“All beings fear danger, life is dear to all. When a person considers this, he does not kill or cause to kill.”
B U D D H A
Who We Are
Dharma Voices for Animals (DVA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2011 in California, United States. We are committed to advocating for animals within Buddhist communities, and we do so in line with the teachings of the Buddha (the Dharma).
What began as a group of friends concerned about the dissonance between Buddha’s teachings and the practice of consuming animals, grew into the only international animal advocacy group engaging Buddhists across the globe.
From Asia to the U.S., we work closely with local centers and communities—with a focus on Asian countries, where 98% of Buddhists live.
Our Mission
Our mission is to end animal suffering within Buddhist communities by promoting plant-based living and a cruelty-free lifestyle. We envision a future where compassion and empathy towards animals is an integral part of Buddhist practice.
To achieve this, we’re building a global community of people who care about Dharma and animals.
Our Approach
We address the issue of animal suffering through outreach to both Buddhist leaders and the general public. By partnering with temples, monks, and local communities, we promote plant-based living as an ethically-aligned, and accessible path to reduce animal suffering.
Our work includes hands-on presentations, vegan cooking classes, and public events in temples, schools, and community spaces. Through media appearances and festivals, we reach thousands, helping Buddhists of all paths align their actions with their beliefs.
Our global Project Directors, staff, and volunteers—dedicated individuals just like you—are actively building bridges within the Buddhist world. This allows DVA to shine a light on animal suffering, and close the gap between Buddhist values and compassion towards animals.
None of this would be possible without people like you.
It is people like you—people who care about animal suffering—that make this change possible. You make the world a better place for animals and inspire others to do the same.
Your financial support helps bring compassion to those whose suffering often goes unnoticed.
The great Dzogchen master and DVA member and contributor, Chatral Rinpoche, put it simply:
“If you take meat, it goes against the vows one takes in seeking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha because when you take meat, you have to take a being’s life. So I gave it up.”
Our Team
Bhante Sathi
PRESIDENT
Bhante Sathi is the founder and leading Insight Meditation teacher at the Metta Meditation Center, as well as the guiding teacher of the Triple Gem of the North Buddhist community in Minnesota. With decades of experience in meditation, spiritual leadership, and compassionate service, Bhante has dedicated his life to promoting mindfulness and kindness in action.
A passionate advocate for all sentient beings, Bhante has been actively involved with Dharma Voices for Animals (DVA) a global Buddhist organization committed to animal rights and compassionate living. Since 2016, he has served on the board and was a co-founder of the DVA Sri Lanka Project, which focuses on raising awareness and encouraging cruelty-free living aligned with Buddhist ethical principles.
In recognition of his deep commitment, Bhante Sathi has recently been appointed as the new President of Dharma Voices for Animals. Under his leadership, DVA continues to expand its efforts in education, advocacy, and community engagement, inspiring Buddhists around the world to embrace a more compassionate way of life for all beings.
Andrea Diaz
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Andrea Diaz is an animal rights advocate raised on a farm in South Phoenix, Arizona. She has a Master of Global Animal Law from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Bachelor of Criminal Justice from Arizona State University. Her interest was fueled by why so many people she grew up with got caught up in the judicial system.
She became vegan overnight after coming across chicken slaughterhouse footage online in 2016. She immediately wanted to take action to end the suffering of animals.
Andrea’s passion for justice and equality has led her to organize hundreds of campaigns, protests, and educational events for multiple animal rights organizations. She has worked as an investigator of factory farms and slaughterhouses in several countries.
Andrea Diaz has recently been drawn to the teachings of the Buddha, has a meditation practice, and has started attending Buddhist retreats.
Katie Nolan
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Katie Nolan’s love for animals and the environment started when she was very young in her own backyard with amphibians and insects. Katie came to Buddhism through her undergraduate studies at Northland College, majoring in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Tibetan and Zen Buddhism.
Katie seeks to help people connect their devotion to religious practice with compassion for animals and is excited to support DVA by helping to raise awareness of the important work being done and fostering engagement with members and supporters to advance the mission of compassionate living.
Katie also has a Master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law and Graduate School, and her varied experience includes direct animal care, legislative work, and running animal advocacy campaigns.
Allan Kornberg
Board Treasurer
Allan Kornberg, MD, a pediatrician, is founder and executive director for Nutrition for Families, which provides support, community, tools, and educational materials on healthy plant-based nutrition for pediatricians and other pediatric clinicians, and families.
