John J Baker is a close student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939–1987), is the coeditor of Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism and The Myth of Freedom. A cofounder of Naropa University and former CEO and faculty member, he is now a senior teacher at the New York Shambhala Center and the Westchester Buddhist Center, of which he is also a cofounder.