Dirty Hands,
Clean Dharma.

Former prisoner. Union tradesman. Dharma student and teacher.

Meet Matthew

Upcoming events & courses

Matthew offers Buddhist teachings and meditation instructions for in-person groups in the San Francisco Bay Area, and online for remote and hybrid sanghas. Practicing the Dharma since 2005, he sat with his first sangha as a prisoner in Folsom State Prison.

Matthew is a co-founder of the Recovery Dharma program and offers teachings for people with histories of addiction and incarceration. He received lay ordination from Venerable Pannavati and the late Ashin U Pannadipa, and is a Dharma Leader at Sprit Rock and the Insight Meditation Center.

Matthew is a regular teacher at San Jose Insight Meditation.

Learn More

DHARMA TALKS & INTERVIEWS ON VIDEO

Watch Dharma Talks
19 Videos

From Serial Killer To Awakened

In this talk, Matthew shares the story of Angulimala, the serial killer who collected the fingers of his victims, and his path toward redemption and awakening. Find out why Angulimala is now considered the Buddhist patron saint of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the unofficial mascot for former criminals.
Read More

Mindfulness With Death – Guided Meditation

In this guided meditation, Matthew leads the practitioner through mindfulness of death as part of Bhikkhu Analayo’s method of Satipatthana practice. The meditation begins with establishing embodied mindfulness and then moved int contemplation of death using the elements.
Read More

Upcoming Offerings

Matthew regularly offers Buddhist teachings and meditation instructions for in-person groups in the San Francisco Bay Area and online nationally. Here are events scheduled for 2025 and 2026, thus far.
Read More

Mindfulness With Elements – Guided Meditation

In this guided meditation, Matthew leads the practitioner through mindfulness of elements using Bhikkhu Analayo’s method of Satipatthana practice. The meditation begins with establishing embodied mindfulness and then moves into body scans using earth, water, fire, and air elements.
Read More

Embodying Refuge – A Daylong Retreat

The Buddha taught that the body can be a doorway to liberation from suffering, a place we can return to find steadiness and ease. With practice, the body can become a place of refuge - a fertile ground for presence and insight.
Read More

Mindfulness With Anatomy – Guided Meditation

Matthew leads the practitioner through mindfulness of anatomy using Bhikkhu Analayo's method of Satipatthana practice. The meditation begins with establishing embodied mindfulness and then moves into body scans of the body using skin, flesh, and bone.
Read More