💡 How I built Hỏi Phật (Dear Buddha) and what almost broke me in the process
Early signals no one talks about (but you should listen to)
This is the behind-the-scenes of building Dear Buddha, what started as a spiritual experiment after a volunteer trip, turned into a spiritual tech app in one of the most emotionally sensitive categories I’ve ever built for.
Along the way, I might’ve triggered a few extreme folks, stared into the UX void, and realized the answers were spiritual and product-driven all along.
If this is your first time reading this, xin chào, I’m Hien, a serial entrepreneur + community-led growth advisor based in HCMC, Vietnam 🇻🇳
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1. One gentle nudge 💡
We have trackers for physical health, for productivity, even for sleep. But where do you go when your soul needs a pause?
That was the question lingering in my head after I came back from a volunteer trip with a few Buddhists earlier this year. The rituals, the stillness, the sense of emotional spaciousness—it stayed with me.
I kept wondering: Why isn’t there a product that captures this essence digitally?
I figured, surely someone’s built it already, so I Googled “spiritual tech apps” in my home country, Vietnam, and later expanded the search globally.
Turns out… they had. But not the way I imagined.
And I didn’t know it would change the way I viewed spiritual tech forever.
2. The boring spiritual tech scene 😬
Every app I found was either a glorified mantra library, a meditation tracker, or a generic "spiritual quotes of the day" vibe.
Some had sleek UIs. Some had monks reading audio clips. But the user experience was… uninspired. And to be honest? Confusing. There was no thread of human emotion pulling it together. Just spiritual aesthetics.
So I thought: If I were a user, where would I start?
Probably not from mantras. Probably not from a sea of options.
I'd start with how I feel. Right now. Just like people do when they step into a pagoda and ask for guidance.
That’s when the concept of Dear Buddha clicked:
What if I could replicate the gentle, quiet feeling of sitting with a monk in a pagoda… in an app?
3. Building the first version with AI 🧘♀️
The first version of Dear Buddha was delightfully simple:
The user opens the app. It asks: “How are you feeling?”
Then: “What is your intention today?”
After a brief 10-second pause (on purpose—more on that later), they receive a teaching.
The teachings were short, calming responses based on real Buddhist texts—handpicked for emotional resonance. No AI generation at this stage. Just 12 curated responses.
Two screens. A digital calm corner.
I built it on Lovable, an AI-vibe coding platform, and got help from a dear developer friend at ZaloPay to turn the prototype of the web app into a real mobile app.
4. The feedback flop 😐
At first, people liked the idea. Some loved it. But then… silence.
Turns out, people quickly noticed there were only 12 teachings. They got bored. “Is that it?” someone wrote.
Others asked for more interaction, like sound design, rituals, personalized responses, or guided reflections.
The most requested feature?
“Can I actually ask Buddha something and get a response that feels like mine?”
The irony? That’s literally the name of the app. Dear Buddha.
It stung. Because the concept worked but the execution didn’t go deep enough. And I wasn’t about to slap ChatGPT into a monk robe and call it a day.
It was time to rethink.
5. Cut through the noise (and my own confusion) 😵💫
The feedback made me realize something crucial: There were two kinds of users emerging.
Those who wanted calm, ritual-based Buddhist teachings.
Those who wanted real-time spiritual companionship—like emotional therapy through a Buddhist lens.
They both wanted Dear Buddha. But for different reasons. And I couldn’t build for both at once.
I almost spiraled into a feature rabbit hole: Do I build a “Buddhist GPT” chatbot? Or a daily mindfulness ritual tool?
Instead, I paused. I went back to the very first thing I wrote in my notes app:
Create a digital space that feels like a pagoda. Grounded. Gentle. Honest. Not trying to fix people—just to hold them.
That’s when I knew what to do.
6. What’s next? The rebuild begins 🚧
I’m now rebuilding Dear Buddha with the same core user flow, but with a clearer soul:
The design evokes a different world: a temple for your inner life.
Teachings are still available, but optional.
Personalized responses take time (like a letter from a monk): 2 weeks to 1 month. It creates space. And anticipation.
After receiving guidance, users can choose to reflect, act, or simply leave. No pressure. No gamification.
You can visit the app daily for mindfulness practice or only when you need emotional clarity.
This isn’t a dopamine product. It’s a presence product. Built for a different kind of intimacy.
(Still figuring out how to create the soothing visual, so I need any help I can get)
🧘 Three things I learned (the hard way)
1. Latent needs > stated preferences
People lie in interviews without meaning to. I found more truth in app reviews, subreddit threads, and watching how people behave in temples. Look offline. That’s where the signal hides.
2. Build with people, not for them
The best feedback came from my small, early group of passionate users. Some wanted rituals. Others wanted soul-searching. You don’t need a massive cohort to find signal. You need engaged humans.
Also, emotional detachment from your product helps. We all love the mission, but stay ready to scrap the UI if it’s not working.
3. There’s no real competition this early
Yes, some apps are out there doing “spiritual AI” stuff. My users haven’t even heard of them.
I learned that, in the early days, the only thing that matters is: Are you solving someone’s emotional need, beautifully? That’s it.
Oh, and bonus one last thing: Building Dear Buddha has made me rethink what it means to “launch” something. We’re not just shipping code. We’re shaping space. Spiritual space. Emotional space. User experience as a form of care.
Let’s see where this goes.
💙 Thanks for making it until the end. I am available in the comments if you have any questions about the Dear Buddha app.
If you liked this story or learned a thing or two, please share it:
Until next week,
Hien from Screate