A Sketch of Jeff

Jeff Richey

I grew up in a suburb north of Pittsburgh, PA, near where I am currently residing.

My fascination with life's "bigger" questions started at a young age. Before attending Warren Wilson College, I had mostly only guided myself through some contemporary literature on Western Esoteric traditions, and some of the more popular writers on those and related topics (a lot of Robert Anton Wilson, Terence McKenna and the like) but I hadn't the discipline or skillful guidance to apply myself more seriously to a particular path.

For a couple of years after high school I moved from Pittsburgh to southern California where I worked and lived with a couple of friends from school. I returned to Pittsburgh and delivered pizza for about a year before applying to college. I had visited Warren Wilson College once to see a friend and go to a concert in Asheville. I guess it wasn't long after that visit that I decided I had enough of the pizza delivery thing and I should continue my education. The public high school I attended did not do much to appease my drive for higher knowledge, and after looking at WWC's degree programs I thought that Religious Studies and Philosophy seemed to appeal to me most.

Dr. Lye was one of the first faculty members I talked to at WWC. During orientation week he was representing the Religious Studies faculty at an event for students to learn about the different academic programs and to meet faculty. In my first semester I enrolled in two Religious Studies courses, both with Hun, on Buddhism and Hinduism. I found both courses to be very compelling and engaging, and at times I remember feeling like a tug-of-war was occurring in me over which of the paths seemed to be calling to me most, as I was getting many signals from all angles.

In the end, the profound dharma of the Buddha seems to have prevailed, with perhaps some influence coming from the instructor's bias. But bias or not, I can't deny the multitude of ways I have been transformed by the dharma, initially by Dr. Lye's course, and in the many opportunities he and others have extended to me to continue engaging this path. As a freshmen in Dr. Lye's course, I read along and followed lectures that evoked an inner analysis of my own experience and every day I realized how much my own thoughts reflected and resonated with the Buddha's teachings. With Dr. Lye's consistent encouragement and prodding, I became involved in -be-, the Buddhist interest group co-founded by Dr. Lye and his devoted cult of students at Warren Wilson.

Among the other major influences on my thought and development from Warren Wilson, I have to acknowledge the radical critical philosophies of Prof. Mark Cobb, the enraged populist politics of Dr. Frank Kalinowski, the ludic and illuminating depth of dialog and dialectic as only Sam Scoville could inspire, and countless others who have given me sincere encouragement and inspiration.

But at the heart of it all, I have to say I can only truly take refuge in the Buddhist path. Radical politics and philosophy can be a vital form of expression and communication for realizing social justice and equality in the world, but in order to not lose sight of the boundless wisdom and compassion it will take to realize those goals, only the dharma can provide that.

It has been a joy and a real honor to continually be involved in something I have watched blossom and helped form, from the early days of -be- to what it is becoming now with Urban Dharma. I look forward to getting to know more about all of you and hearing some of your ideas for how we can spread the luminosity of the dharma to change minds and transform cities.