Robert Bick ("Buddha Rob")
Founder & Guide
Meditation has been the mainstay and anchor of my life for 40 years. I was first introduced to meditation in 1983 by Ken McLeod who had just completed a seven-year meditation retreat. Ken subsequently became a highly respected teacher and author. Ken’s kindness altered—and steadied—the course of my life.
People often ask me how I've navigated the deaths of two children, financial stress, cancer… My answer is always the same, “Meditation is the constant that has kept me peaceful, resilient and grounded.”
My meditation practice was enhanced and deepened through my relationship with meditation master and Buddhist scholar, Tulku Thondup, bestselling author of The Healing Power of Mind, Boundless Healing and The Heart of Unconditional Love. He had a profound influence on my meditation practice.
His teachings are at the heart of the Boundless Radiance program.
For the last 15 years, I have had the good fortune to receive teaching and mentorship from Brian Callahan, a senior Buddhist teacher, who himself completed a three-year meditation retreat.
It is the greatest of blessings to receive ongoing support, encouragement and guidance from a gifted spiritual teacher.
I am adding this paragraph at the request of my partner, Purple Goddess, who is encouraging me to write a memoir called From Pickles to Dharma. The “pickles” part, would recount the story of how my parents—by identifying as Protestant farmers (they were neither)—escaped to Canada from Nazi Europe. And after settling on a farm outside of Toronto, Ontario they transformed a crop of too many cucumbers into one of Canada's most iconic and beloved brands—Bick's Pickles. The “dharma” part (dharma means Buddhist wisdom) would relive my first memories in that pickle factory and subsequent life adventures. And how meditation and dharma became the hub and anchor of a contented and peaceful life.
Lucky me!
Tulku Thondup (1939-2023)
Meditation Master
Tulku Thondup is one of the greatest meditation masters who came to the west from Tibet. I was first introduced to TT (that’s what he liked to be called) through his bestselling and highly acclaimed book, The Healing Power of Mind. For me, it had a life-changing impact.
I sought out other of his books such as Boundless Healing and The Heart of Unconditional Love. We first met face-to-face in 2008, at a meditation retreat he was leading in the mountains of Colorado. From that time until his death in 2023, we would meet at his apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts and maintained a vibrant email correspondence.
TT granted me permission to create guided meditations adapted from his books. He encouraged me, answered questions and recommended changes. These meditations have been the mainstay of my personal meditation practice and are the core of the meditations shared in the Meditation is Healing! Community.
The title “Rinpoche" is often added after Tulku Thondup’s name. It is pronounced “rin_po_che” and means “precious one.” This honorific title denotes respect for revered teachers, expressing gratitude for their teachings and compassion. His wife Lydia always addressed TT as “Rinpoche.” And that is exactly how I think about him. A precious gift.
Tulku Thondup Rinpoche died on December 29, 2023. A great, great loss for Lydia, all his devoted students, for me and for all of us. He was a great blessing for this world.