Donovan's story is one of profound transformation—from opioid addiction and childhood trauma to healing through Tibetan Buddhism. A nurse anesthetist from Texas, Donovan shares how meditation, refuge, visualization practices, and the support of his teacher and sangha helped him move beyond survival and discover compassion, resilience, and lasting recovery. His journey reveals how authentic Buddhist practice can transform suffering into a life of service, presence, and inner freedom.
Physician, acupuncturist, and lifelong seeker Kalpana shares how personal loss, caregiving, and decades in medicine led her to Won Buddhism. Her story reveals how mindfulness, community, and spiritual practice transformed grief into compassion, helping her embrace impermanence with grace while discovering that true healing begins not by fixing life, but by fully inhabiting it. Through her reflections on presence, death, service, and the wisdom of uncertainty, Kalpana offers a deeply human portrait of Buddhist practice woven into everyday life.
George’s Buddhist journey reveals that the deepest lessons of the Dharma are learned through practice, service, and community. What began as a search for mindfulness evolved into a lifelong commitment to teaching—not through titles or certificates, but by embodying compassion, curiosity, and presence. After struggling to find a sangha, George built one himself, discovering that authentic teaching is less about authority and more about walking the path alongside others. His story explores meditation, the importance of community, navigating teacher relationships, and integrating Buddhist practice into everyday life.
Born in Cuba, Giulietta discovered Vajrayana Buddhism and took refuge in 2014, beginning a spiritual journey that would become inseparable from her experience as an immigrant. After leaving Cuba and rebuilding her life in the United States, Sangha became both a refuge and a vital source of belonging. Through years of Ngondro, Guru Yoga, and an evolving interest in Mahamudra, Giulietta has explored loneliness, freedom, commitment, and the importance of the teacher-student relationship. Her path eventually led her to work in a neuroscience laboratory studying meditation and consciousness, bringing her Buddhist practice into unexpected conversation with Western science.