Willem Dyker grew up in Utrecht, where he also lives and works today. After finishing school he left home to live in a Soto Zen Buddhist monastery for four years, thereby spending some of his most formative years in a monastic setting. At the age of 23, he returned to The Netherlands to study Classical Arabic at Leiden University, whilst at the same time intensively engaging with artistic pursuits such as calligraphy and music.

Having completed his studies at Leiden University cum laude, he decided not to continue on the academic path, as the demands and restrictions of contemporary academia would require too great a compromise on what he could write and teach. Instead, he has created Rasika as a vehicle outside institutions, wherein he can write, teach, and create in a way true to his vision, and as a space that welcomes others, who resonate with this vision, to participate in it.