Ashe Acharya John Rockwell first met Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1975 and entered the Buddhist and the Shambhala path. Over the many years of his journey, he taught Buddhist Studies at Naropa University, was co-director of Karme Choling, and was Director of Shambhala International. In 1996, he was named an acharya (senior teacher) by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and in 2001 was  appointed the Ashe Acharya, in charge of the Shambhala Office of Practice and Education. For seven years he was resident acharya at Karme Choling in Vermont. During this time, he studied Taoist qigong with Eva Wong who authorized him to teach. Due to a long-time passion for the forest and nature, he is engaged in a naturalist training course with the Wilderness Awareness School. He now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia with his wife and travels internationally to teach.