A relationship rooted in Dharma
Given our shared backgrounds in Buddhism and spiritual practice, Joe and I met in the most unlikely of places. Though we had each spent considerable time in retreats and solitary spiritual practice, some strange and mysterious force brought each of us to the LA acting scene, where we met on Hollywood Boulevard at Stella Adler Acting Academy.
We each benefited greatly from our time engaged in full-time acting training; though at the same time it seemed as though we had been drawn to acting only as an extension of our spiritual journey. It seemed there was something we needed to learn about ourselves in that experience. And perhaps most importantly, it seemed that we actually needed to meet each other in that setting in order to reinvigorate our spiritual quest. For we had both in some way lost the scent of the authentic dharma path, and it was through meeting each other that we, once again, found the path forward. Indeed, it didn’t take long for us to derail each other’s acting careers, as we began to inspire each other ever more deeply to re-commit ourselves wholeheartedly to our deepest spiritual aspirations.
And so, as our acting career evaporated into new visions of spiritual flourishing, we quickly found ourselves encountering exactly the teachers, teachings, and practices we needed to move forward on
our path as a team. We began to attend retreats together and embarked on pilgrimages across India and Nepal, where we learned from the various spiritual traditions, studied the Tibetan language
together in Kathmandu, and continually made aspirations for our spiritual practice as we sought out the authentic path.
Being together helped us to reinvigorate our intentions whenever they wavered, overcome adversities, and cut through the various distractions of modern life that continually arise to divert us from
the spiritual quest.
In this way, our relationship has been rooted in Dharma from the start, and it has served as a container and a protection circle, for the flourishing our practice.
After over four years of together searching out the authentic path and refining our understanding and practice of dharma, we now find our aspirations and vision unfolding before us in the form this precious opportunity to engage in long-term retreat alongside other dedicated practitioners, qualified teachers, and our primary spiritual teacher, B. Alan Wallace, at the Center for Contemplative Research, Miyo Samten Ling, in Crestone, CO.
We rejoice every day as we consider this precious opportunity, and we are so inspired to make the most of this time in intensive meditation practice for the benefit all beings.
Joe and I see this path of dharma, of spiritual awakening for the benefit of all, as the most pressing concern we have as human beings, and we are committed to this path for life. It is for this reason that we are engaging in long-term retreat. It is our wish to preserve the dharma for the benefit of all beings through our own study and practice. This is the act of service that has come out of our own internal question that we revisit everyday: “How can I be of most benefit to the world?”
It is our hope that our practice and our activity in the world will
serve as a beacon of hope and a source of benefit and healing
for everyone we encounter.
This, to us, is the greatest gift we feel we can offer, and is the
manner in which we are striving to embody Ghandi’s maxim:
"Be the change your want to see in the world."
