Oen Chikasuye

production assistant, Europe / USA

After starting in the performing arts, ballet and theater at age four, Oen went on to attend UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television for acting.  She later decided to leave the concrete jungle of LA  to heed the undeniable, resounding knock of karma. 

Oen (pronounce "O-yen") found her spiritual longings spontaneously fulfilled when she discovered Naropa University, where she studied Religious Studies, Contemplative Psychology, Writing and Poetics, Women's Studies, and Ecopsychology.  She also worked at Naropa University's Audio Archives, directed several plays and performance art pieces, but performed very little.  Most of her free time was dedicated to intensive meditation training. 

After steeping in the Dharma for several years, she is now stepping more fully back into the world of performance and fine arts, endeavoring to integrate these two worlds.  She has recently been sighted "prayrforming" in NYC with performance artists Thoth (www.skthoth.com) and Pink Angel.  A Humanitarian, Environmentalist, Ecopsychologist, Ecofeminist and Buddhist fascinated with life and being, she is jazzed to be working on NAKED MIND.

Oen has been practicing Dharma formally from the age of sixteen and Tibetan Buddhism in particular for five years under the guidance of Reginald Ray.  She has also been blessed with the opportunity to study with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamsto Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Yangsi Rinpoche of Maitripa Institute in Portland, Oregon.

Oen divides her time between her native Hawai'i and Boulder, Colorado where she teaches yoga.