Additionally, Allan had served as executive director, and now is a board member with Physicians Association for Nutrition, a global NGO determined to reduce, and aspirationally eliminate, diet related morbidity and mortality. He is board chair of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and board treasurer of Dharma Voices for Animals. Along with Wilberforce Institute, Allan is also an Advisory Council member with Animal Defense Partnership (pro bono legal services for animal protection NGOs), and Veterinary Global Aid.
Dr. Kornberg has held addition leadership positions with medical, humanitarian and animal protection organizations, including chief medical officer of the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality, president of the Erie County (NY) Commission on Rape and Sexual Assault, and executive director for both World Animal Protection-USA and Farm Sanctuary.
He received his S.B. from MIT in Biology, M.D. from the Ichan School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, and M.B.A. from the University of Rochester. He was resident and chief resident in Pediatrics at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine.
Rayane Laddi
DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Rayane combines his professional passion for fundraising with his loving dedication to veganism and Buddhism, to assist and lead fundraising efforts for Dharma Voices for Animals.
He previously served as a fundraiser for various national and international Canadian nonprofits such as Oxfam Quebec, the Canadian Scouts Association or Amnesty International.
As a consultant, he finds the flexibility of time to pursue two impactful platforms: The Vegan Report podcast, a media giving voice to activists from all fronts of the animal liberation fight, and MapYourHealth, an interactive map exposing and monitoring environmental health hazards in your surroundings.
He has produced two podcast episodes on Buddhism and veganism:
The Buddha For Veganism. With Bob Isaacson & Ardjani Puig | Ep. 50
May All Beings Be Happy! A Buddhist Take on Veganism. With Bhikkhu Sunyo | Ep. 30
Project Directors
Vajira Arandara – SRI LANKA
-
Vajira Arandara serves as Sri Lanka Project Director, where he helps lead one of the organization's most impactful outreach programs, bringing Buddhist teachings of compassion and non-harming to communities across the country. With more than three decades of experience in education, counseling, leadership development, and public service, Vajira has dedicated his career to empowering individuals and communities through ethical education and personal growth. He holds a Master's degree in Buddhist Ayurvedic Counseling, a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Sociology, and Mass Communication, and multiple professional qualifications in counseling, education, and human development.
Before joining DVA, Vajira served in numerous leadership positions within Sri Lanka's education sector, including teacher, deputy principal, project coordinator, center manager, government advisor, and lecturer. His passion for community development and compassionate service led him to begin volunteering with Dharma Voices for Animals in 2020, later serving as a Regional Coordinator before becoming Assistant Director of the Sri Lanka Project. Today, he works closely with temples, schools, community organizations, and religious leaders to inspire compassionate food choices rooted in Buddhist values, helping create lasting change for animals, people, and the environment throughout Sri Lanka.
Rayane Laddi – Interim United States
Chirra Taworntawat – THAILAND
-
Dr. Chirra Taworntawat (Bank), Ph.D., Director of DVA’s Thailand Project, a Ph.D. in Public Health at Chulalongkorn University, former monk, and YouTube Channel personality with a current following of over 550,000 and has multiple videos with millions of views.
He gives health and nutrition presentations directly to the monks and teaches the cooking classes to the wat kitchen staff and manages our Thailand Project.
Bank wrote and published the book Just Eat where he dives into over 150 research journals to recommend the best foods we should eat for optimal health. He graciously donates his book, which includes nutritional benefits of different foods found in Thailand, to the monastics who attend his presentations.
Bank is currently expanding the Thailand Project to include an environmental team who will present the benefits of a plant-based diet for the environment to students around Bangkok.
Son Pham – VIETNAM
-
Son Pham is DVA’s Vietnam Project Assistant Director. She is a devoted animal rights activist and a vegan. She has been part of our Vietnam Project team now for three years.
Before becoming our Assistant Director, Son Pham was DVA’s Vietnam Project Vietnamese-English translator/interpreter and Vietnam Project Coordinator. Son studied translating and interpreting at Vietnam National University in Hanoi.
She also has a Master Degree in Language Studies in the same university. Son has experience working as a translator and interpreter for 14 years for different kinds of organizations such as 100% foreign-invested enterprises, non-governmental organizations and privately-owned companies. Son Pham has been a full-time lecturer at Thang Long University.
