Shastri ethan nichtern biography

Home / Religious & Spiritual Figures / Shastri ethan nichtern biography

He has primarily studied in the Shambhala and other Tibetan traditions, but has also studied Theravadan and Soto Zen Buddhism. He has primarily studied in the Shambhala and other Tibetan traditions, but has also studied Theravadan and Soto Zen Buddhism.

He is also the author of The Dharma of The Princess Bride: What The Coolest Fairy Tale of Our Time Can Teach Us About Buddhism and Relationships  released by FSG – North Point in 2017. His earlier books are One City: A Declaration of Interdependence (Wisdom Pubs, 2007),  and the Novella/poetry collection, Your Emoticons Won’t Save You (Nieto Books, 2012).

Sneha Shrestha) comes to Jackson Heights, Queens.

More
June 11, 2025–April 20, 2031Open through April 20, 2031Rubin Museum Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room

Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn, NY

The popular Rubin installation provides an immersive experience featuring more than 100 artworks and ritual objects displayed as they would in an elaborate household shrine.

More

Collection Sharing

Collection Sharing SpotlightUnidentified Arhat

Worcester Museum of Art
Worcester, MA

Our long-term artwork loans expand access to the collection, providing opportunities for more people to learn about and experience the art and cultures of the greater Himalayan region.

More
Rubin Museum of Art

Ethan Nichtern is a Buddhist teacher and is the author of the acclaimed book The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path (Farrar Straus and Giroux, North Point Press), which was selected as one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2015, and one of Tech Insider’s “9 Books That Define 2015.” His newest book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds, was released on June 4, 2024 (New World Library)

For the past 20+ years, Ethan has taught meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and workshops around New York City and North America and Europe, along with working with students privately.

shastri ethan nichtern biography

Ethan Nichtern

Rubin Museum of Art

Ethan Nichtern founded the Interdependence Project in 2005. He founded the Interdependence Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to secular Buddhist practice and transformational activism and arts, and served as executive Director from 2007-2011.

Since 2002, Ethan has taught meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and workshops around New York City and North America and Europe, along with working with students privately.

In the summer of 2010 he was empowered by his teacher, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, as a Shastri, a senior teacher in the Shambhala tradition, representing the New York region. He teaches and lectures around the world and is based in New York City.

His The Road Home podcast is available on iTunes and Stitcher.

About Site Admin

View all posts by Site Admin

Site Admin2024-07-15T21:56:49-04:00

Ethan Nichtern is a Buddhist teacher, and is the author of the acclaimed book The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path (Farrar Straus and Giroux, North Point Press), which was selected as one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2015, and one of Tech Insider’s “9 Books That Define 2015.” His newest acclaimed book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds, was released in June, 2024 (New World Library) and won the 2025 Nautilus Awards Gold Medal for Eastern Thought.

His The Road Home podcast launched in 2018 available on iTunes and Stitcher and elsewhere.

He served as Shastri, or Senior Teacher-In-Residence, for the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York, from 2010-2018.

He was formerly on the part-time faculty at Eugene Lang College at New School University and has lectured at Brown, Wesleyan, Yale, NYU, FIT, Antioch and other universities, and as well at many other meditation/yoga centers and conferences around the country and world.

Ethan has been featured on CNN, NPR, ABC/Yahoo News, The New York Times, Vogue.com, Business Insider, Nautilus, and Vice to discuss Buddhism and meditation in the 21st Century.

He is also an avid yoga practitioner. His articles have been featured on The Huffington Post, Beliefnet, Shambhala Sun, Tricycle Magazine, BuddhaDharma Magazine, Reality Sandwich, as well as other online publications.

He is based in Brooklyn, where he lives with his daughter.

.

He is also an avid yoga practitioner.

Ethan is also the founder and former director of The Interdependence Project, an organization dedicated to Buddhist-inspired meditation and psychology, transformational activism, mindful arts, and meaningful media.

Coming Soon

February 21–July 5, 2026Opens February 21, 2026Gateway to Himalayan Art

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon

A traveling exhibition for colleges, universities, and art museums that introduces the main forms, concepts, meanings, and living traditions of Himalayan art.

More

Happening Now

September 6, 2025–January 1, 2026On view through January 1, 2026About a Living Culture

Diversity Plaza
Jackson Heights, NY

In partnership with the NYC DOT Art program, a public sculpture by contemporary artist IMAGINE (a.k.a.

He is the author of The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path, the novella/poetry collection Your Emoticons Won’t Save You, and One City: A Declaration of Interdependence.

4 Spiral Posts

Three Calming Meditations from Mindfulness Experts
Mindfulness Meditation: Emptiness with Ethan Nichtern
Mindfulness Meditation: Emptiness with Ethan Nichtern
Mindfulness Meditation: Creative Process with Ethan Nichtern

Sign up for our emails

Get the latest news and stories from the Rubin, plus occasional information on how to support our work.

In the World

Discover the Rubin’s exhibitions and projects around the world.
Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know if a project is coming to a city near you.

Nichtern teaches meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and retreats in New York City and throughout the United States.