Scuffed-Up Shoes

Drawn to Asia by some unknown magnet in the 1960's, John M. Travis pursed the Dharma directly from Buddhist masters in India, Tibet, Thailand, Nepal, Myanmar and other centers. Fifty year later, John still treks, still studies, and still captures his contemplations in poetic form. Today he lives as "a wandering holy sadhu, a dauntless yogi, a courageous spiritual adventurer. He is a poet and a meditator, a student of 100 spiritual teachers and a beloved teacher himself. He a father, grandfather and community builder-all along a lover of the Path of the Heart." John M. Travis is the founder of Mountain Stream Meditation Center and remains its guiding teacher. His teachings have been important to the growth and development of Buddhism and meditation throughout Northern California and several other areas in the Western United States. John first trekked from London across Europe to India along the way he was arrested in Greece (he was suspected of being a spy) and "grilled by guys in trench coats and hats. It was a scene right out of some grade-B movie". He was again arrested in Eastern Turkey and thrown in jail, but was being pulled to Nepal where he met his first and primary teacher for Tibetan Buddhism. John still travels extensively both in the United States and around the world. He leads retreats throughout the United States and pilgrimages to sacred Buddhist sites in India and Nepal. Recently he and a group visited sacred Mount Kailash in Tibet.