Susan Elbaum Jootla was born in New York City and obtained B.A. and M.A. degrees in Library Science from the University of Michigan. She lives in the Western Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie with her husband, Balbir S. Jootla. They have both been practicing Vipassana meditation in the tradition of the late Sayagyi U Ba Khin of Burma since 1970 and are now students of his leading disciple, Mother Sayama, who directs the International Meditation Centres in England and Rangoon.
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