ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Diane Berger graduated from The Evergreen State College in journalism and anthropology. She worked for a number of publications, from newspaper reporter-photographer to copy editor, including a stint with the book division of Rolling Stone.

As a member of the press, Diane first encountered a reincarnated Tibetan lama, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, on his first trip to the West in 1978. A decade later she became a Buddhist, following up with many retreats over the years, including one with H.H. Dilgo Khyentse in 1990, whom she still considers her heart teacher.

On a one-year adventure with her teenage twins, her life took a signifi­cant turn in the south of India when she met the reincarnated lama, Dza Kilung Rinpoche. Diane began assisting this young lama, eventually bringing him to the West, to her hometown of Seattle. While initially the goal was to find funding to rebuild his monastery in Tibet, the work took off, and they created a thriving humanitarian foundation and Buddhist sangha.

After 15 intense years of worldly accomplishment, Diane felt it was time to shift her focus inwardly, to direct spiritual practice, choosing traditional three-year retreat. The retreat years spanned 2011-2015, with an additional nine months in 2016. Since then she’s been teaching meditation and Buddhism in Seattle. And thoroughly enjoying her family, as well as time in the wondrous sphere of nature.

In 2015 Brian Hodel interviewed Diane several months after she completed her 3-year retreat.
58-minute video.

The above will take you to an outside website, AwakeMoment.com…

Click on the button below for an article in the Summer 2023 issue of Northwest Dharma News — with some of Diane’s views on 3-year retreat.

…and the button below leads to an archived 2017 article published in Northwest Dharma News about retreat.