Dharma is not about credentials. It's not about how many practices you've done, or how peaceful you can make your mind. It's not about being in a community where you feel safe or enjoying the cachet of being a 'Buddhist. ' It's not even about accumulating teachings, empowerments, or 'spiritual accomplishments. ' It's about how naked you're willing to be with your own life, and how much you're willing to let go of your masks and your armor and live as a completely exposed, undefended, and open human person.
I want to show that the underdog can win. I believe were all the same: you, a slum girl, my mother.