i am currently a doctoral student at the California Institute of Integral Studies. My speciality is Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism. My studies have included Sanskrit. My previous diplomas include a MA in Philosophy and a BS in Physics. Both are from San Jose State University. I am also a practicing Bon-po.

     I thank to Thai for introducing me to Buddhism. They made a strong impression on me. Since then I have be exposed to Tibetan ideas, from which I chose Bon. But I do not limit myself to one form of Buddhism. I regularly visit a Jodo Shin temple. I also have been known to visit Hindu and Zoroastrian sites. To me these are also valid paths to enlightenment.

     My practices are either tantric or shamanic. I do try to use the dzogchen doctrine as an interpretation of these, but I do very little true dzogchen mostly deity yoga.  These are mostly Goddess practices and nondro.

     For the uninitiated, Bon is the Pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet. It was founded 40,000 years ago by an earlier Buddha; Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche. It contains all the doctrines found within the orthodox schools, along with indigenous shamanic practices. It is considered to be the fifth school of Tibet.

      I have been both a curator and a board member for a couple of non-profit galleries. I am currently a member of the  Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the San Jose Museum of Art.

      I was a working artist for quite a while. I started out doing large scale Expressionistic paintings which were shown in both galleries and museums. After a while I became interested in photography and built my own darkroom. I would create surrealistic images using solarization, negative stacking and hand toning/tinting.

     More recently I took up collecting original African art. After seeing original work at Stanford I developed an interest. Soon I was to discover that several West Africans were setting up shop at the Berkeley flea market. These were high quality originals that they selling for very low prices.     

     I have also contributed seveal articles that have been published in a new 'Encyclopedia of Hinduism' (C. Jones and J. Ryan ed.). It is part of Gordon Meltons 'Encyclopedia of Religion.'

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