During an unnerving period in my early thirties, my "walkabout", I discovered the book, "Religions of the World" by Huston Smith. Its overview of the major religions provided the catalyst for my subsequent study and practice of Buddhism. For a while after that, I seemed to do nothing else but read Buddhist books gleaning, specifically, words that would help me translate the more obscure wording of the technical texts into a way of life. As Forrest Gump might say, "I just read".

Despite the appeal of the books and my enthusiasm, I couldn't close the gaping hole of a feeling that I wasn't "getting it". But as luck would have it, Won Buddhist Temple of Philadelphia came into existence. I promptly visited. The qualities of the people, the lay people as well as the Kyomunims, astounded me with their intelligence and depth, and probably unknowingly, inspired me to keep on this path. I still read and reread many books. But now that I have met other Buddhists, my reading experience has transformed.

Meeting everyone at the Temple touched me with the humanity behind the words in my books. No longer shades of gray on white, the words are beyond colors of the rainbow, their tactility a reminder that the goal is, truly, humanly possible. I will never forget the diverse and wondrous nature of those I met at the Temple and hope that our paths cross again as we all travel.

I had acquired the Sangha.org name with only the best intentions during my "walkabout." Since then, I've sporadically struggled with various ideas about what to do with the name. On top of that, the right time never arrived. Finally, after receiving the most recent inquiries as to whether I planned to sell the name, I got serious.

Getting to work took considerable effort and a marked shift in attitude. I ended up chucking all ideas grandiose and looked simply for what I estimated I could do properly. The result was to journal and let others share experiences as they travel their paths, which feels a world apart from my original intention to do something great.

Like the web in general, this is not a finished project. Nor should it be. I plan at some point to put on a message board, especially since someone interested in the Sangha.org name had wanted to do this. I figure that if I keep the name, I should at least try to accommodate others.

I welcome your comments as we share our "walkabout" stories.