Bon Soeng
Empty Gate Zen Center
San Francisco, CA USA
"The biggest wisdom really comes from not knowing; if you admit you don't know, then you're willing to look."
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Bon's work combines: Non-Profit Organizations, Philosophy & Religion, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
When he was 14, he realized he was "living a life that was someone else's idea."
2.
Didn't want to go to college; parents made him a deal: he'd finish his education, then be free to do whatever he wanted.
3.
Moved to a Zen Buddhist farm in Northern California, his first encounter with Buddhism.
4.
First Buddhist text he read, he found himself nodding over and over again, going, "Yes, this is what I think, too."
5.
Had seen his father's disconnection from world of physical labor; decided to go the opposite route, became a carpenter.
6.
People kept telling him he'd be a good psychotherapist-knew he wanted to bring Buddhism to the "regular world," therapy could be the link.
7.
Says it's unrealistic to want to be happy all the time: "You're not gonna want to go to work some days-that's just how it is."
8.
It's helpful to find a mentor who can act as a "mirror," not someone who tells you what to do, but rather shows you who you are.
