Of native Hawaiian ancestry, Ka'ohulani Mc Guire comes from the birth sands of Molokai where she was born and raised. Growing up on a cattle ranch, she loves the outdoors and nature.

Her journey on the Buddhist path began about six years ago when she began practicing meditation as a way to manage stress and deal with physical pain in daily life. Through an informal meditation group started by Dean and Jaynine Nelson, she furthered her practice and took courses in Shambhala Training. In May of 2003, she coordinated a visit to O`ahu by the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, lineage holder of the Shambhala Buddhist community, as part of a book tour promoting his book on meditation, "Turning the Mind into an Ally". Through auspicious opportunities, in July of the same year, she attended Shambhala Mountain Center (SMC) in Colorado to do a dathun (30-day Buddhist meditation retreat). While at SMC, she also took Meditation Instructor training and is now a Shambhala Meditation Instructor at the Center in Kailua.

In September, 2003, in a special ceremony, Ka'ohulani took the vow to become Coordinator of the Kailua Shambhala Meditation Group when Jaynine Nelson stepped down from these duties. In February of 2004, she returned to SMC as a meditation instructor for Acharya McKeever's mini-dathun (2-week retreat). In April of 2004, she coordinated a 3-day retreat in conjunction with the New Moon Foundation in Kohala. In the midst of all this, she dedicated most of her spare time to the start-up and opening of the new Center.

Ka'ohulani also studies the contemplative practice of ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) with Sensei Taura and is training to become a teacher. She is a student of the Sogetsu school and a member of the International Ikebana Society - Hawai`i Chapter.

Ka`ohulani's vision is to create a study and practice environment that is open, inviting and friendly to everyone no matter what their background or path; to network with other Buddhist groups to host visiting teachers at the Center; to make the dharma more available on the island of O`ahu; and to nurture the development of sangha (community) based on the idea of enlightened society.

Ka'ohulani currently resides in Kailua, O`ahu and works as a consultant in the area of Cultural Resources Management, a sub-field of Cultural Anthropology. The focus of her work is conducting cultural assessments with an emphasis on oral history with kupuna (elders) in the community and documenting cultural practices. For the past 3 years, she has been doing oral history work at the Hansen's disease colony at Kalaupapa, Molokai. Working there has been a most rewarding and life-changing experience. Ka'ohulani is married and lives in Kailua with her husband, Matt, and their three cats, Sassy, Sweetie and Hina.

Back to teachers