More About Me…

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, the son of a jazz bassist and a professional dancer. I had religion in my life from a young age, but not in a form that I resonated with.

As a child, I struggled with anxiety and low self-worth that often felt like a lack of feeling at home in my body and a nagging feeling that something was fundamentally wrong with me.

My search for meaning and healing began at the age of 16, when my mother lost her battle with cancer. Grief-stricken and feeling lost, I turned to various spiritual and secular modalities in my late teens, seeking wisdom and solace from my feelings of anxiety and loss.

It was at the age of nineteen, while pursuing a bachelor of music degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston, that I discovered Tibetan Buddhism. The teachings and practices resonated deeply with me, and I immediately felt a sense of purpose and empowerment in my meditation practice. I aspired to become a monk, knowing that all I needed was the guidance of a teacher.

That teacher came in the form of my first main Buddhist mentor, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, whom I met at a meditation retreat in California. Our connection was immediate, and I knew he was the kind of teacher I had been searching for.

I continued my studies and practice under Lama Zopa Rinpoche and a variety of Tibetan monks and yogis for the next ten years. It was also during this time that I received monastic ordination from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India.

In 2008, shortly after becoming a monk, I went into solitary meditation retreat under the direction of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. It was in these extended retreats over three years that I learned the challenges of being a full time Buddhist meditator.

It also became evident during my time in solitary retreat that my anxiety and feelings of “not enoughness” that I carried with me since my teens weren’t getting better. I had grown in my understanding and experience of the Buddhist path, but I still didn’t feel at home in my body, and I didn’t know why.

In 2010 I met my second main Buddhist mentor, Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Tsoknyi Rinpoche filled in some missing pieces in my meditation practice and understanding, namely an inclusion of the body and “feeling world” in meditation practice, and an introduction into the teachings and practices of the Great Perfection tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Both of these radically changed my life and Dharma practice.

Through the somatic body-based awareness practices taught by Tsoknyi Rinpoche, I finally found a way to settle into my body, understand the subtler issues holding me back from feeling more at ease, and see the possibility of reducing my anxiety and emotional wounds.

I had been teaching Buddhist meditation since 2008, but it wasn’t until I met Tsoknyi Rinpoche in 2010 that I started teaching more widely to groups around the United States in various meditation centers and retreats with Tsoknyi Rinpoche.

I continued spending half of each year in solitary retreat and half of the year teaching meditators how to integrate the wisdom of the Buddhist path into their modern lives. With Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s help, I was also able to share more body based awareness practices, helping meditators find more ease and relief from anxiety, stress, and wounds of the heart (loneliness, disconnection, shame, and feelings of “not enoughness”) so prevalent in modern society today.

In 2017, after spending nine years as a monk, I decided to return my monastic vows. This was not an easy decision, and although it was heartbreaking to leave a lifestyle that gave me so much, I felt it was a necessary step in my spiritual growth and as a Buddhist teacher.

Today, I continue to guide meditators in group and one-on-one settings in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and online. I specialize in meditation and Buddhism mentoring for dedicated meditators (or aspiring ones) looking for in-depth support and access to a Buddhist teacher.