Join the Conversation
Send your thoughts to Letters to the Editor. Learn more
As aid worker Kayla Mueller is mourned around the world, the Tibetans with whom she volunteered are offering prayers and condolences. Mueller, a 26-year-old American, was abducted in Syria in 2013 by Islamic State militants, and held hostage for eighteen months.
Her death was confirmed this week.
A committed Christian, Mueller was also deeply influenced by Buddhist teachings.She lived in Dharamsala, Northern India, in 2010 and worked with several organizations in support of Tibetan refugees. While in Dharamsala she was able to see the Dalai Lama, which she described as “one of the most profound spiritual experiences” of her life.
Later, she studied the writings of Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh and stayed at his Plum Village retreat center in France.
To read more, continue here.