The Magic Of The Buddhadharma
By Bhikshuni Thubten Munsel
During the Spring of 1980, I was traveling around SE Asia looking for peace of mind.
Long story short, a friend took me to the Temple of The Golden Buddha, somewhere on the outskirts of Bangkok. This was a welcomed change; I was getting tired of going to the local lapidaries and shopping and going to clubs. We left the hotel, got into a taxi and headed out to the Temple. Outdoor temperatures were very high that day; it was very hot, and the air-conditioning in the taxi was broken.
Arriving at the temple, we walked through an entrance gate and immediately I felt much cooler; I had entered into another realm. I recall there were many small shrine rooms with beautiful gold leafed Buddhas in them. In one shrine room stood a standing Shakyamuni Buddha statue. The sun shone brightly in through a window onto the Buddha’s face. A monk in saffron robes was prostrating before the Buddha statue. In that instant, the thought came to me: “This is peace of mind.” And I wanted that.
I have felt a connection with Shakyamuni Buddha since that time. When I first read the Four Noble Truths in a hotel room in K.L., I cried. I had never heard anyone speak about suffering the way the Buddha had. I had my share of suffering up to that time: growing up I had one childhood illness after another. Then there was the death of my parents the previous year from cancer, followed by my divorce. I felt like I was suffocating.
Not only did the Buddha explain how we suffer, why we suffer, the causes for suffering, but the Buddha showed the true path to get out of suffering by cultivating the Way. It was profound. The truth of His words exploded in my heart. I wanted to learn more about the Buddha’s teachings.
An encounter in a hawkers stall in Kuala Lumpur that summer led me closer to my destination. She gave me a pamphlet about a Dharma tour led by [the late] Venerable Hsuan Hua from the CTTB, in California. She said I should go there when I returned to the U.S. Although I had lived and spent time in the Bay Area, I had never heard of this place before.
My conditions led me there by summer’s end. I moved in a week after I flew into SF Airport. It was exactly six years to the date that I had gotten married.
And so I entered the monastery/nunnery, took ordination on my Shr Fu’s [Master’s] Birthday the following year, followed by full ordination. Fast forward to 2001 Saka Dawa, I was living in a tent on Elaine Jackson’s land in Boulder Creek up the hill from VPI. One day I was in Elaine’s house and the phone rang. She was at work so I answered it. The call was for me. It was Ven Roger asking if I could come to Aptos House to help with the housekeeping.
I asked him, “For how long?” He replied, “Until you finish.” I came down the mountain on Saka Dawa and I moved to the Aptos House. I stayed there until 2005 when I moved to Rinpoche’s Washington House.
The week leading up to the recent [2026] Saka Dawa, right before waking up, I had a dream about my precious root guru, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Rinpoche walked up to me with His palms together and said: “Please teach me the alphabet.” And then I woke up.
A few hours later I received an email from the Archives asking if I could do a little bit of transcribing work for them.
We hear that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are always watching over us, always guiding us. Believe it.
How lucky we are. How blessed we are to have conditions to listen, reflect and meditate on the holy Dharma.
Joy in Dharma, Bhikshuni Thubten Munsel
