His interest in Buddhism began when he edited a documentary for Martin Scorcese entitled "In Search of Kundun" . His work on this project led him to a Buddhism class taught by Brian Smith, who would later become an ordained monk by the name of Venerable Sumati Marut. After this introduction to Buddhism, Rick became a student of Lama Marut's, and he completed the 18 ACI-LA courses, and then took his Maroke. He has since taken advanced teaching from Venerable Marut, and has also taken teachings from Geshe Michael Roach, Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen, as well as attending various teachings given by his Holiness the Dalai Lama.