Teaching Compassion -- Buddhist Sect Founder Plans To Visit Seattle

THROUGH MEDITATION people can remove their negative state of mind, the source of abuse, violence and other problems in the world - Gen Kelsang Jangsem of Buddhist center on North Capitol Hill

There are laughs, and then there are laughs. A scornful or dismissive one can make you feel 2 feet high. A kindly one can sweeten the atmosphere. You want to hear and learn more from this person.

Gen Kelsang Jangsem possesses the second kind of laugh. Ask him about some people's perception that Buddhism is a negative or passive religion, and he will smile and emit a gentle chuckle.

"I would disagree," says Jangsem, sitting in the meditation room of the Vajralama Buddhist Center on North Capitol Hill in Seattle, where he is the resident monk. "My feeling is that Buddhism is quite dynamic, because what we are trying to do is deal with the root cause of problems and suffering, which lie within the mind."

The Buddhism practiced at the Vajralama Center will be spotlighted April 14-17 when Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, founder of the New Kadampa Tradition, visits Seattle for a series of teachings and meditations on wisdom and compassion.

Jangsem, an American-born, Oxford University-educated disciple of Geshe Kelsang, said the New Kadampa Tradition is the essence of Buddha's teachings, geared toward Western audiences. Kadampa is a Tibetan term meaning someone who puts all of Buddha's teachings into practice, he said.

Jangsem said there is a misperception if people think Buddhism merely involves people sitting around, contemplating their navels. In fact, Buddhists should be spurred to act in positive ways.

"Meditation does not mean just sitting on a cushion. It means acquainting the mind with positive thoughts, or virtues. . . . Whatever we are doing, our mind can be thinking in a positive way. Through those positive thoughts, our actions are going to become more positive. As our actions become more positive, they all feed back into our mental processes."

It is through meditation that people remove their negative state of mind, the source of abuse, violence and other problems in the world, he said.

"In Buddhism, we say that people do not have faults. Delusions have faults. And people have delusions."

Delusions such as anger, jealousy and greed can obscure a person's fundamental kindness, Jangsem said. People can act destructively and harmfully, perhaps because they are experiencing intense suffering themselves.

But people should realize that delusions are not an intrinsic part of the mind. They can be removed - like dark clouds parting to reveal a beautiful sky, he said.

Valerie Jean, a student at the Vajralama Center, said she was struck by the practical tools Buddhism has given her. While other religions also promote generosity and compassion, Buddhism offers logical "A to Z" steps to achieve them, she said. For example, when she sees motorists honking their horns at someone who has cut into a line of traffic, she does not join them but instead thinks, "I hope he doesn't get into a wreck driving so fast."

"Focusing on something other than getting angry I've found very helpful," she said.

Terry Jones, a Seattle marketing consultant, said the teachings on karma have helped him. "Our actions have consequences" and those consequences can either be suffering or happiness, he noted. "If I want to be happy in the future, it is my responsibility to act to create the causes for future happiness." In practical terms, Jones said, he has become more patient and understanding with his clients and avoids anger when he begins to feel upset.

Jangsem, 31, said he did not learn about Buddhism until 1986, shortly after he had graduated from Oxford. He was born in San Francisco and raised in England, the product of a secular home.

Through a girlfriend, Jangsem learned of a weeklong course that Geshe Kelsang was giving at a Buddhist center in England. Jangsem went out of curiosity. He soon became attracted to the clarity of the teachings and the humor and humility of the teachers.

"In particular, I liked the teachings on learning to respect and have affection for other living beings," and to help others experience happiness, he said.

But it was not simply a matter of being told to love others and make them happy, Jangsem said. He was taught techniques to develop and maintain a positive state of mind, "the mind of love and affection."

"In meditation, what we do is contemplate various reasons why we should feel affection or love for other living beings," he said. "We try to familiarize our mind with that thought, so that thought becomes deeper and deeper" and continues long after the meditation.

Though meditation practices vary among Buddhist groups, students at the Vajralama Center (pronounced vash'-ra-la-ma, Sanskrit for Tara, the female Buddha of compassion) begin by calming the mind and relaxing the body by focusing on their breathing.

They then contemplate a thought - for example, all living beings are just like us and do not wish to experience suffering, only happiness. They then engage in "placement meditation," trying to hold that thought or state of mind. They must go back to the second stage if they lose the thought or "special feeling."

Jangsem said Geshe Kelsang has emphasized training Westerners as Buddhist teachers. Jangsem was a lay teacher at a Buddhist center near York, England, before being ordained a monk last year. His ordination name, Kelsang Jangsem, means "fortunate bodhisattva" in Tibetan. A bodhisattva is someone who is striving to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all living beings, said Jangsem. The title Gen means teacher. He does not use his birth name.

As a monk, Jangsem has taken a vow of celibacy and vows not to steal, kill, lie, take intoxicants, or engage in meaningless actions. A meaningless action, he explained, is one that has no spiritual value, one that is entirely aimed at seeking pleasure within this life.

Jangsem said Geshe Kelsang was born in Tibet and now lives in England. The New Kadampa Tradition, however, is not Tibetan Buddhism nor does it focus on Tibetan culture, he said. The Sakya Monastery in Greenwood is one of the primary centers of Tibetan Buddhism and culture in Seattle.

The Vajralama Center was established last October, one of some 240 Kadampa Buddhism centers worldwide.

The Seattle Vajralama Center offers classes for the public at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays at the University Friends Meeting, 4001 Ninth Ave. N.E., Seattle. The center plans to offer classes at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Stonehouse Bookstore, 7829 Leary Way N.E., Redmond, starting April 25.

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Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, founder of the New Kadampa Tradition, is scheduled to visit Seattle April 14-17. For program and fees, call the Vajralama Buddhist Center, 860-1975.