This month (December 2006) we talk to Michael Lawman.

Michael is on the Teacher Training Program at Parbawatiya Center and teaches both introductory and intermediate Buddhist meditation classes at a correctional institute in Florida. He is the Director of Research for the Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at St Joseph’s Children’s Hospital of Tampa. He is also the Chairman-of-the-Board and President of Morphogenesis, Inc -- a biotechnology company that he co-founded with Dr. Pat Lawman.

When were you first attracted to Buddhism?

This is easy for me to answer! About 3 years ago. My very first introduction to teaching on any aspect of Buddhadharma was from Sasha Bartunek. Her teaching was all I needed to become inquisitive about this “way of life” -- I felt like a fish that had swallowed the bait. Listening to Kadam Lucy James the following Sunday was like having the hook set and I have loved the Dharma ever since.

What made you come to this Buddhist Center?

What originally drew me to this center was Pat, my companion and best friend -- she found it!! I basically was coming for the ride. I was, however, looking for a religion I could relate to and was struggling to be at peace within myself as well as with my external activities, i.e. my job/career!! I had never meditated before. My mind is never still even for a second -- it is in constant motion -- so I was interested to see if I could achieve any meditative state at all. I was not even sure I would know what a meditative state was or entailed!

Were you apprehensive about coming? What did you expect?

Absolutely! I was so familiar with the Christian religion that I felt I knew what to expect, but I had never met a Buddhist, so was not sure what to expect or, for that matter, what was expected from me. It made me nervous to say the least.

What were your first impressions?

Where were these people hiding when they were not at the Center?!! They were all so incredibly friendly, no one thought they were superior to anyone. I had never felt so welcome. It was hard to leave and know that you had to wait a week before you would be back. I found the meditation room a place that I could go and just be peaceful, and, incredulously, my mind slowed down and I could maintain a thought for a period of time without my mind jumping on another and yet another thought, without any conclusion.

What do you like best about coming here?

The teachings on Buddhadharma. Even though to my knowledge, at that time, I had never met the Dharma, it felt absolutely right for me, as if I had studied it for a lifetime and that somehow I have been connected to it at some point. Having faith in the teachings was not difficult for me. I questioned everything only because I want to understand, not because I had doubt in any of what was being taught. I also love the Sangha; they alone have taught me so much about humility, love and compassion. To a fault, they are such kind and loving human beings.

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

Wow! I am not sure how to answer that. I would tell them that from my perspective meditation is a way for me to take advantage of the teachings I receive and to nurture in my life a state of mind that provides deep and lasting happiness, peace, love and compassion not only for myself but, more importantly, for all beings.

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

It has shown me the way to behave in a more compassionate, loving and caring manner not just to my immediate family or close friends but to cultivate these awesome characteristics, make them second nature to me and to apply them to all beings. Sadly, I do not follow this way of life to the fullest and have to constantly remind myself of what I need to be doing!!

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

PEACE, LOVE and COMPASSION. All it would take is for everyone to pray together, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, and to have faith that by having a pure motivation towards that wish or goal, world peace is obtainable.

What is your favorite Kadampa Buddhism Saying?

In Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Chapter 6 on relying upon Patience, I have two sayings that over the last year have come to mean a great deal to me:

Shantideva says:

“All the deeds and virtuous merit,

Such as giving and making offerings,

That we have accumulated over thousands of eons

Can be destroyed by just one moment of anger.”

“There is no evil greater than anger,

And no virtue greater than patience.

Therefore I should strive in various ways

To become familiar with the practice of patience.”

Of all the beautiful teachings and sayings, these really resonate with me. I suppose from having such great fortune to teach inside a correctional facility, I can see the result of even one moment of anger and observe the destructive power it has on our ordinary lives. I have witnessed too the love and compassion that has arisen in these unfortunate beings and the great patience they show with one another and in the development of their spiritual practice from within a tangible samsaric existence.

What is your favorite Dharma movie?

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (2003). The setting of this film is quite spectacular and is located at Jusan Pond/lake ( Created about 200 years ago) in which the surrounding mountains are reflected in its waters. The lake is found at high elevations in the Juwangsan National Park at a branch of the Taebaek Mountain Range, in the southeast of the Korean peninsula. The protagonists, two monks, one is the spiritual master and the other his very young student/novice, live in a temple home floating on a lake surrounded by lush green mountains. A giant stone Buddha overlooks the lake while entry to a little boat dock is from a pair of carved antique doors located on the calm lake shore. This film encompasses the story of the lives of two monks in five sections; each section is set during a particular season in a particular year. The film studies a wide breadth of emotion as seen from the side of both the master and his novice and is a reflective study deeply grounded in the philosophy of Buddhism touching on the subjects of samsara, the wheel of life, karma, Heart Sutra and the delusions of anger, jealousy, and attachment).

What is your favorite book by Geshe Kelsang?

That has to be Great Treasury of Merit. This book is the commentary to the practice of Guru yoga explained in Offering to the Spiritual Guide, and, as Geshe Kelsang says, relying upon the Spiritual Guide is regarded as the source of inspiration, understanding, and progress on the spiritual path. I cannot think of anything more worthwhile than relying on my Spiritual Guide.

With which historical Kadampa Buddhist do you most identify?

That would have to be the monk Lam Chung, who was a slow learner and suffered from the laziness of discouragement. All through my early life I was always identified (by parents and friends alike) as someone that would have trouble succeeding in life. I was always regarded as a slow learner. There the similarity ends -- basically I have stayed like that, with a great wish to learn but suffering from the laziness of discouragement, as I am often told! However, Lam Chung went on to become a great Arhat. As Geshe Kelsang says in Meaningful to Behold, “……Afterwards, Buddha himself prophesied that among all his disciples, Lam Chung would possess the greatest skill in taming the minds of others…...” The story of Lam Chung illustrates for me the importance of correct motivation and having sincerity in applying our minds to developing a correct spiritual path.

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

Developing the mind of bodhichitta, and being able to develop great compassion, the state of mind that wishes each and every being, without exception, to be separated from all suffering.

What is the first thing you’re going to do when you become a Buddha?

I can’t think that far ahead, but if pushed I would want to assist in relieving all sentient beings of their suffering and to finally lead them to liberation from samsara.