Nikki Mirghafori, PhD

Residential Retreat Teacher

Nikki Mirghafori, PhD, is a Buddhist teacher and Artificial Intelligence (AI) scientist. She is a lineage holder in the Theravada tradition, empowered by the living Burmese meditation master Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw, with whom she practiced the jhanas and detailed analytical (Abhidhamma-style) vipassana. She also received empowerment from the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society, Insight Meditation Center, and is a Stanford-trained compassion cultivation instructor.

At Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Nikki serves as a Stewarding Teacher as well as on the Board of Directors. She also teaches at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. Nikki’s teaching style combines clarity and warmth, and she delights in exploring deep Dharma topics with practitioners as well as mindfulness in daily life. Mindfulness of death, in particular, is one of the areas of her interest and expertise.

Additionally, Nikki has been a researcher and inventor in AI, holds multiple patents and author of scientific research articles. She has directed international research programs as the Principal Investigator, mentored postdocs and PhD students, taught graduate courses at UC Berkeley, and been a scientific advisor to Silicon Valley technology startups.

As an Iranian-American, Nikki has taught contemplative practices internationally and aspires to serve as a champion for wisdom and compassion in our world, as well as ethical AI in our zeitgeist.

With this practice of death contemplation, we see aniccā, impermanence, in big and small ways. We see the goodbyes, the losses—divorces, loss of friendship, loss of contact. There’s all kinds of deaths. And we get to see the ultimate impermanence, the arising and passing away of life in all its forms. You’re not a teenager anymore, not a child anymore. It’s all arisen and passed away. Contemplating aniccā, we see anatta, not-self, by noticing how impersonal death is—how ungovernable this body is. You can’t stop it from aging, dying, or decomposing. It’s impersonal. This body is nature. We are nature.
 
Nikki Mirghafori, Maraṇasati: "If My Life Is for Rent...Nothing I Have Is Truly Mine."

Nikki Mirghafori's Upcoming Programs

Retreat On-Land Hybrid

Saturday, November 16 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Mindfulness of Death: The Profound and Liberating Practice of Maranasati 

3 CE Credits. We all die. Death is as natural as birth. Ignoring the power of this supreme contemplation is like discarding a precious jewel. Recognizing our finite time enriches our life, helping us to live more fully, lovingly, and mindfully. These teachings also bring peace—a gift to ourselves and our loved ones. Join us in exploring the profound, liberating teachings of mindfulness of death, and unlock the potential to embrace the fleeting miracle that is life.

Nikki Mirghafori

Nikki Mirghafori

Retreat Online Hybrid

Saturday, November 16 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Mindfulness of Death: The Profound and Liberating Practice of Maranasati

3 CE Credits. We all die. Death is as natural as birth. Ignoring the power of this supreme contemplation is like discarding a precious jewel. Recognizing our finite time enriches our life, helping us to live more fully, lovingly, and mindfully. These teachings also bring peace—a gift to ourselves and our loved ones. Join us in exploring the profound, liberating teachings of mindfulness of death, and unlock the potential to embrace the fleeting miracle that is life.

Nikki Mirghafori

Nikki Mirghafori

Retreat Online

Sunday, December 1 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Embodying Ease: Practicing with Contentment and Joy

Join us to explore wise engagement—a practice that embodies ease, contentment, and joy. Instead of over-efforting, we'll cultivate a joyful, relaxed approach to mindfulness, aligning with the Buddha’s teachings that happiness is essential for the mind’s liberation. Through guided meditations (including laying down practices) and reflections on suttas, we’ll discover how happiness and contentment are not luxuries but vital companions on the path to freedom.

Nikki Mirghafori

Nikki Mirghafori

Retreat On-Land

December 8 - December 18, 2024 Sunday - Wednesday | 10 nights

December Insight Retreat: Cultivating Calm, Contentment, and Confidence

Spaces Available. In this retreat, we tend to the three qualities of stability, well-being, and confidence, all of which support insight into the three characteristics of existence. Then we explore and befriend these characteristics—namely, aniccā (impermanence, inconstancy), dukkha (stress, unsatisfactoriness, suffering) and anattā (not-self, impersonality, ungovernability)—in our own lived experience. When we understand and make peace with these characteristics, we have more ease, compassion, and freedom in our lives, and we can be of more benefit to ourselves, others, and the world.

Nikki Mirghafori

Nikki Mirghafori

Tuere Sala

Tuere Sala

Rachel Lewis

Rachel Lewis

Sylvia Boorstein

Sylvia Boorstein

Mei Elliott

Mei Elliott

Isabelle Frenette

Isabelle Frenette

Retreat Online

Saturday, January 4 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Renew Your Practice: Begin the Year with Clarity and Calm

Begin the year by renewing your connection to the path of mindfulness practice. This daylong retreat offers a fresh start, inviting reflection on intention, values, and the power of community (saṅgha). Together, we’ll explore borrowed trust—the support gained from teachers and fellow practitioners—and verified trust, found by contemplating the ways mindfulness has sustained us. Through meditation and reflection, we’ll nurture commitment and dedication to our practice, opening ourselves to inner clarity and vision for the year ahead.

Nikki Mirghafori

Nikki Mirghafori

Retreat On-Land

October 1 - October 5, 2025 Wednesday - Sunday | 4 nights

Buddha’s Teachings on the Body: The 32 Parts Practice

Registration Opens - February 19.As outlined in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the practice of contemplating the 32 parts of the body calms and grounds the mind, which supports the development of concentration and insight into not-self. By observing the body’s impersonal nature, we cultivate the wisdom of non-attachment, allowing the body to become a profound path to freedom. Guided by the Buddha’s teachings, in this retreat we will turn mindful attention to the body using an approach that is grounded in gentleness, ease, and lovingkindness.

Nikki Mirghafori

Nikki Mirghafori

Bob Stahl

Bob Stahl

Upcoming Drop-Ins

Drop-in Online

Monday, November 18 7:15 PM - 9:15 PM

Monday Night Meditation & Talk

For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice Insight Meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a Dharma talk.

Nikki Mirghafori

Nikki Mirghafori

Dharma Library

Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Nikki Mirghafori through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.