The Planet Dharma Founders

Qapel and Catherine Pawasarat are our Dharma and meditation teachers, who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre, BC, Canada.

Qapel (Achariya Doug Duncan) passed away in October 2024 after leading the Movement of the Mandala, an epic somatic Western Mysteries retreat, which was also the first retreat he ever attended with his teacher, Namgyal Rinpoche. Qapel received lay ordination from Namgyal in 1978, and was a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct, humorous and compassionate engagement with students, Doug embraced various traditions, contemporary psychology, and science, and tirelessly and compassionately mentored all beings he encountered to a more awakened state. We feel grateful that he invested much of his energy into ensuring that his students would be well prepared for his passing.

Catherine Pawasarat trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 until his passing in 2024, in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche just before his passing in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life, Catherine Sensei also draws on Japanese Shinto, shamanism, the power of nature, and the importance of integrating spiritual practices together with social impact. Qapel recognized her as his spiritual heir and she’s committed to continuing his legacy, sharing these contemporary and planetary teachings of spiritual awakening, and developing Clear Sky Retreat Center as a beacon of light.