He studied religion at The College of Wooster, where he began studying Buddhism, and studied abroad in Bodh Gaya, India. While living in China for 9 years, Burger studied under his Buddhist Master there- the inspiration for his first documentary, Amongst White Clouds. His feature documentaries include portraits of Buddhist hermits in China's Zhongnan Mountains and shadow puppeteers in the village streets of China's Shaanxi Province. He is currently producing a series of academic short films on Buddhist life in Modern China entitled, The Dreaming Buddhas Project. Burger now lives in Vietnam.