“What I’ve enjoyed most and found most stimulating these last years volunteering at the QFWF is working together with different artists, writers, dancers, singers, musicians and philosophers to create works that illuminate and expand upon the concept of world citizenship. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama says, “Just because someone is on a different path, doesn’t mean it’s the wrong one!” Exploring these diverse wisdom traditions, in all their various forms, has helped me better understand our commonality and shared humanity in our endless search for answers and meaning in our lives. It’s been truly worthwhile and interesting to be a part of something bigger than myself, a project that continues to grow and expand and touch people in all kinds of ways and at all levels.”
I graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1987. My area of interest was art and film history. After graduation I worked at two commercial art galleries in Los Angeles as a sales associate in contemporary fine art. During this period I spent about two years studying acting at Playhouse West in Los Angeles.
Realizing that neither selling art nor acting was what I wanted, I moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1992 and took a job as a production manager for a fast-growing company called PSI Group. PSI Group (then a private, now a NYSE public company) is involved in the commercial processing of mail. I worked at their Seattle plant and over the next five years was promoted to sales manager, co-director and eventually director, handling local clients like Starbucks, Amazon and Microsoft. Towards the end of the last century I was asked to open a new facility for PSI Group in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a gay man, this was not a place I could imagine myself living in.
I had become interested in Buddhism during this period as my disillusionment with corporate capitalism grew. I eventually gave in to my dream of another life in Amsterdam learning a new language and the hopes for a different future now that I’d discovered my interest in studying Buddhism.
I’ve studied Buddhism at Maitreya Instituut in Amsterdam since September of 2000 and since 2001 worked there as a volunteer. Through the years I’ve served in various capacities such as leading guided meditations, leading Pujas, working at the front desk and hosting visiting Tibetan Lamas in my home because I have a guest room. In 2001 I began working as a caregiver at Stichting Fokus in Amsterdam. Over the last few years I helped two university students write their theses and I found that process interesting and enjoyable.
Since 2017, shortly after a six week trip to India in which I started writing about both my own life and Buddhism, I work as a volunteer for the Quest for wisdom foundation to translate, edit and write about Buddhism to contribute to their ‘Wijsheidsweb’.
Although I occasionally still write, my primary focus has shifted to making paintings and drawings for the organization….. A shift that occurred in 2021 when Heidi (Muijen) asked me if I’d be interested in writing a book about Buddhism. Well, I was, and I immediately knew I wanted to focus on the previous animal rebirths of the Buddha, before his final rebirth as the historical Shakyamuni Buddha. However, I didn’t have any illustrations!
As a young man I’d dreamed of being an artist, and in fact, had a full scholarship to the Parson’s School of Design in NYC. I was also admitted to Yale University, and chose the latter as I was convinced it would be the better (financial) choice. So, that childhood dream of being a painter faded into the background, seemingly forever. Forgotten.
Buddha As An Animal was the result of this first effort and a reintroduction to my childhood dream (finally) being realized. Since 2021, I’ve helped illustrate a number of books for the QFWF, including the recent Amor Fati and Amor Mundi, both published in late 2024.
In addition to being a volunteer for the QFWF, I’ve been a volunteer at Maitreya Instituut in Amsterdam since 2001. Both of these entities serve the public good. And both try to bring a bit of light and wisdom to an increasingly dark, confused and dangerous world. In that respect, I feel truly blessed for being able to find personal fulfillment while also trying to bring some benefit to the world in which I live. And hopefully, a little beauty too!
My favourite quote concerning the ‘quest for wisdom’ is:
Wijsheden van Greg Suffanti“The more you learn about different cultures and customs, the more that your own barriers and negative judgements are replaced with curiosity and acceptance. We find ourselves, our humanity and our essential sameness when we take the time to look beneath our cultural differences and discover the meanings behind the various stories, symbols and customs.”
This question makes me think of something I heard the Dalai Lama say: “Just because someone is on a different path, doesn’t mean its the wrong one.”