Teachers

• Venerable Drimay
• Emily Hsu

Venerable Losang Drimay 

Ven. Drimay at the center.

Venerable Drimay grew up in California and Washington State. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Asian Studies. She worked at the International Office of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) from 1989-92, which was then located in Soquel, California. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1991.

In 1992-93, Drimay spent a year in India, studying mainly in Dharamsala. Upon her return to America, she began working at Vajrapani Institute, in Boulder Creek, California, where she held several different roles until moving to Land of Calm Abiding, an isolated retreat center, in January 1998. Since 2001, Venerable Drimay has been resident teacher of Gyalwa Gyatso Buddhist Center in the San Jose area. She currently lives at Land of Medicine Buddha, in Soquel (Santa Cruz), California.

Ven. Drimay’s education has been mainly in the West, following teachings by various Tibetan masters (as well as senior Western teachers) and attending teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as much as possible. Curiously, one of her first events with His Holiness was the Gyalwa Gyatso empowerment given in Los Angeles in 1984, which seems to have created the causes to be connected with a Dharma center of the same name. Drimay enjoys dabbling in Asian languages and is currently following the FPMT Masters Program online.

Venerable Drimay helps us to be better than we think we are. She is an inspiring teacher and also lots of fun.

In addition to being a great teacher, I also consider her a friend. She visited me at the hospital after my cancer surgery and stayed with me the night I got home to make sure nothing bad happened. She also presided at my sister-in-law’s memorial service.
She prevailed upon me to sit with the dying. Although I was reluctant to do this, I found it very rewarding in the end. She seems to know how to stretch people beyond where they might normally consider their boundaries.

Venerable Drimay is a joyful and humble embodiment of the Dharma.  Through her example she conveys the essence of Mahayana Buddhism.

Emily Hsu

Emily at Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal

Emily Hsu was raised in Omaha, Nebraska, but was a resident of San Francisco for many years before heading to Nepal in 1996. While there, she attended the November Course at Kopan which was her jumping point into the Dharma. She completed FPMT’s 7-year Master’s Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy in 2004 followed by a 9-month retreat to integrate the material. Lama Zopa Rinpoche observed that it came out well for Emily to teach “at all the Bay Area centers.”

During her studies at Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa, Emily also worked on creating a study manual on the fourth chapter of the Ornament for Clear Realizations (Abhisamayalamkara), one of the more difficult subjects of the FPMT Basic Program. The 126-page manuscript that resulted from this project sets the Ornamentteachings in perspective, introduces the subject of the fourth chapter – “the application in the complete aspects” – and presents each of the eleven topics that illustrate it together with their definitions, related root text, and commentary supported by various supplementary charts, quizzes, homework, and guidelines on how to meditate on these topics.

Emily teaches the FPMT Basic Program curriculum for GGBC, and for Tse Chen Ling, in San Francisco. As a graduate of the Master’s Program, she is authorized to teach courses which are normally taught by geshes.

As a result of attending Emily’s classes, my spiritual practices have deepened. Emily is a wonderful teacher. Her class presentations are organized and well thought out. She is warm, kind and patient, and her dedication to the dharma is inspiring.

I always marvel at Emily’s skill in answering questions. She never rushes and combines her incredible breadth of knowledge and skillful speech to compose her answer. She is both a great resource and a kind counselor.

Emily’s teaching goes beyond the simple explanation of complex texts and ideas; she explains things in a way that show us how to apply the Buddha’s teachings in our lives and leads us by excellent example. She is easy to confide in and gives appropriate advice, even on topics that are uncomfortable to talk about. She is a great asset to our center and I hope she will be with us for years to come.