His Holiness the Dalai Lama Begins a Series of Teachings at Gyutö Tantric College

Sidhbari, HP, India, 10 May 2015 - Approximately 5000 people gathered today at the Gyutö Ramoche Temple in Sidhbari below Dharamsala to listen to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They included a large number of monks from the two Tantric Colleges of Gyumey and Gyutö and lay-people filling the large temple hall, its surrounding verandas and even the yard below. The customary introductory prayers, including the ‘Heart of Wisdom’ the salutation from the ‘Ornament for Clear Realization’, the ‘Praise to the 17 Masters of Nalanda, were said. The incumbent Abbot of Gyutö. Jhado Rinpoche offered the mandala and three representations of the body, speech and mind of enlightenment and His Holiness began to teach.

He explained that Gyutö Monastery has made long-standing requests for teachings, many of them quite extensive, which it would be tiring for him to fulfil all at once, but he thought there was an opportunity to give some of them now. He had decided to teach Jamyang Shayba’s ‘Seven Chapters of Vajrabhairava’, which he taught once before at Gyumey Tantric College in South India. A requirement to listen to such a teaching is to have received a tantric empowerment and as there is a saying in Gyumey and Gyutö, “Wherever you go, Guhyasamaja is done,” His Holiness decided he would give a Guhyasamaja empowerment on this occasion.

He remarked that on completing his explanation of Guhyasamaja, Je Tsongkhapa asked who would preserve and uphold this teaching. Je Sherab Sengey stood up and said, “I will.” In due course he was to found Se-gyu Monastery and later Gyumey. His Holiness mentioned that Nagarjuna was the principle exponent of the explicit content of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, the explanation of emptiness. He and his disciples Aryadeva and Chandrakirti made Guhyasamaja the main focus of their tantric practice and this is the tradition Gyumey and Gyutö, the two tantric colleges of Central Tibet maintain.

His Holiness clarified that granting a tantric empowerment is not just a matter of going through the ritual. You have to be more practical than that since you also need a basic understanding of the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the wisdom understanding emptiness, both of which are explained in the sutras. He said that one aspect of tantric practice involves visualizing ourselves as a deity and to do that we need some understanding of emptiness, a sense that things do not have a solid independent existence. It is through such an understanding that we overcome our disturbing emotions.

Regarding the general structure of Buddhism, we have to study. Je Tsongkhapa said there are many yogis who do not have much training or the acumen to analyse the meaning of the scriptures. His Holiness noted that amongst the gathering were abbots and former abbots of Gyumey and Gyutö, monks, nuns and laypeople, many Tibetans and among the foreigners a substantial number of Chinese brothers and sisters.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at Gyuto Tantric College in Sidbhari, HP, India on May 10, 2015.
Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
“We all follow the Nalanda tradition and because of that we all need to know what the Buddha’s teaching means. That’s why we need to study. The Buddha told his followers not to accept what he taught at face value nor just because he had said it, but to examine, investigate and experiment with it. This also means, ‘Don’t leave the teachings in the book, but apply them in practice’. Je Tsongkhapa also remarked that there are many learned ones who are unskilled in the essential points of practice. He also said rely on reason and logic, not faith alone. In this context, I’d like to say that when I first began to meet with scientists, the older abbots were wary. Now, I think both sides see the mutual benefit.”

Turning to the texts he wanted to read as preliminary instructions, His Holiness began with Je Tsongkhapa’s ‘Praise of Dependent Arising’, which he composed when he completed his study of Madhyamaka thought and finally understood emptiness. With an understanding of emptiness comes the understanding that cessation is possible. His Holiness said that he had received an explanation of this text from Khunu Lama Rinpoche, who in turn had received it from Gyen Rigzin Tempa, and a reading transmission from Trijang Rinpoche.

He continued with the ‘Song of Spiritual Experience’, which is the most concise of Tsongkhapa’s three presentations of the path. His Holiness again commended putting the teachings into practice as advised in verses 11 and 12:

Then, the root of creating well the auspicious conditions
For all the excellences of this and future lives
Is to rely properly with effort both in thought and action
Upon the sublime spiritual mentor who reveals the path.

Seeing this we should never forsake him even at the cost of life
And please him with the offering of implementing his words.
I, a yogi, have practiced in this manner;
You, who aspire for liberation, too should do likewise.

He also recalled what Milarepa said:

“I have nothing else to offer but my practice.”

His Holiness mentioned, in conclusion, that the ‘Song of Spiritual Experience’ is a summary of Atisha’s ‘Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment’. He then read briskly through Tsongkhapa’s ‘Three Principal Aspects of the Path’, which deals with the determination to be free, the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the wisdom understanding emptiness. At the end, Tsongkhapa exhorts Ngawang Drakpa, to whom he sent this advice:

Child, when you realize the keys
Of the Three Principal Aspects of the Path,
Depend on solitude and strong effort,
And quickly reach the final goal.

Some of the 5000 people attending His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teaching at Gyuto Tantric College in Sidbhari, HP, India on May 10, 2015. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDLFinally, His Holiness read the short ‘Song of Four Mindfulnesses’ composed by the Seventh Dalai Lama on the basis of a teaching that originated with Je Sherab Sengey. He said he had received it from Yongzin Ling Rinpoche. It succinctly explains mindfulness of the teacher, mindfulness of the awakening mind that aspires to enlightenment, mindfulness of your body as the body of a deity and mindfulness of the view of emptiness. When it came to the third mindfulness, His Holiness chuckled and said:

“We’ve got all these monks here who practise Guhyasamaja, but one of the Kadampa masters remarked: ‘Everyone has a deity to meditate on, and everyone has a mantra to recite, but they lack anything to think about.’”

Pointing out that the texts he had read support and supplement the practice of Guhyasamaja, His Holiness urged his listeners to learn the ‘Song of Four Mindfulnesses’ by heart and to read the other texts again and again. He will give the Guhyasamaja empowerment on Monday and Tuesday and on Wednesday an explanation of Jamyang Shayba’s ‘Seven Chapters of Vajrabhairava’.

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'Fake’ Buddha’s Followers Defend His Teachings

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KOH THOM DISTRICT, Cambodia -- In this rural part of Kandal province, a 35-meter-high statue of a mustachioed Buddha towers incongruously above the surrounding fields of corn and rice, providing a glimpse into the mystical world of Thean Vuthy.

<< When monks bow to lay people. The cult of Thean Vuthy

A self-professed holy man who habitually dresses in white robes and sits on a throne to receive visitors, Mr. Vuthy claims to be able to communicate with animals and to have unique insight into Buddhist teachings.

For years, he has attracted throngs of followers hoping to absorb his purported wisdom. But he has also drawn the ire of numerous devout Buddhists who call him a charlatan.

Most recently, he was publicly lambasted last week by authorities for apparently describing himself as the fifth reincarnation of Buddha and allowing monks and nuns to bow down to him.

