My name is Sandy Gougis.  I have been studying Buddhism since 1998, and I currently study both Zen Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.   I am a lay practitioner, and as such, I have a husband and a “day job” teaching Paralegal Studies at a local college.

Zen: I am a Dharma Teacher in Training at the Golden Wind Zen Center in Long Beach, CA, USA. I have taken 10 Precepts, or vows, in my school.  I joined GWZC in 2003.

Tibetan: I have taken refuge with Lama Tsultrim Allione at Tara Mandala in Pagosa Springs, CO, USA in 2009.

I have recently been accepted to graduate school at the University of Sunderland in Sunderland, UK.  Via the miracle of “distance learning,” I hope to earn a Master’s Degree in Buddhist Studies.