“Her book bestows on us the gift of a truth known widely to Buddhist in Asia: repaying the kindness of one’s parents is a deep-running fuel-source along the path to liberation.”
Monk’s Daughter
What does it mean to trust in the path that leads to your own self-discovery?
For many years, partying in Hollywood had kept Mudra Love blind to that path until she nearly reached a point of no return. It was in this moment that she decided to make a change. At the suggestion of her father, a former monk of Chinese Zen Buddhism, Mudra decided to embark on a silent, seven-day retreat in Reedsport, Oregon. At the retreat, she watched herself emerge for the first time. She realized that silence, space, and stillness were what she needed to gain a better understanding of herself and her place in the world. Galvanized by her discovery, Mudra left Hollywood to pursue that stillness. To this day, she has never looked back.
Intimate, tender, honest and reverent, MONK’S DAUGHTER is about what can happen when we stop looking outside ourselves and start looking within. This chronicle of self-discovery is certain to inspire anyone who is yearning to discover who they are, find their true purpose in life, and rise from the mud so they can bloom out of the darkness, and into the world.
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Monk’s Daughter: All that Glitters is not Gold.
It is 3 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon when I receive a phone call that changes the course of my life forever. I am supposed to be in math class taking a statistics exam, but instead I’m hurling into a trash bin next to my bed. When I come up for air, I catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama’s face. I look into his eyes and try to steady my gaze, but the thick rims of his glasses are distracting and moving all over the place. His book, The Art of Happiness, is lying by my bedside. It has a note from my father inside: “To Mumu, it’s not a party unless you’re reading.”
I guess I haven’t been to a party in a long time.
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What it's Really Like After You Publish Your Book—The Good, The Bad & Everything in Between.
It’s been 2.5 years since I published my book and only now have I begun the process of processing—my thoughts, feelings, and emotions around this experience.
The main reason is because I had a baby.
She came peacefully into this world a couple months before I released my book, and unfortunately, that peace was short-lived. The unrelenting duties to clean, clothe, feed, and console my baby took over and left little room for anything else.
My daughter is enrolled in a toddler program now, so I am happy to report I have my life back (well, sort of). At the very least, I have managed to carve out a little time and space to explore my feelings post publishing—the good, the bad, and everything in between.
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The Girl who wasn't Brave Enough to tell her Story
If the stories that I least want to share are the ones that people most need to hear, then maybe I shouldn’t be writing.
Because nobody wants to hear a story from the girl who wasn’t brave enough.
Ever since Brené Brown gave her viral TED Talk on “The Power of Vulnerability,” the name of the game is vulnerable storytelling. Courage, authenticity, and the willingness to let strangers glimpse into the most personal events of your life are what it takes to inspire millions.
But I wish it weren’t so.
It would be great if we didn’t need to put ourselves in the way of danger—to be judged, ridiculed, rejected, misunderstood, and exposed—to make a difference.
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4 Buddhist Teachings that Guided me through my Identity Crisis
Have you ever felt a loss of identity? An inextricable but definite feeling that you were “out of touch” with yourself and reality?
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Developing a Healthy Relationship with Social Media—the Buddhist Way
We were all given this thing without a manual.
Do you remember the first time you created a Myspace account? Or how about Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter?
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The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single, Wobbly Step
The great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
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Interview with My Father, Richard Josephson (Heng K'ung)
On the afternoon of February 2017, I arranged a phone interview with my father.
I was hesitant due to the formal nature of an interview and unsure of what to expect. To my surprise, my father was an open book; He was giving of his time and life's memories. -
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
TBD