June 12, 2026
John Travis Health Update
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Bio of Founding Teacher, John M. Travis
John Travis, the founding teacher of Mountain Stream Meditation, has been a student of meditation since 1969. His vision and teaching have been very important in the growth and development of Buddhism and meditation in the Northern Sierra Nevada region.
His background and many years of training ideally suited him to this role, having spent many years with recognized Asian Buddhist masters. Initially he studied Tibetan Buddhism, first taking Initiation with His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, who then became his primary teacher. Next, John studied with Lama Thubten Yeshe and later with the Venerable Kalu Rinpoche. To complement his Buddhist training, John traveled to the ashram of Bihar School of Yoga under Swami Satyananda Saraswati where he took full Hindu monastic ordination for a short period. In 1970 he began his studies in the vipassana tradition with Anagarika Munindra, later becoming a student of S. N. Goenka. Next, John had the opportunity to travel with Baba Ram Das and connect with Maharajji-Neem Karoli Baba. In 1979, John took full monastic ordination under the Venerable Taungpulu Sayadaw for a short period of time.
In 1986, as John began teaching at a weekly meditation group in Nevada City, CA. From 1989 to 1993, John devoted himself to Senior Teacher Training with Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. After completion of his training he was ordained and given Dharma transmission in the vipassana tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw and Achaan Chaa, and authorized to teach vipassana.
Because John has spent a cumulative ten years living in Asia, he enjoyed sharing it with others. John co-lead a number of pilgrimage trips to Buddhist sacred sites including "In the Footsteps of the Buddha" —birth, enlightenment, teaching, and death—in India and Nepal, and pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet.
During the year 2006, John lived in Asia. Some of that time was spent with His Holiness The Dalai Lama in Dharmsala. He also spent time in solitary retreat in the caves of Ladakh. During the year 2010, John spent seven months in Asia, traveling to Thailand, India, and Nepal. He spent much of that time studying with Buddhist teachers or in retreat.