According to his followers, he has a network of supporters that extends as far as Thailand, Vietnam and the Cambodian community in the U.S., and it is not unusual for more than 1,000 people to descend on his Tuol Preah Reachea pagoda during Buddhist festivals.

The extravagant pagoda complex, which was built by Mr. Vuthy between six and eight years ago, also includes a 20-meter-high statue of Buddha surrounded by the mythical nine-headed serpent known as a naga. Twenty gold-trimmed stupas each hold a single jade Buddha on a gold throne. Visitors are left in little doubt that he is able to draw on substantial wealth.

Ten large residential villas have been built parallel to the main temple, with a further five apparently abandoned halfway through construction. Officials also say Mr. Vuthy has a number of personal homes away from the pagoda.

The Ministry of Cults and Religion - which accused him of “seriously offending the values of Buddhism” - says it is investigating allegations he was cheating his followers out of their money.

Phen Phoan, a 43-year-old cook at the pagoda, said one family was to blame for trying to profit from videos and photographs of Mr. Vuthy, although she declined to give details.

“After teacher [Mr. Vuthy] got money from overseas, he only took a video to show them what he had done,” she said.

The pagoda was shut down on Sunday after police and officials from the Ministry of Cults and Religion discovered what they said was improper religious iconography there, including videos promoting Mr. Vuthy and pictures depicting his face over Buddha’s body.

Kandal Governor Phay Bun Chhoeun said expensive goods had been seized from Mr. Vuthy’s room at the pagoda.

“The jewelry we saw looked like it came from a big jewelry store in Phnom Penh,” he said.

Some of Mr. Vuthy’s followers had already left before the raid, while seven monks were afterward relocated to a pagoda in nearby Takhmao City.

On Tuesday, about a dozen police officers washing down their lunch with cans of Anchor beer - with orders to “protect the property” until provincial authorities said otherwise - were among a small contingent of people at the site that included a handful of curious villagers. Construction workers who were extending the pagoda also remained, hopeful that Mr. Vuthy would return to pay them.

Som Sovann, 70, one of several elderly nuns still living at the pagoda, has spent eight years at Wat Tuol Preah Reachea. She said Mr. Vuthy had “special knowledge” but never claimed to be a god—although many of those who flocked to pay their respects viewed him as one.

“We respect him because he built the pagoda and because he loves Buddha, and also he can make people believe in Buddhism,” she said. “He knows and understands a lot of dharma of monks and priests, which could make people feel that they believe in him.”

Surrounded by a group of fellow nuns who nodded in agreement, Ms. Sovann said Mr. Vuthy only sat on a throne—where a Buddha statue would normally be inside a temple—at the behest of his followers, who referred to him as “louk kru,” or teacher.

“He preached for a long time, so that since he was 16 years old he has been able to speak with animals. That is something a god can do, so people have considered him to be a god,” she said.

Ly Try, chief monk of Pichey Sakor pagoda, the nearest Buddhist temple to Tuol Preah Reachea, condemned Mr. Vuthy’s actions as being driven by commercial interests.

“These are not dharma to follow Buddha, these are dharma for cheating people,” he said, referring to the teachings of Buddha.

Erik W. Davis, a scholar of Buddhism who has interviewed Mr. Vuthy, said that unless he had dramatically changed his position recently, Mr. Vuthy did not present himself as the fifth Buddha of the era, Maitreya, but as “a person with special knowledge of Maitreya’s birth and identity.”

“I should add that…some of the pictures I have seen from the recent raid do indicate that he is placing himself in the position of the Fifth Buddha, but that this alone constitutes proof of very little,” he wrote in an email.

Mr. Davis, who is an assistant professor of religious studies at Macalester College in Minnesota, said various other figures in Buddhism throughout history had also claimed to be Maitreya, regarded as the Buddha of a new era, who will bring about a violent apocalyptic reckoning before ushering in the dawn of a new age of peace and justice.

“Making such claims, or even profiting off of them, is hardly unusual, and while the Ministry [of Cults and Religion] may charge itself with the defense of Buddhism, Buddhism is far too vigorous to need such defense, having lasted over 2500 years already,” he wrote.

“I suspect the real story here is not that Thean Vuthy was making such claims, but that he fell on the wrong side of a patronage network engaged in housecleaning.”

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First Day of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Teachings in Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia, 5 May 2014 - A blustery wind off the Baltic Sea added to the cold as His Holiness the Dalai Lama was welcomed at the door of the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre and escorted to the stage. Almost 3500 people of all ages, some from Latvia, but most from the European part of Russia waited attentively to hear what he had to say.

“As you have shown interest in our meeting and as I am at present unable to come to Russia, I thought it might be easier for us to meet here, than for you to come to India,” he told them. “I asked the local organizers if this could be done and I’m grateful to them for making these arrangements. What’s more I’d like to thank all of you for making the effort to come.”

He said that the texts he wanted to teach were the ‘Heart Sutra’ a short Perfection of Wisdom text, which is recited in all Mahayana Buddhist countries, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Tibet and Mongolia, although those reciting do not always understand what it means. The second text was the ‘37 Practices of a Bodhisattva’ by Thogme Sangpo, a Tibetan scholar and practitioner. His Holiness suggested that at the end of each session there should be time for him to answer questions from the audience. “If material and technological development brought complete peace and happiness, people in advanced, developed countries should be really happy, and yet many are not. Material development provides physical comfort, but not mental peace. We may feel pain and pleasure on a sensory, physical, level, or on a mental level. Pleasure on a sensory level, like that derived from watching sport or listening to beautiful music is relatively short-lived, whereas satisfaction on a mental level, for example, love and faith, which do not depend on our senses, is more durable.”

He said that while physical pain can be subdued by mental satisfaction, mental unease is not allayed by physical comfort. If we are worried, stressed or frightened, having a beautiful house or listening to delightful music brings little relief. A disturbed mind is not calmed by mere physical satisfaction. As an example of the distinction he was trying to draw, His Holiness recounted his meeting with a Christian monk at the abbey of Montserrat who had spent five years living as a hermit in retreat in the mountains with little other than tea and bread to sustain him. When His Holiness asked about his practice he said he had been meditating on love. As he said it His Holiness noted a sparkle in his eyes that indicated his tremendous satisfaction.

“On the other hand I’ve met billionaires who have all they need and more who are very unhappy. Scientists have findings that show that a calm mind is good for our physical well-being. They also have evidence that mental training can change our attitudes, enabling us to be happier. Our human intelligence can be a source of happiness, but if misused it can also be a source of stress and worry.”

