One of the leading voices in contemporary spirituality, his first personal spiritual experience took place in a little Methodist church in New York when he was only 7 years old. His mother found him hiding in a small sacristy where the minister kept his robes. In a timeless moment, he told her that he was called to help others awaken. When Tony was ten he was introduced to the liberating teachings of Mindfulness. As an adult, he studied with various spiritual teachers (such as Bernie Glassman and Alfred Bloom) and read Buddhism at Harvard and Oxford, receiving a Master's Degree in Theology from the Episcopal Divinity School. He was honored with a doctorate in education by the Graduate Theological Foundation for his work in pastoral counseling.

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• Performed historic Buddhist clinical chaplaincy at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (1997-99)

• Performed historic Buddhist opening Collect and Prayer at the Pennsylvania State Senate (2007)

• Featured Speaker at the first historic Western Socially Engaged Buddhism in America Symposium (2010)

• Chaplain to the victims and families of the Flight 93 tragedy (2001) and First Responders at Ground Zero (2011)

• Special Ambassador to the World Congress of Religion (2012)

• Recipient of the Religion and Society's Torch of Global Enlightenment Award (2013)

• First Buddhist minister to deliver the opening Collect at the 153rd commemoration of the Gettysburg Address (2016)