CURRENT MISSION

To save the world through education... and meditation... and perhaps a beer or two.

ABOUT ME

33, phd student, Buddhist practitioner and scholar, American (Montanan), sometime active, sometimes lazy...
I grew up in a smallish town in Montana, a state with more cows than people. And in college I discovered that there was a HUGE world out there that I wanted to study and travel. I wound up earning a BA in Philosophy and moving to England for an MA, going back to the US, then back to England, then back, and finally on to Asian adventures including China, Taiwan, India (where I lived for 4 months in a Buddhist monastery), Burma, S. Korea, and Thailand.

I now live in Bristol, UK (despite what my 'logged in location' might say, I use a VPN).

PHILOSOPHY

HH the Dalai Lama says "My religion is kindness." I like that. I also enjoy just living and sharing the gift that life is with others.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Right now I'm just getting started but I look forward to it as CS comes highly recommended by my friends.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Just getting started...

Interests

Reading/writing about Buddhism, politics, and more; traveling, playing football (soccer) and table tennis, meditating, chess, photography.

• horses
• writing
• photography
• perfumes
• education
• beer
• meditation
• politics
• chess
• reading
• traveling
• buddhist
• soccer
• tennis
• table tennis
• teaching
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

All sorts, to many to name. It depends on my mood, but I love a good drama some times and a good comedy others, or at times a thriller is perfect. Just depends. Music is the same. I listen to a lot of instrumental music when I study but enjoy all sorts of danceable stuff when I go out.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Two weeks, on my own (meeting many great people though), in Burma in 2011, just after they let Aung San Suu Kyi out of prison and before some of the recent reforms. So much of it was like stepping into a different world, but parts, like the quiet dusty roads and smell of horses, reminded me vividly of where I grew up.

Teach, Learn, Share

I could tell you all about early Buddhism, but one of the most fascinating parts these days is that many Western philosophers are coming to agree with the early Buddhist idea of non-self, that we as persons are just a complex mix of processes, and when you look close enough at them you find that there is no single self/unchanging essence behind experience. The other cool thing is that the fact that meditation makes you *happy* is being heavily studied and confirmed as well. I can teach you meditation and with some practice you might see your not-self :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Myanmar, South Korea, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, United Kingdom, United States