He said that only human beings develop religious faith. Such faith may have begun with worship of the sun, but in time the idea of God the creator emerged and with it the idea that since he created everything, there is a spark of God in everyone. All religions convey a message of love and compassion and because hatred is an obstacle to that, they teach tolerance and patience. And because greed is also an obstacle they teach simplicity and contentment. Non-theistic traditions like the Samkhyas, Jains and Buddhists instead of turning to a creator teach the law of causality, the principle of cause and effect, which resembles a scientific view.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking to the over 3500 people attending the first day of his two day teaching in Riga, Latvia on May 5, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
In addition to this, a unique feature of Buddhism is that it teaches that to accept the existence of an independent self is to entertain all sorts of contradictions. The German brain specialist Wolf Singer pointed out to His Holiness that there is no central authority in the brain, which he felt resonated with the idea of no independent self.

His Holiness reiterated that because all religious traditions teach love, compassion and self-discipline they have helped humanity immensely. But one tradition cannot satisfy everyone, so there is a need for variety. If we choose to adopt a religious or spiritual practice he said we should do so seriously and sincerely. He added:

“I’m a Buddhist, but wherever I go I speak about our need for secular ethics. Ethics give rise to inner values which encourage self-confidence enabling us to lead a meaningful life.”

Mentioning two matters of pressing concern everywhere today, the gap between rich and poor and ingrained corruption, he asked people in the audience to indicate with their hands whether these problems were large or small where they lived. The number of outstretched arms indicated that these are two major problems to reckon with. His Holiness suggested that while the use of violence may seem to provide short term satisfaction, it never solves problems, but creates new ones. He asserted that this century, in contrast with the last, should be an era of dialogue.

In answering questions from the audience, His Holiness recommended that teachers not only concern themselves with communicating knowledge, but also with setting an ethical example. Meanwhile, it is essential that parents shower their children with affection. He pointed out that not everyone has an interest in religious practice, but no one can object to advice about love and compassion. He also highlighted a unique feature of Buddhist tradition that is the Buddha’s own advice to subject all he taught to investigation and experiment, not to accept it on faith alone. His Holiness compares this to a scientific view.

Returning from lunch, His Holiness spoke about the Buddhist tradition and how some time after the Buddha objections were raised that the Sanskrit tradition, the Mahayana, was not his teaching. He said that Nagarjuna, Bhavaviveka, Maitreya and Shantideva all wrote in its defence. The Pali tradition records teachings the Buddha gave in public, whereas the Perfection of Wisdom teachings, including the ‘Heart Sutra’ were taught to a more select audience. On the one hand they were not taught publicly; on the other their content reveals them as the Buddha’s teachings. They convey the weight of the Buddhadharma. The teaching of the Four Noble Truths is part of the Pali tradition, but their detailed explanation is part of the Sanskrit tradition. It would be a mistake to say that the Buddha’s presentation was limited, but his followers’ was more elaborate.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking during the first day of his two day teaching in Riga, Latvia on May 5, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
His Holiness recalled that the Vinaya is a theme common to all Buddhist traditions. He told a story of meeting two Burmese Buddhist monks at the World Parliament of Religions in Australia. They told him we are followers of the same Buddha, but there are differences between our traditions. His Holiness agreed, but told them that at least they had the Vinaya in common. The Burmese monks expressed surprise that the Vinaya was upheld in Tibet.

Clarifying the history of Buddhism in India, His Holiness mentioned the great universities of Taxila, Nalanda and Vikramashila. Indicating the painting behind him he said these 17 masters depicted around the Buddha were not only monks, but also great scholars and logicians. He refers to Tibetan Buddhism, not as Lamaism as some writers have described it, but as the pure Nalanda tradition.

In some places the Buddha referred to the five psycho-physical aggregates as like a load carried by the person, as if the person were separate from the aggregates. But elsewhere he says there is no person apart from the aggregates. Later Indian scholars wrote extensively about logic and epistemology, including Shantarakshita and his disciple Kamalashila who were instrumental in establishing Buddhism in Tibet. Consequently, Tibetan scholars such as Sakya Pandita investigated the teachings with logic and reasoning.

“Both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions derive from the Nalanda tradition. I began to study in this manner from the age of 6, an age at which I would have preferred to play,” His Holiness recalled. “And my limited experience has shown me that an understanding of emptiness and altruism brings peace of mind.”

View of stage at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre, venue for His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teaching in Riga, Latvia on May 5, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
Explaining the three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma, His Holiness said that the Vinaya is part of the First Turning; the Perfection of Wisdom teachings, which extensively explain selflessness, are part of the Second Turning, while the Third turning deals with the nature of the mind. So, the First Turning deals with morality as the basis for mindfulness and introspection, the Second deals with emptiness and the Third with meditation on the awakening mind of bodhichitta and emptiness in terms of the nature of the mind. He mentioned different levels of subtlety of the mind, such as the waking state, the dream state and deep sleep, adding that in Buddhist tantra it is the subtlest level of the mind that is the basis for Buddhahood.

The collection of Perfection of Wisdom teachings include the 100,000, 25,000, 18,000 and 8,000 line editions, the 100 line ‘Diamond Cutter Sutra’ popular in China and this 25 line ‘Heart Sutra’. His Holiness remarked that the Buddha showed the path in teachings such as these, but the benefit arises from putting them into practice. In some ways, he said, this is why the Buddha is comparable to a scientist.

Going through the ‘Heart Sutra’, His Holiness explained that things exist in dependence on other factors, so they do not exist independently. Emptiness does not make things empty; phenomena themselves are empty, because they do not have independent existence. He alluded to the interdependence between cause and effect, that something is a cause only because there is an effect. The ‘Heart Sutra’ shows that independent existence is an illusion by saying “Form is empty, emptiness is form.” Emptiness is a property of the form, and form is the basis of the property of emptiness. When you look for form, you find emptiness. This is what undermines clinging to intrinsic existence. He remarked that consciousness too is empty and mentioned that meditation on emptiness is effective in undermining our negative emotions; it is not just an intellectual exercise. Negative emotions are not of the nature of the mind; they do not taint its luminosity.

Taking questions again from the audience, His Holiness was asked about the function of the Buddhist temple that is proposed for Moscow. He said that he had met members of the organizing committee and told them that it should be a learning centre, a place to study. He mentioned his reappraisal of Buddhist literature in terms of Buddhist science, philosophy and religion. Buddhist science and philosophy can be of universal interest, while the religious part is only for Buddhists. In this context, he said a book dealing with Buddhist science has been prepared and is being translated into different languages. He proposed that Russian be one of them.

A member of the audience asking His Holiness the Dalai Lama a question during the first day of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's two day teaching in Riga, Latvia on May 5, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
To a question about previous lives, His Holiness’s answer that previous lives are already in the past amused his listeners. He said that what are more important are tomorrow and the next life which is still in our power to shape. He mentioned that the substantial cause of mind is mind, that consciousness has no beginning or end. Therefore, if we lead meaningful lives now, we can ensure a good life in the next.

A young woman from Ukraine asked how she could contribute in the present circumstances and His Holiness said the question was quite sensitive. However, he recommended Shantideva’s advice to act according to reality. Most important is to achieve the benefit of the greatest number of people. If something will cause more trouble, better avoid it. He gave the example from the Vinaya that if a monk sees a deer followed by a hunter who asks which way it went, he is justified in answering, “I only saw a bird,” to protect the deer.

