Anushka Fernandopulle is a Spirit Rock Core Teacher who has trained for over 35 years in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Anushka studied Buddhism at Harvard College and then spent four years in full-time Dharma and meditation training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka. Anushka was invited to teach Dharma in 1998 and later graduated from a four year retreat teacher training program with Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Carol Wilson and other leading Western Buddhist meditation teachers from IMS and Spirit Rock.
Anushka teaches retreats and workshops around the world, including in South America, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. Her teaching is informed by nature, creative arts, political engagement and modern urban life. Anushka has taught Spirit Rock’s monthlong retreat, Metta retreat and in multiyear study programs like Dedicated Practitioner’s Program and Advanced Practitioner’s Program.
Anushka lives in San Francisco and also works as a leadership coach and management consultant, influenced by a BA from Harvard, an MBA from Yale and certification in professional Coaching. She has served on many nonprofit boards as well as serving as a mayoral appointee on a San Francisco City Commission. She has been engaged with movements for social justice and civil rights throughout her life. Her writing has been featured in publications like Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, Turning Wheel, Inquiring Mind, and the Huffington Post.
