Buddhist Art Meditations
(BAM) Journal

I am 69 years old, retired, but I paint Watercolour to heal and recreate myself.

Free thinker

Currently, I am studying for a High Art Certificate at the NCAD. My artworks' topics vary from the metaphysical experience of the human inside their mind and the expected experience the individual has and how it can be broken. The work uses a variety of archetypes and symbols to represent this, as well as some social critique ideas repeat themselves.
Previously to this, I studied Journalism and Digital Art and Design. I took a couple of fine art courses at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Marwen for four years, and for 3 years I studied oil painting in Mexico City at the Claustro de Sor Juana. During the years 2012 and 2015, I exhibited my artwork in different galleries worldwide and most recently I exhibited some pieces at the Grand Social venue located in Dublin and illustrated a book called Migratory Yellow Pages.

https://www.instagram.com/atzingarcia

I am looking to become Buddhist but I still looking around to see which type of Buddhist is the one for me

Keeping nature's existence close in mind, Carlos Lorenzana aspires to create abstract art which reflects the interdependence amongst all surrounding. Everything cannot exist on its own. The art explores a theme relating to Buddhist Principal, "form is void"- meaning that forms are inseparable from their content. The form of shapes and figures Lorenzana takes on in his paintings are also the forms of their backgrounds. He applies this philosophical motif through a colorful palette and a dense layered texture display. It is in the minute details that one can see the correlation between what unifies form and all surrounding.

https://carlosmlorenzana.crevado.com/
https://www.instagram.com/righteous.rebel
https://www.facebook.com/RighteousRebel1

I believe in a higher being and do not fallow religions.

I am a visual artist whose works are primarily influenced by my long-standing interest in the interrelations between culture and the environment. My practice explores the shifting physical, sociological and emotional connections with our natural and urban landscapes. My works shed light on the overlooked and accidental by interweaving the processes of engagement, documentation and research to examine the complexities of environmental and cultural loss (or resurgence) shaped by political, economic and social factors. I use certain methods of documentation and representation to reveal aspects of his subject, while also both concealing and drawing attention to what cannot yet be communicated or understood.

https://chu-haopei.tumblr.com/
https://www.instagram.com/chu_h_p
https://www.facebook.com/haopei.chu/

(I am not Buddhist) but I believe in all forms of spirituality which advocates compassion and forgiveness

I'm an illustrator and tattoo artist from Singapore.

https://www.instagram.com/clamaresix

(I am not a Buddhist.)

trained in Copenhagen and New York. Living in small town

https://starflight.dk
https://www.instagram.com/starflight.dk
https://www.facebook.com/starflight.dk

(I am not a Buddhist.)

Artist trying to find peace through all this turmoil.

http://Eseah.com
https://www.instagram.com/ernestseahart

Not yet (Buddhist). My religion is karma

Euginia Tan is a Singaporean writer who writes poetry, creative non-fiction and plays. She enjoys cross-pollinating art into multidisciplinary platforms and reviving stories. Contact her at eugtan@hotmail.com.

https://www.facebook.com/eugywugy

Still in the process of discovering

Ghaku Okazaki :
born in 1988 in Japan / lives and works in Stuttgart, Germany


Education
2008 - 2011 Graduated from BA / Japanese Painting at Tama Art University, Tokyo
2014 - 2018 Graduated from Diplom / Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Bremen, Prof. Heike Kati Barath
2018. DAAD-Scholarship, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
2018 - 2020 Meisterschüler Study / Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Bremen, Prof. Heike Kati Barath

Awards, Scholarships (selection)
2022 Artist in Residency Programme “Weiter geben!”, Akademie für Suffizienz, Berlin, Germany
2021 Sonderförderprogramm Kickstarter-Zuschuss, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, Germany
2020 - 2021 Stipendium für Bildende Kunst und Kunsttherapie (Scholarship for fine art and art therapy), Kulturpark RT-Nord, Reutlingen, Germany
2020 Förderpreis für gegenständliche Kunst des Bodenseekreises (Art award of Bodensee region), Galerie Bodenseekreis, Meersburg, Germany

