Born 1978 in Austria. I have studied Buddhist psychology since 2000 and have practised in Zen and Theravāda Buddhism. Key Buddhist practices for me have been Dōgen's
shikantaza 只管打坐 (Japanese, 'just sitting') and the early Buddhist practice of
ānāpāna-sati (Pali, 'mindfulness of in- and out-breathing').
Ānāpāna-sati is my main practical approach to teaching Buddhist psychology and mindfulness. In my academic training I have focused on how the Buddhist theories and practices on human consciousness, experience, and behaviour have been and can be received in the West, especially in psychology and medicine. I have also been influenced by other Indian religions and psychologies. I have studied yoga physiology and psychology, both theoretically and practically, which has helped me to understand the interaction between the mind and body in meditation more deeply. My understanding of ethics, and of the interaction between ethical behaviour and mental health, well-being, and happiness, has been influenced by Jainism and its strong focus on non-harming of beings. Non-harming of and compassion for oneself and other beings plays a key role in my practical teaching of Buddhist psychology and ethics. I have been engaged in the theoretical and practical teaching and training of therapists, psychologists, physicians, and clients. Since 2010 I have worked as a lecturer in the academic field of Buddhist psychology and mindfulness. I am on the faculty of the Sigmund Freud University Vienna. In the Buddhist field, I started to teach Buddhist psychology and mindfulness within the Theravāda tradition in 2013, with the permission to teach from Bhante Dr Seelawansa Wijayarajapura Mahathero. Since 2015 I have taught Buddhist psychology and mindfulness independent of a specific Buddhist tradition. My teaching of Buddhist psychology and mindfulness is mainly based on the Buddha's teachings in the Pali canon and on Pali-Buddhist commentarial literature. However, it is a
modern practical Buddhist psychology suited to all, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, who are interested in exploring the nature and potential of the human mind-and-body
(this term refers to Pali nāma-rūpa) through Buddhist meditation. The Buddha maybe was the first systematic psychologist. From my perspective, his psychology is the most important psychology from both a health-psychological and an existential point of view. This means that it offers a practical way for all who search for genuine well-being, happiness, and insight and want to understand, and to live in accordance with, the characteristics of life.
