Hometown:
Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México

Education: 
BSc Psychology, Open University

What was I doing before DRBU? 
Studying psychology in college and teaching English.

Influential class I’ve taken: 
Comparative Hermeneutics 2 and Buddhist Hermeneutics 1

Influential book I’ve read: 
The Genealogy of Morality by Friedrich Nietzsche

How has DRBU changed me? 
It has taught me to engage with the texts more deeply, has made me more resilient, and has given me a solid community of like-minded people.

What surprised me about DRBU? 
There’s so much going on all the time!

Title of a recent paper: 
The Sixth Patriarch’s Teaching on the Pure Land: The Role of The Listener, His Faith and His Wisdom.

What is it about? 
How the Sixth Patriarch’s teaching is received by the listener and the changes it brings about.

What is it really about? 
Why do the great Buddhist masters turn our worlds upside-down? How do we navigate that? What is the wisdom in that?

What language are you taking? 
Sanskrit

What’s your service scholarship (work study) job? 
Carpentry, meal program, emergency planning, and other miscellaneous work.

Do you have a daily practice— if so, what is it? 
Morning ceremony and meditation at the Sudhana Center. 

What do you do for fun? 
Play board games!

How has financial aid played a role in your being here? 
I couldn’t have been here otherwise.

How does what you’re learning here carry out into the world? 
DRBU is teaching me to live differently, with more kindness, thoughtfulness, and joy. To what sphere of life could that not be carried into?