Mike has been coming to Maitripa College for about two years. When he’s not at the college, he is a caretaker for his mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s. As heartbreaking as that can be, Mike feels that it is also an important way to practice the dharma.

Mike is a painter, photographer, and honorary mayor of Clinton St., where he’s lived for the last twenty years.

About coming to Maitripa College, Mike says:

Things really clicked for me when I started volunteering. One of the first lessons I learned from Yangsi Rinpoche that really stuck with me was to think about what my intentions are. (November 2018)

A taste of Mike’s artwork
In the Jokhang Meditation Hall lobby prior to a public event.