Exhibitions (selection)
2022 Galerie Fähnle, Überlingen, Germany | Kunstverein Haus 8, Kiel, Germany | Produzentengalerie M 100, Odense, Denmark | Karlsruher Künstlermesse, Karlsruhe, Germany
2021 Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2020 Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen, Germany | Municipal Gallery Bremen, Germany | Galerie Bodenseekreis, Meersburg, Germany
2019 BBK-Bremen, Germany
2018 Kunstverein Hannover, Germany | Bon-gah’s Multifaceted Space, Tehran, Iran
2017 Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum, Hagen, Germany

http://docdro.id/SbjKuQZ
https://www.instagram.com/millionflowersinthesky/

I grew up in a Buddhist family rooted in Niigata, Japan. I follow Zen and Mikkyô. I respect the Buddha, Master Kûkai and other Zen Masters.

"Hélène Lindqvist is an artist who creates mainly figurative acrylic paintings. She studied performing arts and operatic singing at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and in Saarbrücken, Germany.
She has sung over 30 leading operatic roles, often world premieres of new and exciting music, in several city- and state operas in Germany and internationally. In 2011, she co-founded The art song project; an internet platform that presents sublime art songs by forgotten composers in original recordings and artwork.
She has held vocal perfection masterclasses in Germany, Sweden and the US and worked with refugee teens with the nonprofit organization „Culture4you“ in Munich.
The child of a swedish mother and an egyptian father, she grew up in Stockholm and Los Angeles. She currently lives and works in Augsburg, Germany and is a member of the Artists’ guild of Bavaria.
Since her change to professional painting in 2020, she has participated in the following shows and exhibitions:
ARTIG Kunstpreis Exhibition - Kempten 6/2020
4-page feature in German Culture Magazine „Orpheus“ nr. 4/2020
5th Annual Waterscapes Art Exhibition - Fusion Art international show online 12/2020 Kosmos Lem - Rechenzentrum Potsdam, Group exhibition on Stanislav Lem 9/2021 „Was ist Weiblich“ Kunsthalle P3 - Ingolstadt 10/2021
„Composer portraits“ show at Gezeitenkonzerte Aurich 6/2021
„First kiss“ eine Reihe WERKRaumSalon - Munich, solo show 12/2021
„Das kleine Format“ Kunstverein - Aichach 1/2022 „Gallery Weekend Berlin“ AK Gallery 4/2022 „Affordable art fair Stockhom“ Nfinitymark 4/2022

https://artoflindqvist.com
https://www.instagram.com/artoflindqvist
https://www.facebook.com/artoflindqvist

I believe we are all truly part of everything, like all is made of atoms and we are made of atoms, we are everything else as well. This of course means that what you do to others you do to yourself, so I try my best to help and be nice, which is not always easy with my fiery egyptian temper.I meditate, and I'm part of a group who meditates together. I have experienced deep peace and the feeling of being the universe in my meditations. But I don't have any special rules around this, and am not in any church or congregation."

A genuine earthling here who has a passion for the arts. Also, Buddhism also helped to shape and form part of my identity. I started drawing when I was a kid and it is something that truly helps me to find peace and cultivate patience.

I am a Buddhist, teaching kids based on the Theravada tradition. My family is based on Mahayana tradition. Would say I am open to both.

Amateur artist who paint her dreams and fantasies.

https://facebook.com/livingthecanvas

Jireh graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art (Honours) in 2017. In his eclectic practice, Jireh weaves between the disciplines of visual art, music, movement and performance-making, drawing inspiration from diverse fields of knowledge such as medicine, biology, astronomy, psychology, cognitive science, comparative mythology, theology, philosophy and more. Starting out as a classical painter and countertenor, he has since expanded into many mediums including sculpture, installation, video, sound and performance art, exhibiting his art overseas and locally.