“Adopting violence is always wrong; this is no longer the time for violence. Violence and the use of force provoke unexpected results. The use of force is out of date; it brings fear and distrust, which will not help solve the problem.

“Good night, see you tomorrow.”

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Second Day of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Teachings in Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia, 6 May 2014 - Before setting out for the teaching venue this morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met the Press at his hotel. In a short introduction it was pointed out that this is his fourth visit to Latvia, distinguished by his giving Buddhist teachings attended by people from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Russia.

“I am very happy to be here,” His Holiness said. “Last year when I was here, besides requests from local people, an ordinary Russian told me it was difficult for people like him to come to India to listen to Buddhist teachings. I wondered if it might be easier for Russians to come to one of the Baltic States. I asked and was told it would be fine, so decided to come.”Asked his response to the Norwegian government’s announcement that no member would meet him, he said it was not unusual. However, the purpose of his visit was to promote his three commitments, to meet old friends and interact with the public. He added that wherever he goes, he has no wish to cause any trouble.

Regarding the violence that is occurring in several parts of the world, he said that many instances were the result of past negligence. He cautioned that use of weapons may appear decisive, but brings fear which does not favour a solution to problems. Where the 20th century was an era of violence, he stressed the importance of making the 21st century a century of dialogue and peaceful solutions to conflict. At a time when we need to exert special efforts to promote human values, to which women tend to be more sensitive, we need more women to take up leadership roles.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama meeting with members of the press during his visit to Riga, Latvia on May 6, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDLAsked about the ongoing disagreement between Russia and Ukraine, he said it was a political issue about which he did not feel fully informed. Whatever aim is adopted to defuse the crisis, the use of force will not help fulfil it. He pointed out that differences of language and culture are no grounds for conflict. He cited the example of the French and Flemish speakers of Belgium and the peoples of India who live amicably together in freedom and democracy under the rule of law.

Greeting the audience waiting for him at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre, he asked for the ‘Heart Sutra’ to be recited in Russian. He quoted the Buddha’s saying:

“On my part I will show you the path, but you have to travel it,” adding the following verse:

“Buddhas do not wash unwholesome deeds away with water,
Nor do they remove the sufferings of beings with their hands,
Neither do they transplant their own realization into others.
Teaching the truth of suchness they liberate (beings).”
He spoke of suffering coming about because of unwholesome actions, doing harm to others. Therefore, we should avoid unwholesome action. He remarked that the Buddha described as changeable suffering what we usually think of as happiness. Although it arises from wholesome action, being changeable it is unsatisfactory. The cause of suffering is ignorance that is diametrically opposed to reality. Because ignorance is the opposite of knowledge, we need to understand what reality is. Ignorance is the first of the twelve links of dependent origination. It is ignorance of reality, of how things exist. We need to understand the gap between appearance and reality. Things appear to exist by themselves. They appear to exist independently, but they actually exist only by designation.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama greeting the audience at the start of the second day of his two day teaching in Riga, Latvia on May 6, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
His Holiness pointed out different levels of ignorance: for example, ignorance about what he has in his bag is of a different order to ignorance about the status of phenomena. Because we see things as being objectively good, we develop attachment to them. When they appear to be negative, we develop anger and hatred. Ignorance underpins the distorted concepts that give rise to disturbing emotions. Under the sway of these, as the American psychiatrist Aaron Beck points out, our sense of attachment or anger is 90% our own mental projection. Madhyamakas say that while things appear to have objective existence, they are mere designations. They have no objective existence even in conventional terms.

His Holiness posed the example of the three times, past, present and future. The past has gone, the future is yet to come, but the present is hard to pin down. Like this, all phenomena are empty of intrinsic existence.

Extolling the Nalanda approach to study and investigation, His Holiness commended the four reliances as guidelines:

Rely on the teaching, not on the person;
Rely on the meaning, not on the words;
Rely on the definitive meaning, not on the provisional;
Rely on wisdom, not on your ordinary mind.

He said:

“I tell people that to be 21st century Buddhists we should follow the Buddha’s advice to use our intelligence to the full and transform our disturbing emotions. A great Tibetan Buddhist master in 13th century advised that even if you know you’re going to die tomorrow, it’s still worth studying today, because it can have an impact on the next life. In terms of study, Tibetan is the most precise language through which to study the Nalanda tradition. Scholars value Tibetan translations of Sanskrit texts because of the precision of their rendering. And there are increasing numbers of English translations from the Tibetan.

Some of the over 3500 people attending His Holiness the Dalai Lama's second day of his two day teachings in Riga, Latvia on May 6, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
“To overcome destructive emotions and obstacles to knowledge we need wisdom understanding emptiness supported by the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the six perfections.”

Concluding his explanation of the ‘Heart Sutra’, His Holiness related the mantra at the end to progress on the spiritual path, suggesting that ‘tayata gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha’ means ‘Like this: gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, laying the foundation of complete enlightenment’. He clarified that the first set of syllables, gate gate / gone, gone indicate the paths of accumulation and preparation and the first experience of emptiness; paragate / gone beyond indicates the path of seeing, the first insight into emptiness and achievement of the first bodhisattva ground; parasamgate / gone completely beyond indicates the path of mediation, and the achievement of the subsequent bodhisattva grounds, while bodhi svaha indicates laying the foundation of complete enlightenment.

Answering questions once more, His Holiness expressed scepticism about astrology, recalling the 5th Dalai Lama’s remark in his autobiography that he was born on an auspicious day, but that many dogs were also born on the same day. On the other hand, His Holiness reported that his horoscope had predicted that in his 25th year, he would either die or leave the country, which was borne out by events. To a suggestion that karma indicated predetermination, he said no because until it comes into fruition, karma can still be changed. He pointed out that although he is booked to fly to Oslo tomorrow, until he is aboard the plane and taking off, an emergency or other circumstance could cause him to change his plans. He said that because karma is our own creation we can also change it.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with members of the Latvian Parliament during his visit to Riga, Latvia on May 6, 2014. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDLAfter lunch yesterday, His Holiness met a group of five Russian Members of Parliament. Today, he met seven Latvian Parliamentarians and two candidates for the European Parliament.

Returning to the stage he described the ‘37 Practices of Bodhisattvas’ as a text about how to meditate on a daily basis. He said that Thogmey Zangpo, the 13/14th century author was widely acknowledged in his lifetime as a bodhisattva. His practice of the awakening mind of bodhichitta was so effective that wherever he lived basked in an atmosphere of peace.

Because the topic is bodhichitta, the homage at the start of the text is to Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of all the Buddhas’ compassion. His Holiness read through the verses making comments here and there. He pointed out that the Buddha was not enlightened without cause, but through the creation of the necessary causes and conditions. Nagarjuna distinguished two goals, high status and definite goodness, or liberation, and commended the Three Higher Trainings in ethics, concentration and wisdom in their attainment.