Advisory Council
-
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo was raised in London. In 1964, aged 20, she traveled to India to pursue her spiritual path and met her guru, His Eminence the 8th Khamtrul Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist Lama. She became one of the first Westerners to ordain as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. The inspiring story of her life, including 12 years of a secluded retreat in a Himalayan cave, is the subject of the biography, Cave in the Snow. A popular Buddhist teacher, she presents the Dharma in an accessible manner to audiences across the world.
Jetsunma is Founder and Abbess of Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachel Pradesh, Northern India, where some 100 young women, from the Himalayan region receive monastic training. A select few of these nuns remain in long term retreat undergoing the rigorous yogic training of the Drukpa Kagyu tradition, thus re-instating the Togdenma lineage within this school of Buddhism. In 2008 Tenzin Palmo was given the title of Jetsunma, which means Venerable Master, by His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, Head of her lineage.
-
Tara Brach is an internationally known meditation teacher and author of bestselling Radical Acceptance and True Refuge. She is founder and senior teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC, offers a popular weekly podcast and teaches meditation workshops and retreats in the United States and Europe. Tara and her colleague Jack Kornfield have created a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Certification Program that is currently serving participants from 49 countries. Tara is also active in bringing meditation into DC area schools, prisons and to underserved populations. To learn more about Tara and her work, visit her website.
-
Dawn Scott is a graduate of Insight Meditation Society’s teacher training program, a co-principal teacher of Marin Sangha, a core teacher of Spirit Rock’s Advanced Practitioner Program, and served as the Family Program Coordinator at Spirit Rock Meditation Center for eight years. She is a co-teacher of Love & Liberation, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and Insight Meditation’s joint year-long program, slated to start in early 2022. Dawn has a deep love of long retreat practice and the Buddha’s liberative teachings.
-
Stephanie Swann, PhD, LCSW, is the Director of the Atlanta Mindfulness Institute and one of the two founding teachers of the Atlanta Insight Meditation Community. She is a certified MBSR instructor through the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Center for Mindfulness.
Stephanie has been a dedicated Vipassana practitioner since 2008 and was a member of the Community Dharma Leaders program (CDL6) at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. As a consultant, Stephanie trains mental health professionals in the practice of mindfulness-based psychotherapy.
Currently Stephanie holds an adjunct faculty appointment with the Georgia State University School of Social Work where she works on an NIH grant using mindfulness to support smoking cessation. She has been a vegetarian since her early 20s and is fully committed to a vegan way of life now.
-
Venerable Geshe Thupten Phelgye was born in 1956 and escaped the invasion and occupation of his homeland, Tibet, by the Chinese army in 1961. He became a monk in 1973 at Seraje College of Sera Monastic University and finished his Geshe degree (Ph.D.) in 1991. He meditated in the Himalayan mountains for a period of five years. In 2001 he was elected as a member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile to represent the Gelug tradition of Buddhism and served in the Parliament for ten years.
His teacher and mentor has been his Holiness the Dalai Lama who blessed Geshe-la’s Universal Compassion Foundation organization. In 2012, 2013, and 2015, Geshe-la has given teachings throughout California and the USA on practicing the Dharma as a vegetarian. His teaching tour, sponsored in large part by DVA, is called, “Compassion for all Beings.” Geshe-la was a professor at Gozanga and Eastern Washington University.
-
Albert Mah is a former vice-president of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia and a former treasurer of Hayagriva Buddhist Centre in Perth, Australia. He is currently a dharma teacher at the Buddhist Society of Western Australia giving lessons to the senior school class. He is a vegan, plays an active role in animal advocacy, the vegan way of living and social justice. He lives with a greyhound who was discarded by the racing industry after his racing career ended. Albert believes that when one contemplates suffering deeply one realizes that a life of minimum harm has to incorporate abstention from eating animal flesh and consuming animal products. He is the Chapter Leader of DVA’s Perth, Australia Chapter.
-
is an English Monk resident in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand since 1987. He was fully ordained in the Theravāda tradition in Sri Lanka in 1996 and is currently advisor to the International Buddhist College in south Thailand. Since ordination he has been involved in many Dharma works and teachings, working both as a writer, teacher and photographer, and as webmaster on various sites for his own and others’ works. Bhante has been vegetarian since early childhood and is now vegan. He also does whatever he can to promote human rights, animal rights, and a better understanding of our shared lives on this planet.
