Matthew Walsh (Yeshe Namkha Rangdröl) they/them

1. Hometown: Currently live in Wichita, but consider myself from Kansas City
2. Role at Rime: Occasional designer of fliers and posters, retreat attendee
3. Day job: Paraprofessional at a middle school, working with 6th graders with Autism, Down Syndrome, and other cognitive delays
4. Hobbies: Art, coding, reading, dismantling the cis-hetero-patriarchy, coffee
5. What led you to the Dharma: I grew up Christian, explored other religions, but they all felt incomplete to me. Turning to the Dharma felt like coming home, like nothing was lacking.
6. Something a lot of people don’t know about you: Several years ago I made up a space religion and founded the Extragalactic Church of Galateris Bubblegum. I continue to develop it. It has a few adherents here and there. Consider it social art project of sorts.
7. Buddhist book you would recommend: Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche. I read this when I first started taking the Dharma seriously, and have continued to revisit and reread it. It’s the one Buddhist book I’d take to a deserted island.