Ven. Pomnyun is arguably the most popular and respected religious figure in Korea today. He is a household name, known mostly for his engaging Q&A style dialogue — Dharma Talks — with audiences about everything and anything they want to throw at him. Mostly, it's about their personal lives, cheating spouses, rebellious children, overbearing mother-in-laws and drunkard husbands being the mainstays of these questions.

I have been interpreting for Ven. Pomnyun since 2015 when I first met the monk at an international conference on the topic of Korean unification. This was in late August of 2005 when I was taking a break from work and about to start my master's degree at Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. I saw an ad calling on the Korean newspaper asking for volunteers, so I did. I ended up serving as the MC and session interpreter.

Since then, I have been volunteering as his interpreter for his Dharma Talks, starting at Google in 2014. While such talks can be a nightmare for interpreters since they are unscripted and can span wide-ranging subject areas from Indian history to developmental psychology, I learned a few key takeaways that make up the larger, consistent teachings that underlie all his engagements with people from all........

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