Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggie Lee.
Hi Maggie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When Buddha For You began in 2009, it started with an unexpected phone call. Alfred, the store’s owner, and his wife Lek, who owned the Thai restaurant next door, reached out to us while we were just two years into running the Dharma Bum Temple. Alfred explained that Buddha for You would close within six weeks if someone did not take over. At the time, operating a Buddhist retail store was far from our plans, but we agreed to take a look.
As we walked through the store, we realized it could become much more than a retail space. We saw the possibility of creating a place that could share Buddhist teachings, help support the temple, and build a meaningful community. That vision convinced us to take the leap.
By then, Alfred had already moved to Thailand, and his stepson Art was managing the store. Although Art did not have a strong interest in continuing the business, he kept it open long enough to help us transition. For six days he showed us the ropes, introduced us to suppliers and contacts, handed us the keys, and left us to begin the journey on our own.
We had no background in retail and truly little idea of what we were doing. Still, we opened the doors with determination and learned as we went. In the beginning, most of our items came directly from Thailand through the connections Alfred and Lek had established. Over time, however, we realized that people in the West were drawn to Buddhist art and traditions from many diverse cultures. We gradually built relationships with suppliers in India, Bali, Nepal, and other parts of the world, expanding both the store’s inventory and its cultural reach.
Only a few weeks after taking over the shop, we started offering meditation classes. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Within about a month, attendance had grown so much that we tore out the back storage area and transformed it into a larger meditation hall to accommodate the growing community.
Despite the growing interest, the first year was financially difficult. We were barely making enough to cover the rent. Then an unexpected opportunity appeared. We met the owner of a much larger property just down the street, in Campus Plaza at the corner of College Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard. They offered us an affordable rate, and we decided to move.
The biggest challenge was transporting the countless statues and sacred items that filled the store. Rather than simply hiring movers, we turned the move into something unforgettable. A Tibetan lama joined us, and several hundred people gathered for what became a pilgrimage through the neighborhood. Chanting “Om Mani Padme Hum” in a single-file procession, we carried every Buddha statue and sacred object down El Cajon Boulevard from the old location to the new one.
By the next morning, the doors of the new Buddha For You were open, and a new chapter had begun.
We moved into the new location in 2010 and almost immediately began to see the community grow. Being in a VONS shopping plaza meant we were surrounded by restaurants, retail stores, and everyday neighborhood activity, and Buddha For You quickly became much busier. People would often wander in while shopping or dining nearby, curious about the statues, incense, meditation cushions, and peaceful atmosphere they discovered inside. For many people, it was their very first experience stepping into any kind of Buddhist space.
As the community expanded, so did our offerings. We added more meditation classes, hosted unique events, and welcomed guest speakers from many different traditions, including Tibetan lamas, monks, nuns, and Buddhist teachers from around the world. Over the next seven years, an incredibly beautiful Sangha (community) developed, a diverse and supportive gathering of people seeking meditation, friendship, healing, and spiritual practice.
At the same time, we continued operating the original Dharma Bum Temple downtown. Suddenly there were two locations where people could explore meditation and Buddhism: one in downtown San Diego and another in the College Area. Each location developed its own energy and community, but both shared the same mission of making Buddhist practice approachable, welcoming, and accessible to everyone.
Then, in April of 2017, another major chapter began when the Dharma Bum Temple purchased a 1927 built old church in University Heights. Once again, it was time for Buddha For You to move. This transition was a little different from the first one. The distance was farther, so this time we relied on vehicles instead of shopping carts, but the spirit of community remained the same. Around fifty people came together to help pack, carry, load, unload, and rebuild the store in its new home downstairs inside the temple.
As the owner, I donated all the inventory to the Dharma Bum Temple so that Buddha For You could continue as part of the temple itself. From that point forward, Buddha for You became the Dharma Bum Temple gift shop, known as Buddha For You Gifts and Books. A decade later, it continues to serve as a peaceful gateway into Buddhist practice and community life.
Just like at the previous location, we built a meditation hall behind the store so visitors could move naturally from browsing books and statues into meditation and practice. Over the years, countless people have shared that Buddha For You was their very first introduction to Buddhism. Because of its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, people who might never walk directly into a temple feel comfortable entering the shop first. In that way, the store has become much more than a retail space, it has become a bridge into community, mindfulness, and spiritual practice.
To this day, we continue importing sacred and handcrafted items from India, Thailand, Bali, Nepal, Taiwan, Japan, and other parts of Asia. The shop carries a carefully curated collection of Buddhist and spiritual items including Buddhist and Hindu statues, singing bowls, incense, thangkas, Buddhist art, mala beads, antique statues, meditation cushions, jewelry, books, and gifts designed to inspire peace and practice in everyday life.
From the very beginning, we have always called Buddha For You “Your Peaceful Place.” Decades later, it continues to live up to that name, a peaceful refuge in the middle of everyday life, where anyone can walk through the door and feel welcomed.
Looking ahead, we are filled with gratitude and excitement for what is to come. In 2027, Buddha For You will mark its 30th anniversary, a milestone that feels both humbling and deeply meaningful. It will be a time to celebrate not just the passage of years, but the thousands of people whose lives have crossed through its doors and helped shape its story.
