Nikki is of Persian heritage, and was introduced to contemplative practices and yoga in the early 1980's, to meditation in 1991, and to Theravada Buddhism in 2003. She has studied with various Western and Eastern teachers, with a keen interest in intensive silent retreats. She studied jhanas and detailed analytical vipassana with the renowned meditation master Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw who instructed her to teach. She is also a Spirit Rock authorized retreat teacher, a Stanford trained compassion cultivation instructor, and a UCLA certified mindfulness facilitator. She teaches Buddhist meditation and contemplation nationally, and in particular, at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, where she also serves on their Board of Directors. Nikki holds a Ph.D. in computer science from UC Berkeley and has had an active career as an Artificial Intelligence scientist in academia and industry for over two decades.
Understanding Self As A Process: Self is an emergent property of the constituents of our experience (i.e. the five aggregates). Practices pointing to anatta are shared, followed by the connection between anatta and peace & freedom.
This talk begins with discussing both the general principle of dependent origination and its specific application to the problem of suffering which results in the twelve links. the multi-life model of the twelve links is discussed, with brief highlights of the one-life moment to moment model mentioned at the end.