His Holiness led the audience through the practice of the nine round breathing, which he said helps calm our inner energy and so calms the mind and makes it more amenable for meditation.

Mention of taking refuge in the Three Jewels, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha prompted His Holiness to remark that in the Himalayan region are many spirits, ‘gyalpos’ to whom some people make offerings. However, if you go so far as to take refuge in them you lose your Buddhist refuge. He said he had relied on Shugden, which is such a spirit.

Estonian, Latvian, Russian and English interpreters working during the final day of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teachings in Riga, Latvia on May 6, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
“My tutor Trijang Rinpoche and his teacher Phabongka Rinpoche, who also relied on Shugden, did not see him as a refuge, so they did not place him in the refuge tree. However, it is recorded in Phabongka’s biography that the 13th Dalai Lama took him to task over the way he relied on it, saying it was tantamount to defying his refuge in the Three Jewels.

“I did the practice until investigation and analysis indicated that it would be better to stop. Since then I have advised others to give it up too. If people choose to continue I have asked them not to take pledges and empowerments from me. The 5th Dalai Lama saw Shugden as arising from distorted prayers and as doing harm to beings and the Dharma.

“Nowadays, people who worship Shugden are angry with me. They are planning to demonstrate against me in Norway and elsewhere as they did earlier this year in the USA. I feel sorry for these people because they do not properly understand the nature of Shugden.

“The Buddhist refuge is in the Three Jewels.”

Reaching the verse that mentions the practice of exchanging self and others, His Holiness quoted Shantideva’s saying the without exchanging self and others there is no happiness. Subsequent verses deal with the six perfections and the final verse expresses a dedication of merit.

Amongst the final set of questions from the audience was one about what a mother can do for the lost child after experiencing a miscarriage. His Holiness first of all said that disposal of a dead body is not the important thing. He said that while karma belongs to the individual, there are special relations between parents and children, teachers and students and so on. Therefore, in such a case as this, a mother could do something virtuous and dedicate the merit to the child’s benefit. He said that when his mother passed away he recited mantras on her behalf and dedicated the merit to her.

A member of the audience asking His Holiness the Dalai Lama a question during the final day of teachings in Riga, Latvia on May 6, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
Another questioner asked what a Buddhist should do if his country is invaded by an aggressor. His Holiness told him that he would have to judge what would provide the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people. It would depend on the circumstances. He mentioned the Jataka tale that recounts how the bodhisattva, in a life prior to becoming the Buddha, was the captain of a ship. He decided to take the life of a man who was intent on killing the 499 other people on board. In so doing he saved their lives, but also prevented that man creating very grave negative karma.

Asked how to practise in non-sectarian way His Holiness pointed out that all Tibetan Buddhist traditions have their roots in the Nalanda tradition. He said that Gelugpas have a good approach to study, but that in his own experience the Dzogchen of the Nyingmas can be very helpful in understanding aspects of Guhyasamaja, while Guhyasamaja can also be useful in understanding Dzogchen. He joked that this was the point rather than adopting different coloured and different shaped hats.

Finally, a woman from Buryatia asked if His Holiness would be coming to Mongolia this year. He told her that the proposed Kalachakra Empowerment had been postponed, but that there was still a plan to come for a meeting of scientists. He mentioned that people had expressed appreciation of the kind of discussions they had had over the last two days and had asked him to do the same next year. Latvian MPs had also shown their appreciation, so he has agreed in principle.

Telo Rinpoche offered thanks to everyone who had made the event possible, supporters, organizers, volunteers and most of all His Holiness. He requested a reading of a detailed statement of accounts. To bring the event to a conclusion, Russian singer Boris Grebenshchikov played a gentle song. And with that His Holiness left the hall on a great wave of affection.

Tomorrow he flies to Oslo, Norway to attend a meeting of the Nobel Roundtable.

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Taking it to the streets: Urban Dharma brings Buddhist teachings to the heart of Asheville

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Asheville, North Carolina (USA) -- Take one look at the “spirituality” section of our calendar, and it’s easy to see that the Asheville area aims for wellness of mind and heart in a variety of ways — meditation, mindfulness, earth medicine, prayer, peacefulness, the metaphysical and Zen listings abound. One of those gems is Urban Dharma, where Hun Lye welcomes those seeking to practice and learn more about Buddhism. (Pictured: Hun Lye; photo by Taylor Johnson)

Lye practices the Drikung Kagyü tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, but says of his downtown-Asheville center, “When people come in and say ‘I’m looking for a Buddhist group,’ we don’t want to assume that this is where they belong; I want them to see all of the groups, what they are doing, where they are meeting — and find what works for them.”

He adds that Asheville is “much more yoga” in many ways, while Buddhism is “a different mode of spirituality that is kind of quiet rather than ecstatic.” So he aimed to “start a place that would be a resource for anyone who is interested.”

Last month, Lye received a new title — Dorjé Lopon — which made him the first non-monastic teacher in the West to receive the honor. Born in 1970, he grew up in Penang, Malaysia; studied under Buddhist teachers of many traditions; and earned his doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia. He also taught Buddhist studies at both Warren Wilson College and Davidson.

Soon after being named Dorjé Lopon, he spoke with Xpress.

Mountain Xpress: When did you first conceive of the idea for Urban Dharma? And how did you choose Asheville for the location?

Hun Lye: Somewhere around 2010, conversations started among a group of people that I had known for a while, many from … Warren Wilson. Ironically, from 2003 to 2008, I was not convinced that a Buddhist center would work in Asheville. I knew there were many groups around, and I did not think we needed another [one]. It was when we began to talk more seriously that I said, “There might be a need that is not being met yet, and that need is for a clear Buddhist presence in downtown, serving as a clearly dedicated Buddhist place.” …

I joke about how you can’t really go into any retail downtown, without seeing some sort of of Buddhist “thing” in there, even if the shop has nothing to do with anything Buddhist. So there is that pervasive sense and feeling of being open and interested in Buddhism or at least [its] material culture. [But] there is not a lot of excitement in Buddhist programs. It was one of the reasons that I had to think really hard about, Is there a need here?

[But] since we’ve opened, I’ve seen that there are a good number of people from all age groups coming to our events, from the very young to the very old, and that is encouraging.

What does being appointed Dorje Lopon mean within the Drikung Kagyu tradition?
The most common use of this title is actually in a ritual context in Tibetan Buddhism. [The Dorjé Lopon] is not the person that is doing the most things during the ritual; it is another person, who is just quietly sitting there, but at the same time is the center of attention, because it is believed that this person is doing the inner work necessary to ground everything.

