Susan

Susan Piver is a Buddhist teacher, New York Times bestselling author and the founder of the Open Heart Project, an online dharma center and community of support for living an awakened life. Her website describes her as having an international reputation as an exceptionally skillful meditation teacher.

She began practicing meditation in 1993, took the refuge vow in 1995, graduated from a Buddhist seminary in 2004 and was authorized to teach meditation in 2005. Her practice and study have been connected to the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, with the guidance of Tulku Thondup Rinpoche. She has also written of practicing on retreat with her teacher, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

In 2014 she founded the Open Heart Project, which now has close to 20,000 members. Each Monday it sends a free guided meditation video to its community, and a membership program, the OHP Sangha, offers closer study with her. She also hosts a weekly podcast that draws on more than thirty years as a student and teacher. It explores teachings such as the four noble truths, the middle way and the six paramitas, aiming to keep them relevant to everyday life without losing their depth.

Susan teaches workshops and speaks on meditation as a spiritual practice, applying Buddhist teachings to relationships, creativity and the Enneagram. She has led meditation retreats for writers, which combine long stretches of writing with periods of sitting practice and welcome people of any level of writing or meditation experience.

Her books include The Hard Questions, How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life, The Wisdom of a Broken Heart, Start Here Now, The Four Noble Truths of Love, The Buddhist Enneagram and Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics. She also publishes the series Buddhism Beyond Belief through the Open Heart Project.