When I was 28 years old, my mother suddenly died in a horse riding accident. This was a very big loss for me, which turned my whole world completely upside down. I had a strong need for some guidance about what it means to be a human being, and what…
My spiritual teacher is Thich Nhat Hanh. I started reading his work maybe 30 years ago, but until recently I was just an intellectual Buddhist. I read it, I really appreciated it, it resonated with me, but it wasn’t something I practiced in a diligent manner. Then, 6 years and…
“I was raised in a Catholic family, but over the years I became disenchanted. It just didn’t fit with me. I was very cynical for years, anti established religion and any religious institution. Then I came to meditation through my Aikido teacher. I was aware enough to realize that I…
“I went to the temple to practice Buddhism when I was 13 years old. I really enjoyed listening to the monks chanting. The sound touched me deeply. When I am chanting, the Buddha’s teachings enter me, and when I prostrate to the Buddha, I feel very close to him. I…
“Becoming a practitioner was a gradual process for me. I first learned about Buddhism in the youth group at Kim Quang temple, attending a lot of Dharma classes. Later I started seeing those things manifest in my own life. For example, when I was a young boy, I used to…
When I was a child, about 1 year old, my mother passed away and my father left us. At that time, I lived in Central Vietnam. I lived with one sister, one brother and my cousin, who raised me all the way through elementary and middle school. There was a…
“I was born and raised in a temple family, which means my father is also a Buddhist minister, and so was my grandfather. In fact, my father is the 16th generation of resident ministers in my family. This is a Japanese tradition, the son takes over the father’s place. My…
