Bio
Arya Vinaya Lachney Su/Dr. Morgan Lachney is an ordained Boddhisatva and Buddhist Dharma Teacher. Prior to his Buddhist ordinations, he completed a Doctor of Education in Educational Psychology, Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology and Post-Doctoral Certification in Neuropsychology. In addition, he has a Master of Arts in Marital and Family Counseling and Master of Education in School Psychology. Arya’s current studies focus on Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice, especially in dialog with Cognitive Science and Psychology. His current research interest centers around the varieties of mindfulness and the contemplative theories that inquire into its nature.
Arya was a licensed psychologist in private practice 45 years until retirement in 2020. In addition to his work as a psychologist he was a Special Education Teacher, Director of Special Education, School Psychologist, and Military Mental Health Psychologist.
Arya is a military veteran who’s volunteer work includes working with military veterans and their families. He is an active psychologist with Give an Hour and the Wounded Warrior Project, providing mental health counseling for returning veterans and their families, and Military Support Programs and Networks for active military personnel, veterans, and families.
Arya’s interest in Buddhism began during his undergraduate studies when he enrolled in a World Religions course where he discovered that his spiritual, moral, ethics, and metaphysical understanding of the nature of the human mind closely followed the teachings and path of the Buddha. His doctorial training in psychotherapy and neuropsychology was influenced greatly by both Adlerian and Buddhist thinking. Adlerian theory is a holistic approach to psychology that emphasizes the importance of overcoming feelings of inferiority that emphasis a sense of belonging to achieve happiness and escape suffering. Arya believes there is sufficient evidence to suggest that there is more than a surface level connection between Adlerian and Buddhist psychologies. In his daily spiritual, family, and community practice, Arya incorporates an integration of the core concepts from both Adlerian psychology and Buddhism’s “Four Great Bodhisattva Vows:”
Creations are numberless, I vow to free them.
Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them.
Reality is boundless, I vow to perceive it.
The awakened way is unsurpassable, I vow to embody it.