Geshe Damdul is one of the directors of Emory-Tibetan Science Initiative. He has been awarded with the name Geshe, a Buddhism Degree in the system of Tibetan Buddhism. Since Geshe Damdul is one of the regular lecturers at Emory Buddhist Club, as the project leader of this club, I was lucky enough to get a chance to interview him for my project. I believe that besides practitioners, it is also important to hear from an experienced Buddhism teacher, such as him.
I began my interview by bringing up my case study, and asked Geshe Damdul to help me analyse the story of Jie as a Buddhism teacher.
"So, from Tibetan Buddhism's point of view, the whole purpose of our practice is to deal with our afflicted emotions. And in order to deal with our afflicted emotions, we must change ourselves. Only by dealing with our afflicted emotions could we finally achieve the state of freedom. That's way Buddha said 'You are your own master'. The whole purpose of Buddhism is to address our afflicted emotions, at different levels and through different methods. And only the dealing of afflicted emotions will lead to more genuine well-being and happiness....But, Eww,"Geshe Damdul sighed," nowadays, people tend to forget to deal with their afflicted emotions. And if they forget this, it won't help despite whatever their practices are."
Geshe continued with his slow but steady voice, " So when we talked about people staying in mountains for their practices, well, I definitely see how they view it. It is better and safer for a beginner to practice in some place that is quiet, cozy and away from distractions. However, that is when they begin. After they have made their progresses, they will start to realize the importance of helping other people, and by that time they will want to return to the community themselves. You know, we practice in order to bring the inner revolution, and this revolution isn't easy to achieve."
"So what you are saying is ,after they reached a certain stage in their practice, they will actively want to come back to their societies?" I asked.
"Yes, yes. They will not only actively want to come back, but also sincerely want to come back," Geshe smiled, "since they act according to their true intention----The intention to be happy."
"Okay," I tried to dig more in this topic," so have you personally seen anyone having this problem? I mean, the problem of mediating their daily life and spiritual practice?"
"Well, personally, I haven't come across any," Geshe's answer surprised me, since I supposed that I would get the same answer from that of Sonam, "but, you know, it is only a special phase or stage. I admit that for most of the people, except for some special cases, we all need to have a quiet and distant place to let the spiritual practice root. But the thing is, we can not get too obssessed with this phase, and we need to make eventual progress and finally come out of this stage. You know, His Holiness Da Lai La Ma often tells his Hindu fellows that we cannot always remain the monopoly of knowledge, and we need to come out to share our knowledge to others."
"Errrrrr....., okay, so do you have any suggestions for practitioners who suffer from this stage?" By asking this question, I hoped Geshe could give my some advice so that next time, when I come across with people like Jie, I could help them.
"Well, first, the teacher should inform their students. And if the students already have knowledge about this phase, they may get over this stage easier. Gradually, students could share their own experiences with other beginners, and that will make it a lot better."
"So would you mind talking a little bit about your own spiritual practice? Have you had any insight?"
"Well, I don't often talk about myself, but since you asked me......When I was about 10th grade, my urge grew stronger and stronger. I often found myself questioning different things, like "why this ?",or "why that?". I also question the conventional lifestyle, since in my heart I feel a sense of empty; as a result, after I finished my high school, I entered a spiritual institution and started my spiritual practice, as I was deeply convinced at that time that the pursuit of any conventional lifestyles could not help me. And that path ended up me today."
"So what about those peak experiences? Have you had any during your meditation?" My voice shook a little bit. I felt that this question may be too personal, and I didn't know whether this kind of experience is considered a secret to him.
"Well, I mean, I can remember some, but usually, we don't share them, since we don't want people to actively chasing these experiences. But anyway, I have these experiences once in a while, and particularly when I meditate on the Emptiness. For one time, I used to stay in this state for a whole month, and during that time I was completely different. I found inner peace in myself, and I found balance with others. I had a inner bliss that stayed inside me. It was so peaceful and joyful, but at the same time not disturbing at all. I still found a deep connection with the reality. I wonder what had happened to cause it........it really shows me the possibilities, and urges me to practice more."
"Okay, the last question: if you were asked to say one most important benefit of meditation to ordinary people, what would you say?"
