A Meeting of Buddhist Minds

In June of 2000, in the grassy, sun-dried hills of Marin County, Calif., 220 Buddhist teachers gathered at Spirit Rock Meditation Center for a five-day conference with His Holiness the Dalai Lama called "Sustaining the Dharma: Preservation and Skillful Means for a New Culture." Northern California poses a stark cultural and climatic contrast to the Himalayan foothills of Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama's home-in-exile in northern India, where earlier versions of the conference have convened since 1993, but many of the issues discussed were the same: What role does monasticism play in the transmission of Buddhism to the West? Is the dharma being watered down? How should practice centers handle abuses of sex, money, and power? And how can Western Buddhist groups be more welcoming to practitioners of color?

For Lama Surya Das, a Buddhist teacher and Beliefnet columnist who was co-organizer of this and the previous conferences in India, "It was heartening to feel the growth and maturity of our teachers' assembly, from East and West, including monastic and lay, women and men, scholars and practitioners. It bodes well for the future health and longevity of Buddhist teachings and practice in the Western world."

For a day and a half of the conference, which was hosted by Spirit Rock, the San Francisco Zen Center and members of a group called the Network of Western Buddhist teachers, His Holiness the Dalai Lama joined the open session, listening to presentations and offering comments that were teachings in themselves. When asked whether he thought teachers in the West are using the best methods of dharma instruction with their students, he responded with a statement that suggested some teachers were worrying too much about their appearance as dharma transmitters and not enough about their intentions: "I am not promoting Buddhism," he said by way of example. "I am promoting human values." He went on to stress that if teachers examine their motivation and find it is pure, then the teaching will be authentic. "If I look at how my effort affects other people, I get doubtful," he said. "But if I look at my motivation and see that it's sincere, I can be happy. If I try my best and fail, it doesn't matter."

In a later session, the Dalai Lama emphasized the importance of sticking with the most fundamental teachings of Buddhism. Leave esoteric practices and Tantra for a time when the foundation has been well laid, he cautioned--"Tantra is risky unless you have a firm ground of practice. Then it is useful." He suggested that dharma teachers instead revert to the texts of the original Indian masters, and that they focus on offering the Buddha's basic teachings, starting with the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eight-fold Path, renunciation,

(or awakened mind), and ending with the six

(or virtues of a bodhisattva). "When you get to the paramitas, stay there for a long time!"

Continued on page 2: »