBT
Welcome to SBT
“To embrace the ideal of compassion is to embrace the ideal of community.”
~ Venerable Tarpa
SBT Mission Statement
SBT, The Secular Buddhist Tradition, is an international spiritual community established by Venerable Tenzin Tarpa. A community dedicated to Secular Buddhism and the timeless wisdom of the Buddha. A community committed to kindness, wisdom, and personal development. A community of free-thinkers bound together through shared path and aim – awakening.
Our community presents the Buddha’s teachings as neither religion nor exotic belief system, sharing a practical presentation focused on the positive life-affirming message of the Buddha while emphasizing those aspects that we deem most illuminating, plausible, and fruitful. The aim of SBT is to inform and guide without sharing presumptions of what to believe.
SBT is founded upon the time-honored Buddhist principle of open and continuous investigation, while remaining in line with the basic framework of traditional Buddhism. However, we distinguish ourselves by moving away from religious authority, dogma, absolutism, and the more religious, mystical, and cultural content found in traditional Buddhism. SBT is open to all forms of Buddhist thought and non-Buddhist disciplines as well, while maintaining an enduring appreciation for the countless masters who have contributed to the sphere of Buddhist thought.
Venerable Tenzin Tarpa is the founder and director of SBT – The Secular Buddhist Tradition. A fully ordained Buddhist monk and student of The Dalai Lama, Venerable Tarpa is a teacher, author, and philosopher with nearly three decades in Buddhist studies, including a decade in Buddhist monasteries in India.
In 2010, Ven. Tarpa took formal monastic ordination with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. While seeking novice ordination, His Holiness offered him the rare opportunity to receive both novice ordination and full ordination the same day. Following ordination, Ven. Tarpa accepted an invitation to be the first Westerner to study at the renowned Gyudmed Tantric Monastic University in South India. Learn more…
SBT Staff
Tenzin Karma (Robyn Trinkle)
SBT Secretary / Board Member
Tenzin Labdron (Cathryn Phillips)
SBT New Members Coordinator
SBT Volunteer Coordinator
Tenzin Ngawang (Mike Heffner)
SBT Treasurer / Board Member
SBT Daily Meditation Coordinator
Tenzin Rinchen (Carlos García)
SBT Lay Ordained Coordinator
Facilitating the studies of our Lay Ordained Community
Tenzin Samten (Ian Ellis)
SBT Skillful Living Support Coordinator
Facilitating the study and flourishing of the SBT Skillful Living Lifestyle
Tenzin Sangpo (Brian Pearson)
Tenzin Sangmo (Sharon Pearson)
SBT Sangha Coordinators.
Facilitating, promoting, and inspiring the SBT sangha.
Tenzin Wangmo (Jennifer Sulton)
SBT Bodhisattva Coordinator
Facilitating the studies for those who have taken bodhisattva vows,
Our New Project
A new home for SBT
SBT Certified Meditation Instructors
— Finland —
Mine Öğretir
Espoo, Finland
mine.ogretir@icloud.com
— Germany —
Stefan Seitz (Tenzin Sonam)
Munich, Germany
stefanseitz87@gmail.com
— India —
Ravi Pawar (Tenzin Jampa)
Delhi, India
balajiamusement@gmail.com
— Ireland —
Suzan Hazer
Dublin, Ireland
suzan.hazer@gmail.com
— Italy —
Alberto Balducci
Pistoia, Italy
albalducci@gmail.com
— Netherlands —
Ziya Cosar (Tenzin Jamyang)
Istanbul, Turkey
ziyacosar@gmail.com
—Scotland —
Brian Pearson (Tenzin Sangpo)
Fort William, Scotland
peary71@gmail.com
Sharon Pearson (Tenzin Sangmo)
Fort William, Scotland
mrsshazip@gmail.com
David Williamson (Tenzin Chögyal )
Stonehaven, Scotland
Davjabay@gmail.com
— Spain —
Carlos García (Tenzin Rinchen)
Madrid, Spain
tenzin.rinchen.sbt@gmail.com
— South Africa —
Chantel Miles (Tenzin Wangchuk)
Gqeberha, South Africa
chantel.miles@hatsutocho.com
— South East Asia —
Tenzin Samten (Ian Ellis)
South East Asia
tenzin.samten2023@gmail.com
— Sweden —
Tenzin Passang
Västerås, Sweden
tenzinpassangsbt@gmail.com
— UK —
Adam Lowe (Tenzin Gelek)
Manchester, England
adam@adam-lowe.com
Neil Sargent (Tenzin Jamyang)
Polesworth Warwickshire, England
nsargent683@googlemail.com
Rob Barnatt (Tenzin Sangye)
Derbyshire, England
robert.barnatt@hotmail.com
— United States —
Beth Simpson (Tenzin Tara)
Kirkland, Washington, USA
Beth-simpson@live.com
Clayton W. Kirkland (Tenzin Delek)
Clermont, FLorida, USA
tempsagile@aol.com
Darcy Lopez (Tenzin Tashi)
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
TenzinTashiSBT@gmail.com
Tenzin Ama la (Donna Mankus)
Maggie Valley, North Carolina, USA
DonnaMankusArt@gmail.com
Jennifer Sulton (Tenzin Wangmo)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
TenzinWangmoSBT16@gmail.com
Marvin J. Utterback (Tenzin Ananda)
De Witt, Missouri, USA
marvinutterback@gmail.com
Mike Heffner (Tenzin Ngawang)
Mishawaka, Indiana, USA
Ngawang@mheffner.com
Robyn Trinkle (Tenzin Karma)
Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA
tenzinkarmasbt@gmail.com
Sharon Gilliam (Tenzin Palmo)
Wichita, Kansas, USA
breathinginmindfulness@gmail.com
Tenzin Chana Dorje (Karl Vonderheyde)
New Jersey, USA
sbt.von@gmail.com
Yoli Gonzales (Tenzin Nyima)
Boise, Idaho, USA
iolanayoli@gmail.com