So when the head of the Drikung Kagyu decided to use this title and to give it to specific individuals, it was a way of acknowledging that [this other spiritual leader] can play that role. Because I’m not part of the monastic system, and more conventional titles that are necessarily monastic cannot be given, he … applied it as a daily-use title. So it’s an innovation of sorts, [and] in this case, the title signifies that the person who holds it can pass on the transmissions and the traditions of the lineage.

How do you think Urban Dharma and what you stand for compares to other Buddhist centers in the area?

We are trying to appeal to a broader context. I joke about this, but every time people say, “I’m Buddhist,” the follow-up question from others would be, “Do you meditate?” and I’m like, “You know what? The majority of Buddhists don’t meditate. American Buddhists, maybe, but there’s more than one way to be Buddhist, and Urban Dharma is trying to communicate that.

We’re trying to create a community part that’s accessible to people, so that people don’t feel like in order to be a “real Buddhist,” “I need to spend x number of hours a day meditating; I need to spend x number of months a year attending retreats; I need to go into the mountains — all of that. There is a place for that and there [are] definitely traditions like that … but again, it’s about what is needed here. And I feel that what’s needed here is a way of being Buddhist … downtown.

You don’t have to go into the mountains to be sane. The name [Urban Dharma] is communicating, I think, an attitude, a state of mind, a way of understanding that spiritual practice is not only available and possible in the mountains. It’s in the midst of all of this.

Here, we encourage young families to bring their kids, and from my experience at other places in the past, we would have people who attend the program get very annoyed and say, “I came here to get some peace of mind, and these kids!” — which is an understandable reaction if they conceive of a Buddhist center as a form of spa. And that’s a particular conception of what the Buddhist community is, and I find it troublesome. Here, we have to remind everyone that you have to mind your own mind. You can’t say, “These are distractions.” We have to integrate this.

Urban Dharma’s motto is “Changing Minds, Transforming Cities,” and in one of your talks, you mentioned that practices such as prayer, meditation or special diets don’t cause transformation. How does transformation play into Urban Dharma’s mission and what place should practices such as prayer or meditation have in people’s lives?
[Those] are devices and methods that help us to change our minds. The real work and the real measure of how well we are doing as Buddhists should not be measured by how many hours in a day I’m spending on a cushion being quiet, but rather how much has the mind/heart changed? Is it still very quickly falling into habits of misery? Or is it becoming easier to notice when you are going down that particular circuit, and when you notice, to break it and move in the other direction?

When minds start to change, then we can begin to think about transforming our families and our communities. Any real change will have to come from changing the mind first. Otherwise, other activities become another way for us to act out our insanity. Even a meditation program can become a way to act out the insanity.

What does your new title and position mean to you and for Urban Dharma?

The recognition of a title is just the beginning of the hard work — if you do it right. I am taking very seriously the head of the lineage giving me this title, but at the same time, I am trying my best not to take myself seriously!

What does it mean for Urban Dharma? I hope, now that this is my main focus, it would say to someone who is interested that I’m not just doing this on my own, but that I am connected to a lineage and that the lineage has very publicly acknowledged that I can transmit and teach this lineage. What I say either makes sense or not. If it makes sense and helps you see and understand [Buddhist teachings] better, then come. It doesn’t matter what title I have. I happen to by playing the role of the leader in this community, but the sooner I make myself obsolete, then the sooner we have reached our goal.

Urban Dharma is located at 29 Page Ave. in Asheville. All programs and events are offered on a donation basis. The nonprofit is also supported by 100 percent of the profits from sister company Tibetan Spirit, an online Tibetan Buddhist store. 225-6422, www.urbandharmanc.com.

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Thousands attend The 17th Karmapa's 8-Day teachings in Sarnath

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Sarnath, India -- His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee has begun an 8-day teaching starting from February 21 at Vajra Vidya Institute, Sarnath, Varanasi- one of four holy Buddhist sites in India, with conducting extensive prayers and seminar by Buddhist monks and thousands of devotees from different parts of the world, including many who have came from Nepal.

Coinciding with an annual dharma seminar at Vajra Vidya Institute being led by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche on Thursday, February 21, the 17th Karmapa Rinpoche has commenced a week-long series of teachings on a text which has been one of his personal favorites since a young age, called 'Tri Thung Gyatsa' or 'One Hundred Short Instructions.'

The text, composed by the glorious 8th Karmapa Mikyo Dorjee, comprises a treasury of pith instructions spanning the entire path to enlightenment. Each instruction is skillfully crafted so that the reader can enter the text at any point to find a gem of the 8th Karmapa's heart advice and enlightened wisdom. "From time to time I myself take a look through these 100 short instructions, and I really feel that they are very beneficial for me," the Gyalwang Karmapa said. "All of these instructions are given for serious practitioners," he continued, "and sometimes they are extremely forthright. They go straight to the heart of the matter."

Deciding that it would be beneficial to focus on one or two of the instructions contained within the collection, the Gyalwang Karmapa chose to begin the teachings with an instruction on 'Rules for Karma Kamtsang Meditators'. From this somewhat abstract title, His Eminence then began by emphasizing the need to contemplate death and impermanence in order to generate a sense of renunciation from worldly concerns, as a necessary precondition to genuine dharma practice. The Gyalwang Karmapa urged those gathered to use their own intelligence in understanding and practicing the essence of Buddhism, rather than just blindly following traditions or customs.

"The essence of Buddhism is being able to distinguish what it is that we need to do from what it is that we need to give up. We also need to identify what it is that will harm ourselves and others, and then we need to give that up. So you can condense it all into doing what is beneficial and giving up what is harmful. We need to know what the essence of dharma is, and then bring it into our lives."

He stressed the importance of not delaying the practice of the dharma, but rather taking the teachings on death and impermanence to heart and allowing them to motivate our practice in the present moment.

"If we are going to practice the dharma, this is what it means and we need do this now in our lives. We might think that we have our whole lives to do it, but we need to start doing it from today. This is not something that we should think, 'Oh I can start tomorrow, or I can start the next day, or I can do this when I'm older.' We need to do dharma practice now. We cannot postpone this. We need to start it right now."

devotees-sarnath-2013As the rain of dharma continued for a second day, the Gyalwang Karmapa opened the teaching by once again reiterating the urgency to practice the dharma right now, in this very moment. "We need to practice the dharma from now. We need to do it on this very seat, in this very session. It's right now that we need to begin the dharma. If we postpone it, if we think to ourselves I'm going to do it tomorrow or the next day, then we will not be able to really practice the dharma well. It's important to understand this."

From this urgent call to practice, the Gyalwang Karmapa then turned his attention to making sure that we do it properly. He observed that there are many people who wish to practice the dharma, but don't truly know how. By focusing mainly on the external appearances of our practice without carefully checking our mind, we can easily fall into the trap of spiritual materialism.

