Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Watkins.
Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Michael Watkins and I am the Spiritual Director for Radiant Heart Ministry in Fort Worth, Texas. We have been a 501c3 Nonprofit since 2023, but opened our Community Dharma Center in January 2024. Thinking of where all of this started I would have to say it goes back to Nov 2012 when I decided to get help for my drinking. I spent 50 days in a state funded treatment center for my alcoholism and while I was there I read the book Dharma Punx. It was about Noah Levine’s journey from addiction to becoming a Buddhist teacher. I had the book for eight years, but didn’t read it because the idea of recovery and abstaining from alcohol didn’t appeal to me until the day came that I knew that I needed help. I began learning how to meditate on my own while in treatment, but also felt the desire to be helpful for others. I would print copies of the Mindfulness of Breathing meditation and share it with my peers in treatment and after getting out took the Bodhisattva vow. This is a vow to attain awakening and helping all beings. From there I began reading everything that I could get my hands on about the Dharma. After moving to Fort Worth in 2013 I began sitting with a monk at a Sri Lankan temple and eventually (2016) was able to start a Refuge Recovery group in Fort Worth and then help one get started at UT Dallas as well as offering an RR group at the County jail in FW. In 2018 I left my job as a Chef and became the Mindfulness Coordinator for a residential treatment center and Sober Living facilities. I became a 300 hr. Certified Trauma-Informed Mindfulness teacher in 2019 and in 2022 I was ordained as a Dharmacharya. (Lay Buddhist Minister). As I continued to working with people in recovery my heart was also wanting to help others who experienced being unhoused, those who were incarcerated and the community as a whole. The spiritual practices of meditation, yoga and compassionate thinking that helped me navigate recovery were things that I wanted to share with others as a whole. I envisioned a place that would offer these groups on a donation basis to the community and then come together to offer spiritual friendship to the vulnerable and marginalized communities. That is where Radiant Heart Ministry came from. A Buddhist organization that is open to everyone regardless of beliefs or any of the demographics. The name comes from a teaching I heard where it referred to the “Natural Radiance of the Unobscured Heart.” We are all inherently good and beautiful on the inside. Cutting through fears, anger, delusion, greed and all of the things that block us off from that is a big part of the goal. So that we can see clearly with kind, compassionate and wise hearts.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I feel that getting people involved may always be the challenge. We popped up out of nowhere and haven’t done a lot of advertising. I wanted this to be a place of attraction rather than promotion. That being said though we do have a core group of people that have become our core community and I am grateful for every one of them. Mindfulness has sort of lost its buzz within the last few years so that could also have something to do with it. Plus practicing sitting still and befriending oneself is challenging in itself. It’s not for everyone and that’s ok.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Aside from Radiant Heart I work for Recovery Resource Council. I am the Program Supervisor for Recovery Support Services. I am a certified Recovery and Mental Health Peer Support Specialist and I oversee the Overdose Response Team and Peer Support Services. I mention this because both roles go hand in hand. Spending time with individuals that are suffering and wanting help the same way that I did in 2012 is a big part of where my heart is. Whether its during the day with the council or offering a group with Radiant Heart this heart of spiritual friendship is where I do my best to lead from. Through Radiant Heart I have been able to offer chaplaincy services and plan on beginning Clinical Pastoral Education later this year.
I think what I am most proud of starts with my recovery. I have been able to learn how to be comfortable in my own skin, but again with the aspiration to help others without expecting anything in return. I know that I am not perfect and recognize my limitations. I’m still human and make mistakes, but being able to take responsibility for myself makes a difference. Remembering to be right sized and transparent is important to me. I feel that spirituality means connection and that is priceless. You can’t put a price on this.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I owe quite a few people in the recovery world in Odessa, TX which is where I sobered up. Three people had a big influence on me though. These old timers named Hal Looney and Saint Jerome and Kevin T. The first two have already passed, but those three helped guide me in the early days when I was seeing the world in a new way. For the Dharma my early teachers were Noah Levine and the monk Bhante Sumedha. They were key in sharing the Dharma with me as well as emphasizing meditation. This is where I began to learn how to let go of the parts of me that weren’t serving me or the world. Then my more recent teachers Venerable Pannavati from Heartwood in North Carolina and Lama Justin Von Bujdoss from Massachusetts. Pannavati ordained me as a Dharmacharya, which means to be an example of the Dharma and Lama Justin has been my teacher the last couple of years. He has helped point me in the direction of chaplaincy. Learning from them has helped me continue cultivating that peace in my heart. I’m also very grateful for the friends at Radiant Heart. The community comes together to help take care of the place and breath life into it to allow it to thrive.
Pricing:
- Groups are offered freely with the option of donation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.radiantheartministry.org
- Instagram: Radiant Heart Ministry
- Facebook: Radiant Heart Ministry
Image Credits
Megan Najera – Blue Flowers and Om Ah Hung wall painting.