In his practice, he is interested in the process of mark and meaning-making, as well as the role of myth and ritual across cultures - of the experience of art as an essential way of knowing, or as a means to know the essential. He is also interested in the occult quality of art, in which art can occlude, conceal, harbour and reveal deeper meanings through the process of encounter.

https://www.jirehkoh.com
https://www.instagram.com/Jirehko
https://www.facebook.com/Jireh Koh/

Born in Cologne, Germany. Studied at Dun Laogharie School of Art and Design, (IADT) Dublin, Ireland. Currently lives in The Hague (NL) and Berlin (D). Works in the field of: Video, performance, photography, installation and printmaking. Regularly participation in exhibitions and art festivals including : Europe, Asia, Australia, North and South Americas and Africa. During his stay in Asia from 1990-1996 his art visions and art work get influence by Buddhist philosophy and Zen concepts. In 2014 begins to focus on interdisciplinary collaboration projects. Since than conducted several collaboration projects among others with solo dancer Tsai Hsing-Ying, Tainan, Taiwan Theater Group DFT, St. Petersburg, Russia and with dancer Jana Schmück, tanzART, Bautzen, Germany,

https://www.johannesgerard.com
https://www.facebook.com/johannes.gerard3

In terms of a really practicing Buddhist, such going regularly to a temple I have to answer no. However I believe in the philosophy of the Buddhism and try to live after it but without following a certain school. As well I have a small altar in my house. If I go to a temple from time to time it is the He Hua Tempel (Mahayana) in Amsterdam, Netherlands or Fo-Guang-Shan Temple in Berlin, Germany

John Vo is a working artist that paints to connect to people. Through classes and workshops they create space to explore different processes for art making. In their studio practice they could be described as a materialist, sourcing textiles with a story and origin. Their latest works are on Cone denim and Vietnamese silk and explores Vo’s family narrative as a poetic understanding of history in development.

https://www.byjohnvo.com
https://www.instagram.com/by_johnvo

I am a Buddhist. The tradition I am more inclined towards is Mahayana.

I am an artist living on Wangal Gadigal Land, in Sydney Australia. My art practice is an integral part of my Buddhist practice, which involves being attentive to inter-being by mindfully focusing on sensory embodied experiences of impermanence, interconnection and compassion.

I often co-create with natural materials like fungi, beeswax and plants to explore how we are entangled within our material and immaterial surroundings, through relationships with place, materiality, and ecological interdependencies. Working with sculpture, installation and drawing techniques, I seek to counter eco-apathy by evoking material metaphors and site-responsive processes. These works aim to share mindful co-creative ways of understanding our ecological interdependencies and inter-being, as a way of advocating for climate action. I see my practice as part of a wider shift towards growing understandings that we are inextricably entangled with the Earth’s ecological systems; grounded in science, spirituality, and ancient wisdoms.

My art practice also involves working with other artists and curating. I recently co-curated ‘Presence of Mind’, an exhibition at Gallery Lane Cove Sydney, featuring twelve contemporary Buddhist artists from Australia and Singapore. I am currently curating ‘HIDDEN Rookwood Sculptures’ an outdoor sculpture exhibition in Rookwood Cemetery Sydney, exploring diverse cultural, spiritual and personal responses to death and grieving. I also run the Gunyah artist-in-residence program in Port Stephens NSW.
In 2018 I was awarded a PhD from The University of Sydney for my practice-led research 'Touching Impermanence: experiential embodied engagements with materiality in contemporary art practice', investigating how the sense of touch can link us to the present moment in art making and experiencing; drawing on Buddhism, New Materiality and Eco Philosophies.

https://www.kathfries.com
https://www.instagram.com/kath_fries
https://www.facebook.com/KathFries

I am Buddhist. I'm mainly inclined towards the Zen, Ch'an, Mahayana, Theravada traditions.

Kristina Mah is an artist, design researcher and athlete. Her Filipino mother and her Chinese-Burmese father met and lived in Bangkok. The family immigrated to Australia from Thailand in 1987. Living in Sydney’s Inner West, she was raised in a household of mixed culture, mixed faith and mixed language.

