“I was born in Mongolia in 1967. Because Mongolia is a Buddhist country, we often went to the Buddhist temple when I was a child. Later, I decided that I would like to become a monk, but first I had to study the Tibetan language for two years. When I…
“I have been going inside the prisons for about 12 years. The reason I started is because it is my karma. My eldest son is in prison. It was a struggle when he was younger, dealing with his addiction problems. We couldn’t help him, as much as we tried. And…
“I don’t want to remember Vietnam at all. I am a victim of the communists. A lot of bad things happened. I try to forget it, but I can’t. In my life in the United States, going to the temple, reading and chanting the sutras, talking and listening to the…
“When I turned 2 years old, my father left Vietnam. He was a boat person. So I grew up without a father, and the traditional thinking is that children growing up without their father will get into trouble. When I was 13, my mother worried about me and sent me…
“When I was a child we didn’t have enough food, so my parents argued every day. Whenever I left our house, I felt light and happy, but as soon as I returned I felt very heavy because of all the arguing. Twice a month, we went to the temple. At the…
“Cooking is my favorite work. I like it when people eat my food. That is my life. I cook at the temple, but I also like to cook outside of the temple. Cooking is my chanting, I don’t get a chance to go up to the Dharma hall much, I…
