Meet Hunter White

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hunter White and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hunter, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
To start with, this is not a business, this is a nonprofit religious organization.

The English Dharma Group at Jade Buddha Temple is the English Language services provided by the Chinese monastic community to spread the teachings of the Buddha to English speakers.

The English Dharma group provide free weekly services including mantras, meditation, and Dharma talks, and free monthly meditation retreats to those interested in learning Buddhism. We also provide free literature, religious texts, and commentaries on Buddhism to those who come. Additionally we have multiple reading and meditation groups throughout the week that our free to anyone interested. Finally We also host longer multi day retreats that are free with monastic speakers from across the world at our retreat center American Bodhi Center in Hempstead Texas we also organize cultural and religious activities like viewing important Buddhist relics/art that comes to Houston via the Houston Musiem of Fine Arts.

Our temple, Jade Buddha Temple also offers free vegetarian meals on sundays for those who come to services.

The temple also engages with donation drives, primarily raising money for disaster hit areas in Asia who’s monastic and lay communities are effected by things like earthquakes, landslides, flooding, and war.

Lots of the temples social and community impact also stems from being a cultural center for Chinese, Malaysians, and other Asian communities in the Houston area. We have major services celebrating Asian and Buddhist Holiday, including Lunar New Year’s, The Buddhas Birth, and Vesak.

Additionally because of how Buddhism as a religion function, lots of people donate to and support the Monastic community. Monks and Nuns do not work and do not provide for themselves so the community spends a lot of time and effort keeping these venerable elders clothed, fed, sheltered, and spreading the word of the Buddha.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In my professional life I am an Attorney with the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office. I worked for years as communications Director and lobbyist for a national political organization focused on criminal justice reform. I then went to law school and became a defense attorney before transitioning to a prosecutor.

In my role with the English Dharma group it began in college. I took an intro to Buddhism class as well as an Asian Art History class and it really spoke to me. I had previously been a Lutheran, and because of that background I had a focus on religious text reading. So for a number of years, almost a decade I read Buddhist texts and practiced meditation.

Eventually I felt the desire to join a religious community, and came to Jade Buddha Temple because they offered English Dharma talks. I started attending services regularly, and began volunteering to help the community, eventually I began giving my own dharma talks as I had read extensively about Buddhism and I was asked to lead the English group.

It has been very fulfilling to help spread the message of the Buddha to the community, and it has been a fun challenge to take these 2500 year old teachings and package them and make them relevant to a modern, English speaking audience.

The largest challenges have been logistical, Buddhism is not a large religion in America, and the people who are interested often have a very different understanding of what Buddhism is thanks to pop culture. Motivating people to engage with the Chinese community can be daunting as people are afraid to do or say something wrong, which is pretty silly considering Buddhist are very compassionate and tolerant people.

What I would love people to know is Buddhism is a very tolerant and broad religion that offered tangible benefits for daily life through meditation practices. Jade Buddha temple is a welcoming and tolerant community focused on embodying the Buddhas teachings, and spread that teaching to all who wish to hear.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If we are talking about my friends I would take them to out lovely museum district. The amount of beautiful art and history contained there is overwhelming.

I would take them to the Museum of Fine art, Herman Parks expensive greens and Japanese gardens, then over to westheimer for some of the best variety of food in Texas, everything from Indian, French, Mexican, African, you name it, it’s on that long stretch of road.

I would also suggest anyone visiting Houston to check out our lovely theater district, as the Alley theater is an absolute treat, and the Houston symphony is a delight especially on a budget.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have immense respect for Venerable Hung I of Jade Buddha Temple.

Venerable Hung I has spent decades going Jade Buddha temple into a major temple in the Houston area. I am so thankful for his efforts to bring the wisdom of the Buddha to English speaking people. I also appreciate that Venerable Hung I has worked so hard to cultivate a temple that is opening and welcoming to different Buddhist believers of different practices.

Venerable Hung I is an inspiration to me and and a shinning example of a monastic Buddhist, and the teachings of the Buddha in practice.

Website: https://edg.jadebuddha.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1SPMNPxKtU/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@TexasBuddhistAssociation/playlists