He has received a Ph.D. in both Buddhist studies in Taiwan and philosophy in Vietnam. Venerable Thich Thanh Huan is the abbot of the famous 1,000-year-old Pháp Vân Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Venerable is also a member of the influential Standing Committee of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS), which is the home to 50,000 monastics, 15,000 Buddhist temples, and tens of millions of followers. The Venerable practices non-harming and compassion by not eating or otherwise using animal products, teaches numerous classes on vegetarianism and promotes a plant-based diet, and, as a member of the Advisory Council of DVA, helps connect DVA with Vietnam.
-
Patti Breitman has been meditating since 1973 and practicing Vipassana since 1991. She completed the first Mindfulness Yoga training offered at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and participated in the Dedicated Practitioner Program there, where she has been a member of the Friday morning Sangha for well over 20 years. She also is a long time member of the Sunday night Marin Sangha, started by Spirit Rock teacher Phillip Moffitt. Patti is the co-author of How to Eat Like a Vegetarian, Even If You Never Want To Be One and of Never Too Late to Go Vegan. She is the co-founder and director of The Marin Vegetarian Education Group. Patti is a DVA co-founder and past secretary.
-
Dr. Will Tuttle, a Dharma Master in the Korean Zen tradition and former Zen monk, has been practicing Zen for over 35 years, and has also studied in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Author of the acclaimed best-seller, The World Peace Diet, he is a recipient of the Courage of Conscience Award, and has created eight CD albums of uplifting original piano music. His Ph.D. from U.C., Berkeley, focused on educating intuition and altruism and was nominated for the best dissertation award. A vegan since 1980, he presents 150 lectures, workshops, and concerts annually throughout North America and Europe.
Endorsements & Contributors
-
Kyabje Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche* (1913-2015) was widely regarded as one of the most highly realized Dzogchen Masters. Chatral Rinpoche was married to Sangyum Kamala Rinpoche and had two daughters. When Father Thomas Merton first met him in 1968, he famously remarked that Chatral Rinpoche was “the greatest man I ever met.” Rinpoche was one of the most vocal opponents of meat-eating in Tibetan Buddhism. During the traditional long retreat and at all of Rinpoche’s monasteries, temples, and retreat centers, only vegetarian food was served. Chatral Rinpoche was renowned for releasing large numbers of fishes from the Calcutta fish markets every year, as well as saving many birds and land animals from slaughter. We are very honored that Chatral Rinpoche endorsed DVA “for speaking out on behalf of animals in the worldwide Buddhist Community.” DVA was the only organization in the West that he ever endorsed. We are deeply saddened that Chatral Rinpoche passed away in December, 2015.
-
Sangyum Kamala Lama is a lineage holder of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism and heart disciple of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche. She was also a disciple and sangyum (wife) of another Dharma Voices for Animals Contributor, His Holiness Kyabje Chatral Rinpoche, who passed away in December, 2015 and was considered the greatest living Dzogchen master. They had been married for over 50 years. Kamala Lama is widely regarded as an outstanding practitioner and Dharma teacher. DVA hopes to sponsor Rinpoche for a teaching tour, “Compassion for all Beings,” in the near future.
-
Norm Phelps* (1939-2014) was a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner in the Sakya tradition for 30 years. He was a member of the North American Committee of the Institute for Critical Animal Studies, and author of The Great Compassion: Buddhism and Animal Rights and The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA, both published by Lantern Books. We are deeply saddened that Norm passed away on December 31, 2014.
-
Vee Cangiano is a valuable DVA volunteer. He redesigned the current DVA website improving its appearance and making it more mobile friendly. Upon starting to study Buddhist psychology and Insight meditation in 2000, Vee became vegetarian, and later vegan, out of compassion for animals. Through guest speakers, film screenings, and digital media efforts, Vee advocates for plant-based eating as a means to end animal suffering. In addition to facilitating groups to support mindful eating among spiritual vegans, Vee has led mindfulness meditation sitting groups and trainings, and incorporated mindfulness practices in clinical mental health as a Licensed Professional Counselor.