She first studied Arts, majoring in French Studies and Philosophy, then from 2007-2010, she studied Design Computing at the Design Lab at the University of Sydney. In 2014, she travelled to Nepal to do the November Course at Kopan Monastery. This was a hugely influential trip, that would inspire her to embark on a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction. Her doctoral research investigates how traditional ritual and contemplative practice can inform the design and the development of technologies and interactive systems that support or embody compassion cultivation. In 2018, she created a public artwork, Wish Happiness, that was exhibited at Vivid Sydney.
Situated at the intersection of philosophy, science, art and design, her work is motivated by concepts grounded in contemplative wisdom traditions, especially Buddhism and translated through digital multimedia, installation art and interaction design. Her work explores how to evoke interconnectedness, acceptance, impermanence and harmony.

https://unlonelyisland.net
https://www.instagram.com/lululychee

Mahayana Tibetan Buddhism

Kumuda is the Founder Director of Strokearts Studio Pte Ltd , a visual arts company engaged in enriching lives through art education. Kumuda has over ten years of experience in teaching art in Singapore. She holds a Certificate in Western Art (Part Time) from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Her vision is to create an enrichment environment of skill- based training for visual arts such as drawing, painting and sculpting in
Singapore. She has a passion for painting and is an artist who encourages awareness and appreciation for visual arts - especially Indian Art such as Madhubani, warli, Kalamkari, Pata Chitra and Gond.
Some of her achievements include being the Indian art content provider for Singapore President’s Charity Art Exhibition and Auction 2015. To commemorate that event, a limited- edition postal stamp bearing one of her art works was released by Singapore Post. MRT( public transport prepaid) cards released to commemorate that event also bore one of the artworks created for the event. She has created a visual narrative of the Ramayana in Mithila Art which was exhibited in the Arts House, Parliament Lane, Singapore in 2014. She was invited to be TED X Speaker for a Singapore International school on the topic of ‘Breaking Boundaries’.
She has designed a skill-based curriculum for visual arts for students at International Schools and for workshops in local schools. She has designed a 20 Week curriculum for Beginners Level Digital Art Course for Global Indian Cultural Centre to teach digitally created art- work using free to air software which includes using menu guided brush libraries and mathematical tools. These classes are held online through virtual lessons. She has been invited to National Day Celebrations Marine Parade GRC 2020 for conducting online workshop titled ‘Tree of Life’.

https://www.studiokumuda.com
https://www.instagram.com/artndesign_kumuda
https://www.facebook.com/artiststudiokumuda/

I am inspired by Buddhist Art, especially Ajanta Cave Paintings from India that depict the life stories of Buddha. these caves are a UNESCO site and a world heritage that we should preserve.
I am a Hindu

Liu Wen Chao is born in 1992, China. Wen Chao graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2014. Moving from China to Singapore has been an experience of discovery and wandering to him. Wen Chao is interested in exploring the fundamental question of what art is by experimenting with different methods of interpretation, such as performance art, painting and video.

I’m not a Buddhist officially but I believe Buddha.
I read Diamond Sutra many times. And I like Buddhist culture.

Yinghan is a Singaporean art practitioner with a multi-disciplinary arts background. She holds a Diploma in Western Painting from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and a BFA(Hons) Degree in Digital Animation from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and was a digital visual effects artist working on feature films for over a decade. From a young age, Yinghan has been deeply touched by the teachings of the Buddha. She is particularly interested in the Buddhist teachings on impermanence and emptiness/ interconnectedness of all phenomena, and is deeply inspired by the teachings on mindfulness by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Lately, she has been exploring the healing effect of mindfulness and intuitive art-making, which she feels could provide solace and possibly inspire solutions in a modern life that is filled with challenges and uncertainty

Yes I'm a Buddhist. I'm inclined to the Mahayana tradition in particular to the Plum Village tradition founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

My name is Lucy, I am an independent artist and illustrator currently living in Singapore. I always loved drawing from a very early age. If I wasn't climbing up trees or going on expeditions with a bag full of jars to collect different bugs, I was drawing. I was convinced by everyone around me that I could not make a living as an artist so I went on to study Corporate Law followed by a Master of Fashion and Luxury Business Management with a focus on sustainability and abandoned art for most of my college years. In 2013 I started experimenting with spray paint, pencils, and acrylics again. At around 2015 I created an Instagram account just for fun and to keep me motivated to draw each day. Today I have developed a keen interest in illustration and have taken my art on a digital journey, having illustrated a number of children’s books.

https://Www.atlucys.com
https://www.instagram.com/at_lucys

I am not a Buddhist but developed a keen interest in the last 10 years, which has led ,me to doing my own study and having a regular Shamatha meditation practice as well as loving kindness meditations. I have also done a few retreats in Dzogchen Beara Tibetan Buddhist centre in Ireland where I used to live. In summary I have not grown up a Buddhist but I have grown to relate Buddhism the most spiritually and philosophically.