"So before I answer this question, I need to clarify it by distinguishing spiritual practice and religious practice. Since religious practice does not necessarily promote your spirituality. Many times, people just practice rituals and culture conventions without really reaching the spiritual level. And what spiritual practice truly means is the practice of your sensitiveness, awareness and compassion. In that way, the benefit of spiritual practice is there: you are the one who benefits if you practice.
I began my interview by bringing up my case study, and asked Geshe Damdul to help me analyse the story of Jie as a Buddhism teacher.
"So, from Tibetan Buddhism's point of view, the whole purpose of our practice is to deal with our afflicted emotions. And in order to deal with our afflicted emotions, we must change ourselves. Only by dealing with our afflicted emotions could we finally achieve the state of freedom. That's way Buddha said 'You are your own master'. The whole purpose of Buddhism is to address our afflicted emotions, at different levels and through different methods. And only the dealing of afflicted emotions will lead to more genuine well-being and happiness....But, Eww,"Geshe Damdul sighed," nowadays, people tend to forget to deal with their afflicted emotions. And if they forget this, it won't help despite whatever their practices are."
Geshe continued with his slow but steady voice, " So when we talked about people staying in mountains for their practices, well, I definitely see how they view it. It is better and safer for a beginner to practice in some place that is quiet, cozy and away from distractions. However, that is when they begin. After they have made their progresses, they will start to realize the importance of helping other people, and by that time they will want to return to the community themselves. You know, we practice in order to bring the inner revolution, and this revolution isn't easy to achieve."
"So what you are saying is ,after they reached a certain stage in their practice, they will actively want to come back to their societies?" I asked.
"Yes, yes. They will not only actively want to come back, but also sincerely want to come back," Geshe smiled, "since they act according to their true intention----The intention to be happy."
"Okay," I tried to dig more in this topic," so have you personally seen anyone having this problem? I mean, the problem of mediating their daily life and spiritual practice?"
"Well, personally, I haven't come across any," Geshe's answer surprised me, since I supposed that I would get the same answer from that of Sonam, "but, you know, it is only a special phase or stage. I admit that for most of the people, except for some special cases, we all need to have a quiet and distant place to let the spiritual practice root. But the thing is, we can not get too obssessed with this phase, and we need to make eventual progress and finally come out of this stage. You know, His Holiness Da Lai La Ma often tells his Hindu fellows that we cannot always remain the monopoly of knowledge, and we need to come out to share our knowledge to others."
"Errrrrr....., okay, so do you have any suggestions for practitioners who suffer from this stage?" By asking this question, I hoped Geshe could give my some advice so that next time, when I come across with people like Jie, I could help them.
"Well, first, the teacher should inform their students. And if the students already have knowledge about this phase, they may get over this stage easier. Gradually, students could share their own experiences with other beginners, and that will make it a lot better."
"So would you mind talking a little bit about your own spiritual practice? Have you had any insight?"
"Well, I don't often talk about myself, but since you asked me......When I was about 10th grade, my urge grew stronger and stronger. I often found myself questioning different things, like "why this ?",or "why that?". I also question the conventional lifestyle, since in my heart I feel a sense of empty; as a result, after I finished my high school, I entered a spiritual institution and started my spiritual practice, as I was deeply convinced at that time that the pursuit of any conventional lifestyles could not help me. And that path ended up me today."
"So what about those peak experiences? Have you had any during your meditation?" My voice shook a little bit. I felt that this question may be too personal, and I didn't know whether this kind of experience is considered a secret to him.
"Well, I mean, I can remember some, but usually, we don't share them, since we don't want people to actively chasing these experiences. But anyway, I have these experiences once in a while, and particularly when I meditate on the Emptiness. For one time, I used to stay in this state for a whole month, and during that time I was completely different. I found inner peace in myself, and I found balance with others. I had a inner bliss that stayed inside me. It was so peaceful and joyful, but at the same time not disturbing at all. I still found a deep connection with the reality. I wonder what had happened to cause it........it really shows me the possibilities, and urges me to practice more."
"Okay, the last question: if you were asked to say one most important benefit of meditation to ordinary people, what would you say?"
"So before I answer this question, I need to clarify it by distinguishing spiritual practice and religious practice. Since religious practice does not necessarily promote your spirituality. Many times, people just practice rituals and culture conventions without really reaching the spiritual level. And what spiritual practice truly means is the practice of your sensitiveness, awareness and compassion. In that way, the benefit of spiritual practice is there: you are the one who benefits if you practice.