What brought you to study Tibetan Buddhism at Dharamsala?
I was living in Los Angeles in the early nineties, studying drama and dance and dabbling in yoga. My family encouraged me to attend a talk by Kusum Lingpa, a Lama with a very colorful and irreverent way of teaching. Upon hearing him talk about the dharma and the preciousness of our life, an intense longing arose in me to study the dharma more seriously. At that time, I met a peer dharma practitioner who was soon to leave for Dharamsala to study Buddhism and Tibetan language. I knew instantly that I wanted to do the same. In 1996, when I had saved enough for a plane ticket and living expenses to last me one year, I left for Dharamsala to begin my studies. This was to be the most formative time of my life. But really the seeds of interest were sowed in me when I was much younger. Growing up as a ‘dharma brat’ (a child in the West whose parents converted to Buddhism), I had the good fortune of meeting many wonderful Lamas such as Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, and the 16th Karmap
