AYYA KHEMA was born to a Jewish family in Berlin in 1923. Escaping Germany in 1938, she went on to study Buddhism and meditation all over world, including the San Francisco Zen Center. In 1979, she was ordained a Theravadin Buddhist nun, receiving the name Khema, meaning "safety and security" (Ayya means "sister"). Ayya Khema established a forest monastery near Sidney, Australia; a training center for nuns in Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Buddha-Haus, a meditation center in the Allgäu, Germany. Among her books are When the Iron Eagle Flies; Being Nobody, Going Nowhere; Who Is My Self?; and an autobiography, I Give You My Life.

LEIGH BRASINGTON, author of Right Concentration, studied the jhanas with the late Ven. Ayya Khema, who authorized him to teach retreats on the jhanas. He was also empowered to teach by Jack Kornfield. He teaches numerous jhana retreats throughout the year, at venues that include Cloud Mountain, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Gaia House, Vallecitos, and Southern Dharma.