Update as of January 2026:

With heavy hearts, we are writing to share that Steve Armstrong, our dear friend, teacher, and the founder of Vipassana Metta Dhamma Sanctuary, passed away peacefully at home on December 23, 2025. His wife and teaching partner, Kamala, was by his side.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to this fundraiser and held Steve and Kamala in their hearts. Your generosity made it possible for Steve to receive the 24-hour care he needed in his final months, allowing him to remain at home with comfort and dignity. Your support also helped ease the many practical and emotional burdens Kamala carried during this time.

Steve devoted more than 40 years to teaching the Dhamma and to building Vipassana Metta Dhamma Sanctuary as a place for deep and sustained practice. His wisdom, kindness, and unwavering commitment to the path touched countless lives and will continue to live on through this work.

Any future donations to this fundraiser will go toward supporting Kamala as she moves through this period of grief and transition, and as she continues her work in the Dharma that she and Steve offered together.

Thank you for your generosity, care, and presence.

May Steve’s legacy of compassion and service continue to inspire us all.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Steve Armstrong, a beloved, foundational meditation teacher whose wisdom has touched thousands, has been living with a brain tumor for several years. Throughout this long and challenging journey, he has faced his illness with courage, resilience, and deep commitment to the dhamma.

For decades, Steve and his wife, Kamala Masters, have offered extraordinary service to the global meditation community: many years of yearly service to IMS and the Three-Month Course; teaching at Spirit Rock, Cloud Mountain, Minneapolis, Vancouver, Sacramento, Italy, and Australia; and twenty years of establishing and running the VMF Sanctuary on Maui. Their generosity, clarity, and humility have shaped the practice of countless students.

Over time, Steve’s condition has progressed, and he now requires significant daily support. Kamala has been his primary caregiver. While she continues to care for him with unwavering devotion, his needs have grown to the point where it is no longer sustainable for her to manage on her own.

They now urgently need skilled home health aides, expanded medical support, and additional resources to ensure Steve’s comfort and safety — and to give Kamala the support, rest, and relief she deeply needs after carrying so much for so long.

As many in our meditation community know, Steve and Kamala have spent decades offering refuge, guidance, and compassion to practitioners. Through their teaching and through the Vipassana Metta Foundation, they have created a sanctuary for countless students on the path. Now it is our turn to support them.

This fund will help cover:

Any amount you can offer will make a meaningful and immediate difference.