This month (June 2005) we talk to Doris Christie.

Doris went to school in Jersey City, NJ and had three children there. Now she is the grandmother of six boys. She studied art when her children were grown and proceeded to teach life drawing in Mystic Ct. She then moved to Key West, FL where she and her husband had a little used furniture store for many years.
She is now enrolled on the TTP (Teacher Training Program) and helps at Kancha Center in many ways.

When were you first attracted to Buddhism?

I was first attracted to Buddhism about seven years ago while living in Key West. A visiting nun came to teach the Dharma several times a month. Because of this I attended the Kalachakra Empowerment given by the Dalai Lama. That was the start of a wonderful journey.

What made you come to this Buddhist Center?

I was frustrated by my inability to study the Dharma and to learn about Tantra. So I decided to move to a place where this could happen. A good friend of mine was living in Sarasota and she told me about this Buddhist Center on Rt. 41. I had tried to find a center and nothing came up until she mentioned Kancha, so we decided to move here. I was so lucky to find a wonderful Center.

Were you apprehensive about coming? What did you expect?

Right from the beginning I felt completely comfortable and at home at Kancha. I expected to have a monk giving the teachings, so I was extremely surprised to see a beautiful young woman (Kadam Lucy) in regular street clothes appear. I was surprised but not disappointed.

What were your first impressions when you arrived?

I was very pleased to find that the people in the Center where very welcoming, friendly, and anxious to answer any question that I might have. The teachings were exciting for me as this was what I had been waiting for and it was great to actually begin to learn how to meditate.

What do you like best about coming here?

There are so many things that I love about Kancha, but the most important is that I have found my Spiritual Guide, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. In the beginning I really did not understand who he was or what he has done. Over time I came to understand that it was he who gave us this wonderful place to practice, meet Dharma friends, and travel the path to enlightenment.

How would you explain the benefits of meditation to someone new?

I would explain the benefits of meditation to someone new in this way. Meditation sets the mode for our present and future happiness. At first it helps us to relax our body and mind and to get away from the busy frazzled lives we all live. Then through the power of meditation we begin to open up to new ways of being and new understandings. I would explain that through the teachings we learn to meditate on the twenty-one meditations of the Lamrim. Little by little we begin to become happier and more aware. We start to see changes in our outlook and then to see how we can begin to help others. This in turn softens our hearts and eventually will lead us on the complete path to enlightenment.

How has what you have learned here made a difference in your everyday work and home life?

Through listening, contemplating, and meditating I have gradually learned how to understand actions and their effects, how to use the six perfections, and how to purify my non-virtue. These practices have helped me to bring my crazy wild elephant mind into a calmer place which in turn helps my life to be calmer, my relationships better, and to understand how precious this human life really is. Because of Buddha's teachings I have stopped blaming other for the bad things that sometimes happen, and take responsibility for my own actions. By the way, many more good things are happening now.

What do you feel that Buddhism can offer to the world today?

Buddhism is a beacon of light in a very dark world. It is a very powerful way to live. Because we are practicing, learning, purifying, and accumulating merit we too become beacons of light that shine goodness to all who pass our way. Light is helpful to all because it allows others to see how they in turn can make their lives better and eventually enter the path.

What is your favorite Kadampa Buddhist quotation?

From Guide to the Bodhisattvas Way of Life:
"I should engage only in virtuous actions
To benefit living beings, with no thought for myself;
And I should do so with the understanding that
I am like an illusion
That does not exist from its own side."

What is your favorite Dharma movie?

My favorite Dharma movie is Little Buddha. I love the gentle way the monks in the story conduct themselves and it shows us that life is a continuum. It introduces the process of the Bodhisattva, how he or she enters a new body after the old one has been completed, so that he can continue to help others. This is a movie that non-Buddhists can understand.

What is you favorite book by Geshe Kelsang?

My favorite book -- that is a trick question. Heart of Wisdom was the first book we studied and it set the foundation for all the other books. It was a great blessing to have that teaching and now Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (and Geshe-la's commentary Meaningful to Behold) seems like just the right book to study. I know it will be that way through all of Geshe-la's books.

With which historical Buddhist practitioner do you most identify, and why?

I love to recite the names of all the lineage Gurus, but the one that stands out is our root Guru Je Tsongkapa. Because of his kindness, we can now understand all of Buddha's teaching and work the five seeds (renunciation, bodhichitta, correct view of emptiness, generation stage, completion stage) into a whole practice. Before him it was all separate and hard to understand Buddha's teachings. Now we all have the opportunity to know and understand the Dharma.

What aspect of the Bodhisattva's way of life most inspires you?

I now realize that I have a very precious human life that is capable of reaching its highest potential, enlightenment. Through diligent study and practice I have this opportunity in this lifetime to control my death and be born into the lineage of all the Buddhas. After living in darkness for all these eons, what a remarkable discovery.

What's the first thing you're going to do when you become a Buddha?

I will radiate light thru out all the universes so that sentient beings will come out of the darkness and have their opportunity to travel the path. Then I will place myself within the hearts of every being so that they will grow in faith for the Three Jewels. P.S. I will be enjoying my new vajra body.