Tampa Bay Wellness Magazine - March, 2008

Kadam Lucy is a senior meditation teacher in the New Kadampa Tradition. She is currently the Resident Teacher of Parbawatiya Buddhist Center in Tampa Bay. ‘Kadam’ means ‘Teacher’. Kadam Lucy is a greatly admired teacher. When I met her in person, I was deeply moved and inspired by her warmth, kindness, and wisdom. Please join us this month for an interview with Kadam Lucy James.

Tampa Bay Wellness: Where were you born?
Kadam Lucy James: Wellington, New Zealand (my parents were British diplomats and we lived on seven continents as I grew up).

Tampa Bay Wellness: Is there anything in your earlier life that you can attribute your current profession to?
Kadam Lucy James: As a small child, I lived in Sri Lanka and fell in love with the Buddha statues and temples. Growing up, I was drawn to spirituality – my family was not overtly religious, but I used to believe life had a far deeper meaning than was apparent to me and was very intrigued to find out what it was! Later, I studied English at college and this helped me with the editing of Ven Geshe Kelsang’s 21 Buddhist books, which was my main job for many years before I became a full-time Buddhist meditation teacher.

Tampa Bay Wellness: You have been studying and practicing Buddhist meditation for over 26 years, under the guidance of your Spiritual Guide, Ven Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Please share something about these experiences.
Kadam Lucy James: I feel very lucky and honored to have had such a visionary and interesting person as Ven Geshe Kelsang in my life. He has touched the lives of many thousands of people around the world with his profound compassion and wisdom, both personally and through his Buddhist teachings, books and Centers. Personally, I feel my life has real meaning and joy thanks both to his inspiration and example, and to putting the instructions on meditation into practice. I had the good fortune of helping edit his 21 books, which are practical commentaries to all of Buddha’s Sutra and Tantra teachings, and have seen first-hand on many occasions his extraordinary and uncommon good qualities and kindness. I
would not trade these last 26 years for anything.

Tampa Bay Wellness: How would you explain the benefits of meditation to someone new to it?
Kadam Lucy James: Anyone can learn to meditate and experi-ence the benefits, and you don’t need an excessive amount of time to get started. More and more people in America are finding that regular meditation helps them not only reduce stress and cope more effectively with life, but also develop their human potential and become wiser and more caring individuals. As our mind be-comes more positive, our actions become more positive, and our overall experience of life becomes more satisfying and beneficial to others.

Tampa Bay Wellness: Please tell us about your experiences of teaching in both the UK and US.
Kadam Lucy James: I have been teaching Buddhist meditation for about 25 years, the last 10 in the US. I really enjoy teaching people of all levels of interest and varying backgrounds, from those simply wishing to get rid of a particular problem in their life to those who wish to become Buddhists and travel the whole path to enlightenment. The lovely thing about Buddha’s teachings is that they are non-evangelical and accessible to anyone who wants to find some genuine peace of mind, so I feel very comfortable in sharing them with whoever comes to the classes, not feeling that I have to “convert” people. Teaching in the USA has been different to teach-ing in the UK, as Americans are very practical and want to try out what they have learnt the very next day at home or at work, which is great! Americans are in tune with their hearts. I have learnt a lot here about optimism and hope and thinking big, and I enjoy living in the States enormously.

Tampa Bay Wellness: Please tell us about your role in the development of Kadampa Buddhist Centers abroad, and in the US.
Kadam Lucy James: The lineage of Kadampa Buddhism dates back 2500 years to Buddha Shakyamuni. It was first introduced to the West in the form of the New Kadampa Tradition by Ven Geshe Kelsang in 1977. I encountered Kadampa Buddhism at college in York in1981, when it was comparatively small in the West – maybe four Centers, all in England, and a hundred students. It grew slowly for ten years, and then we started to see an exponential increase in interest at a grass roots level, all around the world, usually from people encountering the books and teachings and then requesting their own teacher or Center. At last count, there were 1100 Centers in 42 countries. As I have been around pretty much from the beginning (Venerable Geshe Kelsang arrived from Tibet via India in
1977), I have been involved in many areas of its development. I set up Centers and taught extensively in Britain for years, including at one of the major European Buddhist colleges, Madhyamaka Center in York. I helped edit all the books and, together with my partner Kadam Nick Gillespie, have now helped set up five Centers (each with branches) in Florida. I also just spent three years in San Francisco (returning a few months ago), teaching at the large Kadampa Buddhist Temple there and helping establish Centers in Marin and South Bay. In the Fall of 2006, as a senior lay teacher I was asked to lead the meditations at a Buddhist Festival with Venerable Geshe Kelsang in New York to an audience of 3000.

Tampa Bay Wellness: What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time?
Kadam Lucy James: Nothing too unusual! I love swimming, playing tennis and walking on the beach, so I had no complaints about being asked to come and teach in Florida! I like to socialize with friends and family. I also travel a lot to Europe and elsewhere either for Buddhist Festivals or to see family, and I enjoy seeing the sights and meeting people.

Tampa Bay Wellness: What is your favorite film or musical piece? Why?
Kadam Lucy James: I think that Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 are sublime! I encountered them through my beloved grandfather, who used to play the piano for hours right until his death. He was a very spiritual and deep-thinking man (in the Christian tradition) and also a role model for me. He was tragically killed a few years ago, aged 100, by being run over by a car on one of his long walks – otherwise, I think he might have lived til 110, he was so fit in every way!

Tampa Bay Wellness: What are your plans for the future—both short and long-term?
Kadam Lucy James: I think I would like to continue doing very much the same, if I can. I think of my life as more like a marathon than a sprint, trying to pace myself in terms of my teaching, study, and work activities so that I would be happy in ten or twenty years time to be doing exactly what I am doing today (though perhaps a little slower!) Life is uncertain and I am mindful that we each have only a few hundred or so months left (or less, of course), so I try to take each day as it comes and do my best to use it to create the causes of happiness and peace for myself and others, both now and the future. I am happy to remain in Florida for as long as I am needed, building up the Centers and training teachers who can teach meditation far and wide to whoever wants it.