Friends of Urban Dharma: Brian Leahy

I am currently a senior at Davidson College, located north of Charlotte, NC.  An initial interest in and academic attraction to Buddhist Studies eventually led to spending three months in Kathmandu, Nepal, one month in Dharamsala, India, traveling to Central Tibet for a few weeks, and doing academic research on Tibetan Buddhist centers in Malaysia for one month.  I am also a visual artist; I'm majoring in studio art, and my work includes paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture.  Outside of the classroom, library, and studio, I spent what time I could backpacking and rock climbing, and visiting my hometown of Milwaukee, WI.

When I first considered post-graduation plans, I intended to find a job, any job, and some space to continue my studio art practice.  When the idea of Urban Dharma  started to form, however, I realized that here was an opportunity to do something I consider very meaningful; a chance to develop a community, to deepen my own Buddhist practice, and most importantly, to provide a place in the downtown Asheville that will serve as a spiritual center for other young, intellectually-curious and spiritually-hungry people like myself. It is easy for people my age to become disenchanted with spiritual and religious establishments.  At Urban Dharma, we aim to provide a community center for people like me, with a commitment to genuine relationships and honest intellectual investigation, located in the city, fully engaged in modern life, rather than seeking to retreat to a mountaintop.