As his phonetic namesake implies, Lynx wants to bridge worlds and bring out a different experience in art. Working across medium, technology, and methodologies, he is ever experimental. His paper qualifications include digital media design, psychology, and over a decade of copywriting – yet he learns new things with each art project he undertakes. He hopes that in his endless search for the meaning of life in art, he can edge you a little close to yours.

(I am not a Buddhist.)
Stoicism would come the closest

I came into the arts in search of a better way to live and consider my endeavours as part of my research process.
My literary and visual works present absurdist introspective reflections on purposes of life and art and other existential concerns. They suggest points of amusement or aspirational optimism amidst an ambivalent existential void. They tend to be hybridised forms of writing, installations, and ink art.

I go by different names but usually meekfreak / Lee Ju-Lyn.

https://meekfreak.com
https://www.instagram.com/meekfreak
https://www.facebook.com/meekfreak

Yes, I am Buddhist, inclining towards Theravada Thai Forest tradition.

Michelle is a Eurasian performer / creative (mixed half British and half Singaporean Chinese) who grew up traveling, and living, in different countries across Asia. She was raised as a Tibetan Buddhist in the Mahayana tradition.

With her dyslexia, Michelle was exposed to poetry from a very young age by her parents, who thought that the arts is what she might thrive in, given her condition. Because of this, Michelle cannot remember a time when she didn't write poetry. There is one particular memory she has from when she was nine, of writing poetry on her dad’s iPad whilst riding the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia (and playing with the background and font to make it look pretty).

She now focuses on theatre in which she hopes to build a career around performing and devising. She graduated from Lasalle’s Diploma in Performance in 2021; and has spent the last few months devising a radio play around the topic of identity / belonging in relation to growing up nomadically as a third culture kid.

https://www.instagram.com/m.s.turberfield
https://www.facebook.com/MichelleS.Turberfield

I grew up as a Tibetan Buddhist, in the Mahayana tradition. It greatly influenced my upbringing and beliefs of the world, so it often appears in my writings/art as I try to decipher things happening in my life.

Michael Cu Fua (b. 1970, Philippines) is a Singaporean artist, his artistic philosophy is influenced by wabi-sabi, it is the acceptance of flaws in life and recognizing them as beautiful, it's also an appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.
Fua had solo exhibitions in Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Manila, and Singapore. His artworks are in private collections in Asia, Europe, and the USA.

""Clarity and Mindfulness"" series
Artist's statement
I admired the voice of this book ""Fragrant Palm Leaves - Journals 1962 - 1966"" by Thich Nhat Hanh, a four-year diary entry of a Vietnamese Buddist Monk and a peace activist, during his years as a student and teaching assistant at Princeton and Columbia University. A lot of the reminiscence writing was about ""Fragrant Palm Leaves"" a retreat space established by him and his friends in the forest, and also his observances in the US during his exile.
A beautiful empathetic read, one need not be a Buddhist to enjoy this book, just be in the ""Mindfulness"" realm, it is full of beauty, wisdom, and poetry.
This series is also inspired by ""Ensō"" a sacred symbol in Zen Buddhism meaning circle, or sometimes, circle of togetherness. It is traditionally drawn using only one brushstroke as a meditative practice in letting go of the mind and allowing the body to create, as the singular brushstroke allows for no modifications, these are the reasons why I created this series.

https://www.cufua.com
https://www.instagram.com/cufuamichael
https://www.facebook.com/cufua

I am an atheist. But I admire the practice and Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings.

