The cover photo for this fundraiser is from the evening on which I formally took Refuge in Buddhism. You can see the joy all over my being (I'm in the lower left wearing a red scarf), and you can see some of the beautiful community I am grateful to be part of.

I am creating this fundraiser because I want to be able to go with my teacher Dr. Hun Lye, pictured in the center of this image, and several members of the community, to Kathmandu, Nepal, to receive transmissions from the head of our lineage. It will be a highlight of my life to take part in this opportunity, as it already has been to take Buddhist vows and begin my journey as a lay practitioner in the Drikung Kagyu Lineage of Tibet.

I have always wanted to go to this part of the world, but as a lifelong opportunistic traveler, I never just set out to go somewhere as a tourist. I wait for the reason or opportunity to travel to surface. Like the time my friend was working in Tokyo for a group that arranged home stays for students with locals, she wanted me to visit, and a family offered to host me for two weeks. So I went to Japan and was treated like family, and taken to be shown many significant buddhist sites!

And so for me, this event in Nepal is a really significant reason to travel. I have been interested in Buddhism since I was in high school, and began meditating seriously in 2016. I read a lot of books and spent time at Spirit Rock Meditation center in California when I lived right down the road, but it took moving to Asheville to find my way fully onto a lineage path. I am so grateful to have found the community at Urban Dharma, where I volunteer with events and to keep our regular practices flowing smoothly.

And though it is hard to ask, I am bringing myself to do so because I need help paying for this trip. Though I work hard, I have had a tough year getting out of a long term relationship and learning to stand on my own two feet again, moving 4 times, and a health journey related to healing from the breakup. I now work for a small company that grows native meadows, which feels so so good in my heart, and I have a side business, silversmithing and coppersmithing jewelry and altar tools. Another great way to support my trip is to visit my website www.altarmetals.com and make a purchase or enquire about a custom order! I have goals to start making more Buddhist ritual accoutrements and have already started making offering bowls, so let me know if there's something you need!

Thank you so much for even reading and considering my cause. All the best possible blessings your way.

PS. Its my birthday on 9/22, so if you were going to consider giving me anything, I invite you to give any small amount to this cause instead!

May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.