-
Greg Schmidt has been a Buddhist practitioner and student of the Dhamma for over 30 years. He adopted veganism in 2015 while working on his Master’s degree in Buddhist Studies at the International Buddhist College, Songkhla Thailand. Greg’s thesis work on Buddhism and vegetarianism brought him into contact with DVA in 2018. Since joining DVA as a contributor, Greg has helped develop materials for social media outreach, local chapter support, and online learning. Greg is an active supporter of the Dhamma in the online community, leading several Facebook groups on Buddhism, vegetarianism, and mindfulness, as well as serving as a mentor for the online course Buddhism and Modern Psychology.
Greg has recently created DVA’s Buddhist FAQ page where we provide answers to the most asked questions regarding Buddhism and plant-based living.
-
Mary Wilder has been a graphic designer for over twenty-five years and is an avid supporter and friend of DVA. Mary is very honored for the opportunity to support the DVA cause by developing the Dharma Voices for Animals logo and original website.
-
Marco and his wife Alex live in the western forest of Germany near the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) founded by Thich Nhat Hanh. They are both Buddhist, practicing during the last 25 years in different buddhist traditions and are members of the Thich Nhat Hanh Sangha around the EIAB since 2012.
They live on their farm together with lamas, alpacas and sheep, who are enjoying a free life with lots of space on the meadows and forest of the farm.
During the last years they started to organize retreats on their farm, in cooperation with the EIAB, with the focus on mindfulness and interbeing with animals and nature. Marco is an Engineer for renewable energies and his work is focused on sustainability. Their farm is an energy autark with solar power and solar heating.
They love to do permacultural gardening to grow the veggies for their healthy vegan food to be mostly self sufficient and independent.
Marcos' wife Alex is an excellent vegan cook, specializing on wild herbs and impresses with her tasty and healthy vegan food regularly at retreat and seminar groups. Quite often people became vegan through her divine creations. Often they experience that tasty and healthy vegan food is the best promoter for the vegan lifestyle.
Marco loves to live mindfully on their farm embedded in nature, always in contact with the animals, the plants and the quietness and freedom. He is an ordained member of the German order of interbeing. Both Alex and Marco are very connected to the EIAB and try to support the center in various ways. They see a great potential to spread the message of the benefits of a vegan lifestyle through the various buddhist sanghas and communities around Germany and Europe.
-
Pedro Kaiten Piquero (Seville, 1976) is a Spanish Soto Zen Buddhist master and monk.
In 2017, Kaiten Piquero received Dharma transmission in Japan from Venerable Peter Rodo Rocca in the lineage of Gudō Wafu Nishijima Roshi, of whom he was his last disciple. He is currently president of Dogen Sangha in Spain and directs and teaches at the Zendo Gudo in Badajoz.
He has translated and commented on various classic Mahāyāna Buddhist texts, such as Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Eihei Dogen’s Shōbōgenzō and Gakudo Yojin Shu.
Venerable Kaiten maintains an unwavering commitment to reducing the suffering of non-human animals, including all sentient beings.
In parallel, as a pianist, Pedro Piquero is an international classical music recording artist, contributes writing content for DVA, and is a guest teacher on our Mindfulness and Meditation Sangha for Animal Activists.
Venerable has recently published his book, ‘‘Todos Los Seres Sintientes’’ that highlights our relationship to all beings, which can be purchased here.
-
Petri Mutanen studied history and conservation architecture. He worked in United Kingdom and China before returning to his native country, Finland. Long term practice of Chinese tea ceremony opened Buddhist path for him. Currently he is running a tea center in Jokioinen, Finland close to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Nyingma school where he actively practices and volunteers. Studies of tea ceremony emphasized importance of connecting with nature, since the environment and biodiversity around tea trees has a significant effect on the quality of tea leaves. Petri shares his time between China and Europe and is always happy to support Buddhist and animal rights projects around the world.
Dharma Teachers & Members
DVA has thousands of members worldwide. By becoming a member, you’ll support efforts to raise awareness within Dharma communities about practices that lead to animal suffering. Our community of Dharma teachers and members is growing every day.
Work with DVA
Passionate about helping animals?
Want to dedicate more time to the cause?
Wish you could inspire Buddhsit communities to do the same?
Help animals within Buddhist communities by working with DVA. If you’re unsure if you qualify, we encourage you to apply anyway—many people underestimate their own abilities when they are more than capable!
We are committed to building a diverse staff and offer equal opportunity to all applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and age.
