Honoring Yvette Johnson
Yvette Johnson was an active member of KCC from the late 90’s well into the early 2000’s. She served on the Board of Directors, made trips to India for Bokar Rinpoche’s seminar, and was one of the early aspirants to do 3-Year Retreat. She was seriously committed to her Dharma practice.
Yvette was bilingual, having been born and raised in UK to parents from France. She taught at universities in UK and USA, and volunteered at various charities as well as at KCC.
During the 15+ years between compiling a list of those who wanted to do Long Retreat and the process of finding land and building the Retreat Facility, Yvette reconnected with her Catholic roots. She told me that her ability to connect at a deeper level was a result of her years of Dharma practice.
Yvette passed away in September, leaving a Legacy gift to KCC. You can find her obituary here.
Legacy gifts such as this help KCC build a cushion beyond the ongoing expenses. If you are interested in talking to someone about Legacy gifts, you can contact me at
– Lama Kathleen Benz
I remember spending time with Yvette Johnson at a monastery in Bodhgaya where we attended a meditation training on Mahamudra that was taught by Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche, one of the more respected meditation teachers in our time. She was able to understand the complex subtle concepts. While I was trying to feel my way through, she was asking detailed questions about specific practices because she wanted to get it right. Most of the Western students were French. I watched their faces light up when she started talking to them in French. These were the same faces that tried to politely hide their disappointment when I tried to use the French I learned on college. The next thing I knew, she had made friends with students from France who invited her to join them for a car trip to Mount Kailash in Tibet. She was friendly, smart, competent, and likable. I hate to see her leave, but rest assured that she was better prepared than I will be when I make the same transition.
– David Thornburgh