The Dharma Bum Temple will also reach its 20th year, marking two decades of shared practice, community, and service. That same year, the building we now call home will turn 100 hundred years old, carrying a century of history within its walls. Together, these milestones will converge in 2027 as a moment of reflection, appreciation, and celebration for all that has unfolded and all that is still to come.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like any long journey rooted in service and community, Buddha For You has faced various challenges along the way. From the very beginning, there was the learning curve of taking on something entirely new with no prior experience, followed by the practical realities of figuring out how to import statues and sacred items from around the world. Another early challenge was perhaps the most fundamental of all, building a community where one did not yet exist.
In the first year, there were financial pressures and at times not enough income to cover basic expenses. When we moved into the VONS shopping plaza, new challenges emerged as we worked to understand what products truly resonated with people and how to sustain the store day to day. During those early years, there was also the challenge of having no staff, which meant staying open seven days a week simply to keep the doors open and generate enough income to meet expenses.
As the years went on, the challenges evolved but never disappeared. A constant balancing act has been keeping prices affordable while costs continue to rise. Competing with large online retailers who can dramatically undercut prices has also been an ongoing reality. At the same time, we have often had to learn new skills ourselves, from building websites to navigating social media, without the benefit of being able to hire outside support.
Each physical move brought its own set of obstacles, though every transition was made possible through the dedication and support of the community. In more recent years, especially since the pandemic, the primary challenges have centered around rising costs and the complexities of importing goods internationally. Fortunately, we now have a dedicated volunteer team that helps run the gift shop, which has been a great blessing and has allowed us to focus more on service than survival.
Through all these seasons, the challenges have been real and ongoing but so has the determination to continue. Step by step, with the support of so many people, we have simply kept going, doing our best to make it all work while staying true to the heart of the practice.
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?
Buddha For You is a gift shop featuring antiques, sacred objects, and Asian art and statues collected from around the world. The space offers a carefully curated selection of items from India, Thailand, Nepal, Bali, Taiwan, Japan, and beyond, each chosen with intention and respect for the cultures and spiritual traditions they come from. Visitors will find Buddhist and Hindu statues, singing bowls, incense, thangkas, mala beads, antique statues, meditation cushions, jewelry, books, and art pieces that reflect centuries of spiritual and artistic heritage.
In addition to the physical store, Buddha For You also offers the ability to shop online, making these meaningful items accessible to people across the country and around the world. Customers can explore the collection remotely and have statues, ritual objects, and meditation tools carefully packaged and shipped directly to their homes. This has allowed the reach of the store to extend far beyond San Diego, connecting people to practice and inspiration no matter where they live.
But Buddha For You is much more than a gift shop. It is a living space for exploration, reflection, and practice. People first walk through the doors simply often out of curiosity, drawn in by the beauty of the objects, and leave with something much deeper, an introduction to Buddhist teachings and a sense of inner stillness. In the store, visitors can learn in detail about the meaning, symbolism, and origin of each statue and object, often discovering the stories, hand gestures, mudras, and traditional significance behind what they are seeing. This transforms the experience from simple browsing into a deeper understanding of Buddhist art and practice.
It also serves as an entry point into community. Over the years, countless people have found their way from the shop into classes, meditation sessions, retreats, and temple gatherings. In this way, Buddha For You is not separate from the Dharma Bum Temple, but an extension of it, a welcoming first step for those beginning their journey.
At its heart, the store is designed to be approachable, peaceful, and human. It is a place where people can slow down, ask questions, learn, and connect. Whether someone is searching for a meaningful gift, a meditation tool, or simply a quiet moment in their day, Buddha For You offers a space to pause and feel grounded.
In this way, Buddha For You continues to be what it has always been intended to be, not just a store, but a doorway into practice, community, and peace.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
One of the defining aspects of Buddha For You has always been the willingness to take risks. It began with stepping into something we knew almost nothing about, having only six days of understanding before deciding to take over the store. There was no clear roadmap, no prior experience in running a Buddhist retail space, and very little certainty about what the future would hold and no financial backing. What there was instead was a sense of trust, curiosity, and a commitment to serve something larger than ourselves.
That pattern of risk continued year after year, especially in the early days of growth. Each time a new lease needed to be signed, it often meant committing to another year without knowing if the finances would fully support it. These were not easy decisions, but they were made with the hope that the community would continue to grow and that the work itself was meaningful enough to sustain it. In many ways, the decision to continue was always a leap of faith, trusting that the next step would reveal itself once we committed to the one in front of us. The personal sacrifices were beyond description, but something that was done to ensure that others had a peaceful place to abide.
There was also the deeper risk of building a community from the ground up. When Buddha For You first began, there was no established Sangha around the store. The community had to be created slowly, through consistent openness, teaching, events, and simply being present day after day. It meant trusting that if space was held with sincerity and care, people would eventually find their way there. Over time, that risk became one of the most rewarding parts of the journey, as a community naturally formed and grew into something far greater than anything we could have planned.
Alongside this was the risk of multiple moves, each one requiring us to rebuild not only the physical space but also the visibility and flow of the store. At various points, we also operated for many years without signage or traditional marketing, relying instead on word of mouth, intention, and the quiet pull of people discovering the space organically. In a world driven by advertising and constant visibility, choosing not to rely on those tools was itself a significant risk, one that required patience and deep trust that the work would speak for itself.
Looking back, these risks were never just logistical decisions, they were expressions of faith in the path, in practice, and in the people who would eventually become part of the community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.buddha-for-you.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhasforyou
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buddhaforyougiftsandbooks
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BuddhasForYou
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/buddha-for-you-gifts-and-books-san-diego-2
- Other: https://thedharmabums.org/