Buddhist Meditation Teachers

Spiritual Guide
Ven. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Resident Teacher
Ricc Bishop
Branch Teachers
Jorge Aviles	Julie Scofield	Kevin Kinnally	Michael Aviles

Ven. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
The Spiritual Guide of the Florida Kadampa Buddhist Centers is Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Geshe Kelsang is the founder of the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT), a network of over 1100 Kadampa Buddhist Centers and groups throughout the world.

From the age of eight, Geshe-la studied extensively in the great monastic universities of Tibet and earned the title "Geshe", which literally means "spiritual friend". Under the guidance of Trijang Rinpoche, his Spiritual Guide, he then spent the next eighteen years in meditation retreats in the Himalayas.

In 1977 he was invited to teach in England. Since arriving in the West, Geshe-la has given immaculate teachings on Kadampa Buddhism in Europe and North America, and published a series of 21 remarkable books on Buddhist thought and meditation.

Ricc Bishop
Ricc is the Resident Teacher at Vajrapani Center. A long time Buddhist practitioner, he shows us how to integrate Buddha's teachings into our daily activities in a relaxed, practical, and joyful way. It is Ricc’s wish that all of Orlando will have the opportunity to develop the inner peace and wisdom made possible by practicing the teachings of Kadampa Buddhism and he is committed to making this a reality.

Jorge Aviles
Jorge has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida. For sixteen years he worked for the Telecommunications Industry. He currently works for the Orlando Public Library System as a Technical Customer Service Support Representative. Jorge teaches regularly at Vajrapani Buddhist Center. He also studies on the Teacher Training Program.

Julie Scofield
Julie is a senior student at Vajrapani Buddhist Center in Orlando and teaches introductory Buddhist meditation classes in Orange City. She works as a Historic Preservation Planner in her daily life.

Kevin Kinnally
Kevin retired from manufacturing having worked in purchasing and inventory control. He is the Administrative Director of Vajrapani Center, teaches classes in Merritt Island and is enrolled in TTP (Teacher Training Program).

Michael Aviles
Michael is a senior student at Vajrapani Buddhist Center in Orlando and teaches regularly at the center and it's branches.