About
Ben Williams is an intellectual historian of South Asian religions and Śaiva tantra. He holds a PhD from Harvard University's Department of South Asian Studies and is an Associate Professor of Hinduism at Naropa University, where he directs the MA program in Yoga Studies. In 2025, he became scholar-in-residence at the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute and holds the Muktabodha Chair of Yoga Studies at Naropa through spring 2028. His work focuses on Sanskrit sources in Indian philosophy, literature, and aesthetics, with emphasis on the preservation and translation of classical tantric texts.
Teaching focus
Ben Williams's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Non-dual and Vajrayana traditions. Several threads come up: steady attention to body and breath; the relationship between ethics and meditation; and short, direct teachings rather than long talks. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Ben Williams works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include advanced practice. The bigger move Ben Williams keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Ben Williams's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Ben Williams's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Ben Williams teaches in the Non-dual and Vajrayana traditions. The teaching home is Naropa University. From the teacher's own profile: Marjorie Woollacott and Ben Williams - Lessons from the Nondual Philosophy of Shaivism and Neuroscience Preserving Ancient Wisdom: Naropa and Muktabodha Launch Chair of Yoga Studies Ben Williams is an intellectual historian focused on South Asian religions and the history of Śaiva tantra. He has received extensive training in Indian philosophy, literature, and aesthetics in Sanskrit sources and completed his PhD in the Department of South Asian Studies at Harvard University. Ben is currently an Associate Professor of Hinduism at Naropa University, and serves as the faculty lead for Naropa’s MA program in Yoga Studies. In 2025, Ben became the first scholar-in-residence for the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute, where he is guiding a number of initiatives related to the preservation, translation, and collaborative study of Sanskrit texts. This position coincides with the funding of a Muktabodha Chair of Yoga Studies at Naropa University, which Ben will hold until Spring 2028. Muktabodha created and sustains a digital library that houses a vast corpus of digitized Sanskrit texts focused on Śaiva and Śākta tantric literature. This collection includes many rare and important unpublished Sanskrit works on classical tantric yoga, philosophy, and ritual. In the Tibetan stream, Ben Williams's teaching draws on analytical reflection and stabilizing meditation, with attention to bodhicitta, the relationship with a teacher, and the slow integration of insight across daily life. Ben Williams's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Ben Williams's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Ben Williams's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Ben Williams's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Ben Williams's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography.
Lineage
Ben Williams teaches as a lay teacher in the Non-dual and Vajrayana traditions. The institutional home, per the source listing, is Naropa University, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. Tibetan teaching authority depends on the named root teacher and the school (Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Gelug). The source listing is where any specific authorization or empowerment information will be stated.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Ben Williams, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. The container is shaped by Naropa University, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice. There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