Multi-disciplinary artist based in Switzerland. Through a variety of media his work explored possibility for creativity out of silence and emptiness of heart. Before creating art, he have to be so humble, almost nobody, a hollow bamboo. In this absence, there comes a great universal flood. That flood can become poetry, a painting, music, a dance, a sculpture. Thousands of dimensions are available, Milan just trying allow it, simply allow it the universe to flow through him. Over the past 30 years he has been receiving many international awards and recognitions. His paintings, sculptures, photography, video and extended media has been shown on 35 solo exhibitions and more than 300 collective exhibitions in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Podgorica, Rijeka, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Napoli, Trieste, Piran, Gdansk, Varna, Sofia, Athens, Skopje, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Marseille, Zürich, Warsaw, Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Shillong, Kochi, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Leon, Toluca, Coventry, Cairo, Walparaiso, Camagüey, Coimbra, Newark, Vancouver, Long Island City, Miami, Seattle, Sao Luis, Rennes, Nantes, St Malo, Maubeuge, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Antwerp, Liège, Nenagh, Luxembourg, Moscow, Amorgos, Sikinos, Kalamata, Zanjan, Taos, Guadalahara, Monterrey, Mexico City, Auckland, Rome, Milan, New York City, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur …

http://milanzulic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/milan.zulic

: )

Myrthe Biesheuvel is a visual artist born and raised in The Netherlands. She studied for a BFA with a concentration in Painting at the University of North Carolina Charlotte in the USA and got a diploma in Classical Painting and Drawing Techniques at the Wackers academie in Amsterdam. Myrthe currently lives and works in Singapore. In August 2021 she had her first solo exhibition, Dreamscapes, at the Gillman Barracks in Singapore.

Myrthe uses all kinds of mediums but oil paint is her favourite: 'I love the tactile quality and the directness of paint. In a world where we spend many hours a day on our phones and computer, it is liberating to use other senses like smell and touch and soothing to focus on one image for a longer period of time.'

https://www.myrthebiesheuvel.com
https://www.instagram.com/myrthe_biesheuvel

I don't consider myself to be a Buddhist but read about Buddhism and have always feel attracted to it.
Please tell us more about your faith?That is a hard question. I guess I'm still trying to figure this out. I'm interested in the development of the (spiritual) self and the idea of overall interconnectedness strongly speaks to me.

Jennifer Teo is a cultural worker who works primarily as an artist and curator. She considers herself a global citizen, and enjoys living and working in multiple cities around the world. She has a wide interest in socio-cultural issues, particularly those related to care, climate, community, feminism, food, knowledge, and spirituality.

http://acidiq.wordpress.com

She grew up in a Mahayana Buddhist family, but didn’t take it seriously until 2019 when she took the Chenrezig Initiation by HH the Dalai Lama.

I came into the arts in search of a better way to live and consider my endeavours as part of my research process.

As an extension of my art practice, my curatorial and community art initiatives present speculations on inter-relatedness and pluralism. They are typically organic social experiments that test ideas about liberty and inclusivity through dynamic collaborations. These projects have a spontaneous, ground-up sensibility, and culminate as alternative exhibitions, like publications or websites.

I go by different names but usually meekfreak / Lee Ju-Lyn.

https://meekfreak.com
https://www.instagram.com/meekfreak
https://www.facebook.com/meekfreak

Yes, I am Buddhist, inclining towards Theravada Thai Forest tradition.

Ong Xiao Yun is an artist based in Singapore, trained in both Fine Arts and Buddhist Studies. She is the cofounder of Artists Caravan, an arts collective in Singapore.

http://ongxiaoyun.com
https://www.instagram.com/ong.xiaoyun/

She is a Buddhist and has volunteered with different Buddhist organisations in Singapore. She loves and treasures pilgrim trips and time spend with her kalyanamitta.

T. Shuxia or Tai Shuxia is a Singaporean artist and illustrator. She works with various mediums and is presently exploring storytelling through art. Prior to embarking on a new career in art and illustration, she did research in art education at NIE, NTU and was a manager for her family’s dental business. Shuxia has a multidisciplinary background in cultural studies, community arts and graphic design.

https://www.tshuxia.com/

https://www.instagram.com/t.shuxia/

Shuxia was brought up in a Tibetan Buddhist family. While she was influenced by Buddhism, she didn’t study or practiced it in earnest. In her twenties she began reading up on non-violent resistance for her studies in community arts and came upon Satish Kumar’s book “You Are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence” and Thich Naht Hanh’s “Love In Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change”. From then on, she became more interested in Buddhist philosophy and tries to meditate more often.