"Sometimes when we practice dharma we think that we need to show some sort of external or physical sign of it. We pay a lot of attention to the rituals and these actions of our body and speech. This is practicing dharma when we're focusing outside. But instead what we need to do is turn our attention inwards. We need to see whether what we're doing is functioning as an antidote to the afflictions or not. We need to see whether we are taming our mind or not. We need to see whether our mind is improving, getting kinder, or not. If we don't look at it in this way then there's no benefit to doing these actions – we think that we are trying to do the dharma, but actually we are just making a show with our body and speech. We are putting on appearances, and that's all we really take an interest in. And the moment that happens, this becomes spiritual materialism."

Expanding his focus to the wider twenty-first century world we inhabit, the Gyalwang Karmapa touched on both the ways it shapes us as people and the ways that we as individuals in turn can shape it. Observing the growing trend towards materialism in the modern world, he encouraged the audience to look beyond the idea that happiness can be found outwards in external things.

"These days in the 21st century it's a very materialistic time. Most of the time, we don't really know what true happiness is. Many people have the idea that external things and external conditions will bring them happiness, and will lead them to the real meaning. But when we think about material things, the more we have of these things the more disturbances we have. The more difficulties we have. Things get more and more problematic. We have more and more busyness, and what happens then is that we lose ourselves. We lose our nature, what really is there."

Continuing his exploration of our place in the modern world, the Gyalwang Karmapa skillfully reminded each person of the important role they play in shaping an increasingly interconnected and ever-more deeply interdependent world.

"In this Information Age people are developing closer and closer connections with each other. All the people in the world are seeing that they have greater mutual connections. It has become very clear to us that these are deeper and stronger connections. When we think about our own good acts and wrong acts, we can see more clearly how they have an effect on the world. We can see that the individual things that we do are connected to the benefit or the harm of the world. They are deeply connected to the happiness and suffering that is in the world. The good and bad acts of one person are becoming the good and bad of the world. When we examine the good and bad that we do, we can see that it is becoming even more profound and even more vast. It's the good and the bad that people do that determine on a fundamental level if there is peace or happiness in the world. It's very tightly connected."

Returning once again to the theme of the previous day, the Gyalwang Karmapa continued his guidance on how to practice the dharma correctly, until we eventually reach a point where the dharma and our life have merged.

"To really practice the dharma we have to understand the dharma, and we have to have full dedication and interest in it. When we have that, only at that point are our dharma practice and the individual who is practicing the dharma, no longer separate from each other and become the same in flavor. That is the point when our dharma practice and this life become part of each other and they share the same nature."

Moreover, as dharma practitioners we also need to truly understand and accept impermanence. We need to develop our ability to be relaxed and open to changes as they naturally occur, accepting situations as they arise around us.

"When, because of external or internal circumstances there comes some sort of a change, we need to be able to go along with that change. So whatever happens, we go with the flow of events. If we are able to do this, then in our own mind we can be more relaxed. We can be more expansive. When we go along with that we can be comfortable, relaxed and spacious in our minds. If we are able to do this then we are able to be happy, and to have a comfortable and content life."

His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa then urged his students to uncomplicate their worlds, by keeping a simple outlook on life. Delivering profound guidance with skillful simplicity, he emphasized the importance of living grounded in the present moment, and of seeing the good that is already right in front of our eyes.

"The best thing is to be in the present. It's better if we don't have too high hopes for the past or the future situations. It's better just to stay in the present. Whatever is right in front of our eyes, we need to be able to see the good in it. If we can see the good in it, then good things will be able to occur from that. I really feel that it helps to try to just have a simple outlook on life."

"When we are trying to figure out what the essence or the meaning of life really is, then it's not just a question of looking inside oneself. Sometimes we have to look outwards to see the meaning we hold for others. We have to look in all different directions to be able to see what is good about our life."

On the fourth day of the Spring Teachings the Gyalwang Karmapa turned the focus firmly inwards: if we look inside our own minds, a wishful-filling jewel is already waiting. "When we are trying to figure out what the essence or the meaning of life really is, then it's not just a question of looking inside oneself. Sometimes we have to look outwards to see the meaning we hold for others. We have to look in all different directions to be able to see what is good about our life."

With the chanting lasting from morning until night, the prayers were culminated in a grand long-life prayer offering (Tibetan: Tenshug) to His Eminence the 17th Karmapa on the auspicious day of 25 February, which is known as Chotrul festival. The prayer event was lead by Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, one of the senior most Rinpoches and foremost elders of the present Kagyu lineage, who is the Abbot of the Institute in Saranath.

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Buddhist nun returns to Missoula for public teachings

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Missoula, Montana (USA) -- Ven. Robina Courtin will return to Missoula next week to teach at Osel Shen Phen Ling, Missoula’s Tibetan Buddhist Center.

<< Ven. Robina Courtin

Courtin was ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977 and since then has been traveling and teaching around the world. She has served as the editorial director for Wisdom Publications, the journal Mandala and she founded the Liberation Prison Project. Courtin has also led pilgrimages to Buddhist holy sites in India, Nepal and Tibet.

In Missoula, Courtin will teach a variety of topics called “Understanding Buddhism,” which are integral to Buddhist investigation and practice. These teachings will be suitable for anyone, Osel Shen notes, whether they are merely interested or practicing the Buddhist path.

The teachings will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 5, with an examination of the Buddha’s first teaching of “The Four Noble Truths” and continue each evening through Friday, Feb. 9. All presentations will take place at 7 p.m. at 441 Woodworth Ave.

On Saturday and Sunday, February 9 and 10, Courtin will teach from 2 to 4 p.m., also at 441 Woodworth. Anyone is welcome to attend any of these events. There is no charge, although a suggested donation of $15 per session to cover expenses will be appreciated.

On Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m., Ven. Robina will join the Rev. Peter Shober of University Congregational Church for an interfaith dialogue to discuss “Interfaith Understandings.” This is the third time Courtin and Shober have joined to have this type of discussion. Speaking from Buddhist and Christian perspectives, they will explore issues of emerging inter-spiritual realities and the hopes and fears surrounding these movements. This event takes place at the Missoula Public Library at 301 E. Main St.

For a complete schedule and more information, visit fpmt-osel.org.

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An unusual Buddhist center spreads a West Coast author's teachings to Middle Tennessee

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Nashville, Tennessee (USA) -- It's all fun and games until the bell rings, as Against the Stream Nashville founder and meditation teacher David Smith would say. Prior to propping himself on the cushion promptly at 7 p.m., at a spiritual center housed in an eerily beautiful old restaurant-equipment facility on Charlotte Pike, Smith is just one among several cronies participating in a raucous scene of chatter and bear hugs that would burst any newcomer's bubbles of Buddhist preconceptions.

Maybe punk Buddhism sounds like a contradiction in terms. Yet despite Smith's shaved head, tattoo sleeves and affinity for the F-bomb, he has found a path to enlightenment that places its own rough-hewn spin on the Enlightened One's 2,500-year-old doctrines. It's affiliated with the Santa Monica and Los Angeles centers founded by spiritual teacher and Dharma Punx author Noah Levine, who visits Nashville 7 p.m. Friday as a fundraiser for Smith's local outpost.

