Dirk was born in Pretoria, South Africa and grew up near Witbank in a rural, Afrikaans community.

After leaving school, he studied music: first in Pretoria, where he studied composition. He then continued his studies in Cape Town, and attended various master classes with the famous North American composer, Morton Feldman, his greatest influence as a composer.

After Dirk’s studies in Cape Town, he was awarded the prestigious SAMRO prize for composition, consequently studying composition in Cologne, Germany, and in Liège, Belgium.

Dirk had encountered Buddhist meditation in Cape Town, and knew that this would become of great priority to him. After his studies in Germany, Dirk decided to do the four year meditation retreat in seclusion at Samye Ling, in Scotland.

After his retreat, he studied for a PGCE in London; he has been working as a school teacher ever since. He continued his music studies, and, in April 2006, qualified with a D Mus in composition from the University of Pretoria under Prof. Stefans Grové.

He started running meditation groups in London at the time. Around 1999 he met Ringu Tulku — a pivotal experience in his life. Soon afterwards, he founded Bodhicharya London, which later led towards the foundation of Bodhicharya Kent and Boddhicharya UK.