Benito Reyes was born into abject poverty in Manila, Philippines, on March 21, 1914. His father, a band leader, abandoned the family when Benito was very young. His mother, Antera Fernadez was a Po'O folk art healer (commonly known as a "death coach") who helped individuals transition through the death process. Antera died when Benito was in his early 20s. As a teenager, Benito Reyes, was selected by the
Theosophical Society as an important world leader similar to how they "discovered" and groomed
Jiddu Krishnamurti. Shortly after, Reyes was spiritually adopted by a childless Theosophist couple from Ojai, California, who financed his higher education studies in philosophy and psychology. Continuing on what he learned from his mother, Benito dedicated his career to the understanding of cross-cultural studies of spiritual beliefs and practices related to conscious dying. Before his inauguration as the
PLM President, Reyes was a professor at
Far Eastern University for 21 years. In 1951–1952, he taught at
Boston University as a Fulbright-Smith-Mundt professor, and in 1965, he was a Fulbright-Hays philosophy professor at the
State University of New York. His scholar in residence Fulbright appointment was granted after he published his break-through book,
Scientific Evidence of the Existence of the Soul, a finalist in a literary contest funded by
James Kidd, a wealthy prospector who was willing to bequeath his entire estate to anyone who could prove there was a visual spirit; a spirit which we could see. Reyes also lectured at
Harvard,
Brown, and other universities in America and around the world. He published a number of works on philosophy, psychology, and the quest for meaning and purpose of life in his poetry of
1000 Sonnets for God. He was a member of the
International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) that co-sponsored the World Peace
University of Costa Rica. He was also with the Institute de la Vie of France, International Institute of Environment in England and in the Institute of Religious Psychology of Japan. As a teenager, Benito married his childhood sweetheart Dominga Lopez, who was of Spanish descent. Together, they had seven children: Siddharta, Nourhalma, Thor-Alcyone, Alcor-Mizar, Amita, Adita, and Noemi. He died in his residence in
Santa Paula, California, on September 8, 1992. He was 78. ==References==