The Foundation for New Monasticism is a collaboration of old and new, esteemed elders immersed in the depths of our religious traditions and young contemplatives whose paths speak to an emerging spirituality that cuts across traditional religious and spiritual boundaries. Incorporated as a 501 c (3) nonprofit, it is dedicated to the furtherance of "new monastic life." It is founded for those who hope to commit to a contemplative and prophetic spirituality, helping them with the resources to build their lives around that—as well as bringing together established communities and individuals into a space of "dialogical dialogue," situating each in the midst of their authentic truth while further evoking emergent understandings among them. The Foundation endeavors to hold space for this emergence, rather than define it, while providing training and formation for those who feel called to it. 

For more on what we do and our unique ethos please see our "Programs" above. For articles, videos, books, and other new monastic communities, please see our "Media / Resources." Biographies for the founders can be found below.

Pir Netanel (Mu'in ad-Din) Miles-Yépez is an artist, religion scholar, and spiritual teacher, and the current head of the Inayati-Maimuni lineage of Sufism. He has been deeply involved in ecumenical dialogue and is considered a leading thinker in the InterSpiritual and New Monasticism movements.

Born into a Mexican-American family, in his late teens, Miles-Yépez discovered his family's hidden Jewish roots and began to explore Judaism and other religions seriously. After studying history of religions and comparative religion at Michigan State University, he moved to Boulder, Colorado to study with the innovative Hasidic master and leader in ecumenical dialogue, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement. In addition to Schachter-Shalomi, he also studied with various Sufi masters and teachers of Buddhism, and counts Father Thomas Keating, Trappist monk and founder of the Centering Prayer movement, as an important influence. In 2004, he and Schachter-Shalomi co-founded the Sufi-Hasidic, Inayati-Maimuni Order, fusing the Sufi and Hasidic principles of spirituality and practice espoused by Rabbi Avraham Maimuni in 13th-century Egypt with the teachings of the Ba’al Shem Tov and Hazrat Inayat Khan. Currently, he teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. 

As a writer on religious subjects, he is known for his critically acclaimed commentaries on Hasidic spirituality (written with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi), A Heart Afire: Stories and Teachings of the Early Hasidic Masters (2009) and A Hidden Light: Stories and Teachings of Early HaBaD and Bratzlav Hasidism (2011). He is also the editor several ecumenical works, including The Common Heart: An Experience of Interreligious Dialogue (2006) and Meditations for InterSpiritual Practice (2011). He is also the founder and executive editor of Spectrum: Spirituality, Culture, and the Arts.

As an artist, Miles-Yépez is mostly known for his vibrant paintings, influenced by traditional religious imagery and his Mexican-American heritage. His work in general represents a lifelong fascination with religious iconography, myth and symbol, image and archetype, cultural impressions and his own ancestry. Most of his work is concerned with the acculturation and use of traditional symbols and iconic forms in a new multi-cultural paradigm.

Adam Bucko  is an activist, spiritual director to many of New York City’s homeless youth, and co-author of a New Monsaticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living (2015) and the award-winning Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation (2014).

He grew up in Poland during the totalitarian regime and spent his early years exploring the anarchist youth movement as a force for social and political change. At the age of 17, Adam immigrated to America where his desire to find his path towards a meaningful life led him to monasteries in the US and India. His life-defining experience took place in India, where on his way to a Himalayan hermitage, he met a homeless child who lived on the streets of Delhi. This brief encounter led him to the “Ashram of the Poor” where he began his work with homeless youth. After returning to the US, he worked on the streets of various American cities with young people struggling against homelessness and prostitution. He eventually co-founded The Reciprocity Foundation, an award winning nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of New York City's homeless youth. 

In addition to his work with homeless youth, Adam established HAB, an ecumenical and inter-spiritual “new monastic” fellowship for young people which offers formation in radical spirituality and sacred activism. He collaborates with spiritual leaders across religious traditions and mentors young people, helping them discover a spiritual life in the 21st century and how to live deeply from the heart in service of compassion and justice. 

Adam is a recipient of several awards and his work has been featured by ABC News, CBS, NBC, New York Daily News, National Catholic Reporter, Ode Magazine, Yoga International Magazine and Sojourner Magazine. 

Rory McEntee, author, philosopher, educator, and contemplative activist, works at an intersection of spirituality, education, social justice and culture. He has been a leader in the new monastic movement, and serves as Executive Director of the Foundation for New Monasticism.

As a close friend and mentee of the late Brother Wayne Teasdale, Rory helped to found the Interspiritual Movement, traveling and participating in dialogues with world spiritual leaders, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He currently serves as the administrator for the Snowmass InterSpiritual Dialogues—an ongoing 30-year project convened by Father Thomas Keating which engages contemplative leaders from multiple faiths in intimate “dialogical dialogue,” where they meet as human beings in search of the ultimate rather than representatives of their religious traditions. Rory counts the late Brother Wayne Teasdale, Father Thomas Keating, Advaitin Joshi Baba and His Holiness the Dalai Lama among his mentors. 

As a writer and philosopher, Rory is currently working on the development of a “new monastic theology.” He co-wrote the New Monastic Manifesto with Adam Bucko and is co-author of The New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living (Orbis Books, 2015), which presents a philosophical, theological, and poetic vision for new monastic life, as well as methodologies for its praxis. He is also the author of numerous articles on new monasticism, including “Towards a New Monastic Theology.”

 As part of the Foundation for New Monasticism, Rory is working to help develop deep formation processes for young people in contemplative life and prophetic spirituality which emerge out of collaborative and intergenerational friendships with some of the world’s leading contemplatives and activists. Previously, Rory worked as a mathematics and physics teacher and vice principal at the high school level, while bringing meditation practices into secondary education. He did doctoral work in Applied Mathematics at the University of Southern California (ABD), and in fall 2015, Rory will begin work on a PhD in Theology and Philosophy at Drew University.