Teaching mindfulness meditation four times weekly at his Sylvan Park center, Smith encourages his students — some of whom, like him, have histories of addiction — to explore their inner horizons instead of checking out through a cocktail, Klonopin, or cruising the Internet.

"You go sit in a room full of people and do some breathing and you feel better," Smith says. " 'This feels almost familiar' is what a lot of people say."

While the Nashville area has a number of established Buddhist organizations (like the Nashville Zen Center, founded in 1982), Smith's unorthodox lectures — coupled with events like Levine's first Nashville appearance this weekend — suggest that the city's spiritual life is taking on new complexity. An offshoot of Levine's California-based Mind Body Awareness Project, his center is in essence a church for people typically turned off by churches, or by the very idea of following.

"Dave looks like he could teach you as much about how to survive a mosh pit as he could about how to cultivate compassion and mindfulness," says Jeff Browning, an alcohol and drug counselor who works as an instructor with Mind Body Awareness Project. "That's what people respond to when they meet him. When we take meditations into the jails, those guys don't want to be preached at for the thousandth time, they want to hear about somebody who understands suffering and has a way out of that suffering."

First introduced to Buddhism by the family of Emotional Intelligence author Daniel Goleman, Smith divided his teenage years in western Massachusetts between retreats at the Insight Meditation Society and a street-punk lifestyle of drugs and debauchery.

"I didn't know what they were doing up there, I just knew the place seemed pretty cool and that the people were friendly," Smith says. "And then I got in this really bad car accident where my girlfriend was killed, and to cope with my PTSD I started doing mindfulness meditation."

Yet Smith acknowledges that at the same time he was still doing drugs. "It was just a big mess," he says. Seeking out recovery at the age of 28, Smith renounced his full-time music career and his hardcore excesses to start his own construction business and delve back into the study of Buddhism. While attending a three-month meditation retreat, he first heard about Levine's 2003 memoir Dharma Punx and found the book paralleled his own sex-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll past.

Relating to Levine's rebellion against his spiritual roots — his father is famed poet and author Stephen Levine, one of the pioneers to popularize Theravada Buddhism in the West — Smith struck up an email correspondence with him. The more they communicated, the more the two saw they shared a desire to redirect their arrested-adolescent angst into a journey "against the stream" — a struggle to cultivate compassion for their faults.

Opting to follow in Levine's footsteps, Smith signed up for the teacher's San Francisco-based Meditation Instructor program. He met with Levine five times over the course of a year for guidance in how to facilitate his own group.

Inspired to share the serenity derived from his practice and dedication to the Four Noble Truths — the creed that essentially suffering is inevitable, and it is actually our resistance to unpleasant emotions that causes us pain — Smith sought out a prospective center where he could conduct his own teachings on "more of a street rather than college level." Approached by Smith in early 2011, the founder of 12South's One Dharma Nashville, Lisa Ernst, agreed to let him teach his Sunday-night guided-meditation class at their facility.

"Against the Stream is a very friendly place to begin a meditation practice for people of all backgrounds, as well as those who are interested in developing a practice and studying Buddhism more in depth," Ernst says. "I respect Dave's sincerity and commitment to his own practice, as the best teachers are those who never stop studying and have the most to give."

Despite Against the Stream's popularity on the West Coast, where the L.A. and Santa Monica centers attract nearly 1,800 visitors per week, Smith's arduous first year of no-show nights and skeptical attendees told him Nashville wouldn't be a pushover. But from his work with the Mind Body Awareness Project, for whom he currently teaches meditation to incarcerated youth, Smith says he's grown accustomed to tough audiences. Eventually he attracted a loyal crew intrigued by his standup-worthy witticism and no-bullshit Buddhist wisdom. Among his adherents is Belmont University student Luke Mayton, one of Smith's first pupils and an occasional substitute for his Wednesday night class.

"I had been interested in Buddhism since I was a kid and had been meditating on and off over the years in a very unorganized and unguided way without a teacher or community to support my practice," Mayton says. "When I attended Against the Stream for the first time, I knew it was something I would come back to many times. The group is approachable, laid-back and has a come-as-you-are feel that's always made me totally comfortable with being myself."

Confident that meditation's psychologically proven benefits will appeal to an overworked and saturated society, Smith believes Buddhism's fluid "question everything" philosophy will universally appeal to both New Age and ex-children-of-the-church crowds. Currently attracting between 150 and 200 people per week, Smith plans for a series of sliding-scale workshops (for instance, the upcoming Saturday Morning Series will deliver a diagram and historical detail-driven study of Buddhism) to finance the center, which like the entire ATS umbrella is nonprofit-certified and relies 100 percent upon attendee donations. Eagerly anticipating Levine's sanction of approval for the country's third official center, which coincidentally aligns with the group's fifth anniversary, Smith admits how surreal it seems to be at the forefront of the Southern division of Levine's burgeoning Buddhist movement.

"I remember being on retreats and watching the Dharma teacher and thinking, 'I wanna do that,' " Smith says. "It was always something I wanted to do at some point, but when I was like 60. When I was old and shit and couldn't play rock 'n' roll music anymore, maybe then I would teach. Never did I think it would happen this quick."

Noah Levine speaks 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at Against the Stream Meditation Center, 3816 Charlotte Ave., and conducts a Kind Awareness Day-long 10 a.m. Feb. 2. Sliding-scale donations range from $20 to $200. For more information, see againstthestreamnashville.com.

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'Buddhist teachings scientifically true'

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VARANASI, India -- "Buddhism has become an area of interest for scientists for they feel that the teachings and principles of Buddhism are scientifically very true," said the Dalai Lama while addressing a congregation at Central University of Tibetan Studies at Sarnath on Wednesday.

He said that he will be meeting scientists in Delhi to discuss the same from January 14 to January 17.

Notably, around 30,000 people have arrived in Varanasi to attend the four-day discourse by the Dalai Lama in Sarnath which began on Monday. Buddhist monks and nuns, monks from Himalayan region, Tibetans from different parts India and Tibet, and people of various other religious faiths were present to listen to the Nobel peace prize winner.

Meanwhile, the entire premises of Sarnath remained packed with Buddhist devotees and followers of Dalai Lama even on Wednesday. Despite the chilly and frosty conditions, devotees took their seats in time at the Kalchakra Mandap, CUTS.

Before the beginning of the discourse, devotees were given bread and salted tea as breakfast. Panna Mistri, a native of Bodh Gaya who has got expertise in preparing the salted tea informed, "The tea is prepared by boiling milk with a little water. Butter and salt are added to the content, followed by tea water.

Around 6000 litres of tea is prepared each time." Besides, the kitchen is also preparing around loaves of 21,000 bread for the devotees.

Tibetan food and local delicacies were also selling on the roads leading to the varsity.

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