Quiet mind, strong spirit

Buddhism can be traced back approximately 2,500 years, to when a young prince, Siddhartha Gautama, became determined to understand the root of suffering. The word buddha comes from the Sanskrit root word "budh" meaning: to awaken/know/understand. While many understand Buddhism to be the world's fifth largest religion, it is also widely known as a philosophy for life.

Lama Yeshe Parke is one of two resident teachers at the Kagyu Sukha Chöling (KSC) Meditation Center on Granite Street. Lama Yeshe tells us a little about her life, how she came to the practice of Buddhism, and how Buddhist philosophy can help ease suffering.

Lama Yeshe Parke. Above: Renderings are shown of the new building planned for a new location. Photo by Debi Smith | For the Tidings

DT: Please describe the particular tradition of Buddhism that you practice and teach?

Lama Yeshe: There are three broad traditions in Buddhism: Theravada — also known as Insight or Vipassana meditation, Mahayana — also known as Zen Buddhism, and Vajrayana — also known as Tibetan Buddhism. KSC is a Tibetan Buddhist center. It is affiliated with the Kagyu lineage, one of five lineages in the Tibetan tradition. This tradition teaches that every living being has at their core the seed of complete awakening. It's said that the seed is obscured and that the work of a lifetime is to pull away the obscurations, like blowing away the clouds that obscure the sun. It's an optimistic view of what it means to be a human being — actually to be any living being.

DT: Before turning to Buddhism, what place had religion held in your life? And how did you come to follow the Buddhist path?

Lama Yeshe: Christianity and Judaism were both very central in my life at different times. Then, when I was a history major at Northwestern University in Chicago, I became interested in Japanese history and all the things that sprang from its culture and Buddhist past. Within a year of finishing college I was exploring Buddhism more seriously, specifically Zen Buddhism. What I quickly learned about Zen Buddhism however, was that I wasn't quiet enough. So I took a break from Buddhism ... for about ten years!

DT: Isn't Buddhism partly about learning to quiet the mind?

Lama Yeshe: Exactly. And I wasn't ready. I wanted peace of mind, but wouldn't slow down the pace of my life. However, ten years later, and still with some lingering curiosity about Buddhism, I met several Tibetan teachers. What I observed in the teachers was very inspiring. They were calm and even in their temperament. They had a certain forcefulness of personality. They had a tremendous optimism about the quality of every human heart. And every single one of them had a great sense of humor!

DT: When one thinks of great teachers, the Dalai Lama for example, they do seem to exude a forcefulness of personality. But it seems to be void of all ego or arrogance. It's like they've looked into the nature of reality, and are clearly mirroring to us what they know to be true about it, and ourselves.

Lama Yeshe: I agree. And what I found by meeting and listening to different teachers over an extended period of time, was that they all exhibited these qualities, and I found myself aspiring to have them as well.

DT: How did the path toward becoming a lama/teacher, unfold for you?

Lama Yeshe: I was living in Eugene and part of a group of people who shared an organization: The Eugene Center of the Healing Arts. After meeting with these Tibetan teachers, we volunteered to start hosting meditations. Eventually, Lama Pema Clark and I were asked to begin teaching on behalf of the Kagyu lineage. We were free to choose any site, and eventually chose Ashland and began teaching here in 2000.

DT: Have you taken special vows or received certain training?

Lama Yeshe: In order to be a Lama in this lineage, the minimum qualification is a three-year cloistered meditation retreat. The retreat I did was held in Mendocino County from 1996 to 1999, and a simple set of vows were required — vows that can be taken by anyone — anytime, anywhere. They're related to something all Buddhists practice, The Five Precepts, with a negative and positive side to each one. Just avoiding doing the negative isn't enough, cultivating the positive is also required.

• Harm no being. Support life.
• Do not lie. Tell the truth.
• Never take what doesn't belong to you. Be as generous as possible.
• Never misconduct yourself sexually. Keep relationship vows and promises.
• Avoid intoxication. Cultivate a clear mind.

DT: What effect did the retreat have on you?

Lama Yeshe: The retreat was a tremendous separation from family and friends. And with only four other people, a tremendous solitude. And — beyond the natural world we were in, and our meditation practice — nothing else to look at but our minds . . . .

The retreat changed me as a person. I don't think I was aware how fearful I was when I entered, and the retreat was a crucible in which fears fell away. Fear of dying, fear of failing, fear of being wrong or misunderstood or disliked. I "got it" that they are just part of life ... they are impermanent.

DT: What advice would you offer someone wishing to decrease suffering in their lives?

Lama Yeshe: First, care for oneself in basic, healthy, respectful ways. Then, reach out to help other beings — as often as possible. I will quote a western teacher in this tradition, Lama Michael Conklin: "It is a great paradox that the joy and connection we crave are to be found in the service of others."

DT: Can you sum up what you believe, and/or what the philosophy of Buddhism teaches, the human experience is all about? What""with war/aids/poverty/climate change/etc.""do these difficult times mean for humanity?

Lama Yeshe: For Buddhists, there is a core belief that we will have many lives — the natural consequence of each single life's "unfinished business." Over the course of those lives, we instinctively work to nurture the seed of complete awakening until it bears ultimate fruit.

Every effort to be happy and to avert suffering is an indication of that instinctive effort. And in our strongest moments, our strongest lives, we expand our personal desire to be happy and free of suffering, into the desire that all beings be happy and free of suffering.

Buddhists embrace the truth of impermanence — the reality that everything changes. This translates into a commitment to make the most positive changes we can during these perilous times, and also teaches an acceptance that all things change and eventually come to an end. Matter and energy will move on into different forms. It is the way of nature.

The state of the world can cause much distress for us. Those learning about Buddhism will use this as an active field of discovery, where we practice causing no harm, and actively cultivate loving kindness and compassion.

Lama Yeshe Parke has been a student of Venerable Lama Lödru Rinpoche and His Eminence Kalu Rinpoche since the early 1980s. She is one of two resident teachers at Kagyu Sukha Chöling Meditation Center, currently located at 147 Granite Street. Photo by Debi Smith | For the Tidings

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On April 20-22, Kagyu Sukha Chöling will be hosting a teaching weekend with their Spiritual Director, Lama Lödru Rinpoche. For more information on this event, or to learn more about Lama Yeshe and the KSC Meditation Center, go to www.kscashland.org. To see a video of Lama Yeshe discussing the new meditation center to be built in Ashland, be sure to log on to www.dailytidings.com.

Debi Smith is a local Tidings correspondent. Your comments and suggestions for future profiles can be sent to debi@mind.net.