Hector Marcel was a successful photographer in New York, working with famous clients, attendingelite events, and enjoying external success. However, inside, he felt deep dissatisfaction. He was anillegal immigrant, unable to officially own a bank account or fully manage his income. His businesspartner, whom he trusted, turned out to be unreliable, increasing his anxiety. He felt like a “fraud”—successful on the outside but broken inside. He couldn’t tell his family and friends about his doubtsbecause they saw him as a symbol of success.
In the mid-90s, while experiencing a crisis, he first encountered Buddhist philosophy. At that time,he accidentally found a book about Tibetan Buddhism in the basement of a house he was renting.He knew nothing about Buddhism, but the book caught his attention. On one particularly difficultday, he took time off work, sat in a park, and started reading, hoping to find answers. That was themoment his journey toward change began. Around this time, he first heard about Geshe MichaelRoach and his teachings, which later completely changed his view on life.
In 1996, he arrived at Three Jewels, a center created to spread Buddhist knowledge. At first, hehelped as a volunteer: recording Geshe Michael’s lectures, duplicating audiotapes, and assistingwith documentation. He doubted himself because English was his second language, and thephilosophy seemed complex. Geshe Michael often said that someone needed to take care of thecenter, but Hector never thought it would be him. He considered himself just a student absorbingknowledge.
“Someone needs to take care of this place,” Geshe Michael repeated many times, butHector did not take it as a message directed at him.
After ten years in Australia, Hector returned to New York and saw that Three Jewels was in decline:the center was losing students, lacked financial support, and was on the verge of closing. Realizinghow important this place had been for his personal growth, Hector decided to take on the challenge.He applied his corporate management skills, began reorganizing the center, established a clearlearning structure, and attracted new students. In the first months, he conducted dozens ofinterviews with community members to understand their expectations and develop a strategy forgrowth.
At first, he performed even the simplest tasks—recording teacher lectures and posting them onYouTube to attract more people. He restored discipline in the center’s operations, contacted formerstudents, and invited them to return. Now, the number of students has grown to 60,000 per year.However, for Hector, the quality of transformation in students’ lives was more important than thenumber of visitors. He saw how Buddhist principles helped people overcome fear, free themselvesfrom anger, and find harmony. These same methods changed him: he realized that external successis just an illusion and that true happiness comes from mindfulness and serving others. Histransformation was so profound that he later gave a TED talk, “How to Get Rid of an Angry Boss,”sharing his experience.
As the leader of Three Jewels, he continued learning and passing on the knowledge he receivedfrom Geshe Michael. He understood that the center was not just a place for meditation but a spacewhere people could find answers to the most important questions of their lives. “If even five peoplecan change their lives because of this place, that is already success,” Hector said, emphasizing thathis goal was not just to spread knowledge but to truly transform people’s consciousness.
- For more details, you can watch this video – https://geshemichaelroach.info/hector-marcel-how-buddhism-transformed-my-life-the-story-of-three-jewels-geshe-michael-roach/
- Image from the official website – https://www.threejewels.org/
