“The books on my ‘Trumpet Monk Altar’ are my foundation of artistic and spiritual grounding. These two books represent extremely high-level culture and wisdom, and always keep me firmly rooted in difficult times.

The ‘Magic Konghou Book’ is a rare detailed chronology of the history and development of this ancient instrument. One incredible lesson I learn from that book permeates through every part of my music, and that is the awareness of ‘Musical Lineage’. Music is a language, and that language has a long lineage, and the true artist respects and honors that Lineage above herself.

The other book, the timeless classic ‘Art Of War’ by Sun Tzu is a stark reminder of the harsh reality of the world we live in. Although the monk may hope and dream of peace, the reality is we live in a world of never ending wars that have continued since the beginning of time. I often read random pages from ‘Art Of War’ when preparing for worldly endeavors, and some of the brutal lessons in this book are necessary even in my spiritual quest on a path of peace.”