Like a butterfly bell.
Breezing past a Buddhist monk on the street isn’t an everyday occurrence, which is why when I did so last spring on Clinton Avenue, I’m reasonably sure I threw an appreciative double-take in his direction. There was something immediately calming about the sight of his flowing red and yellow robe, and as I continued on my way, I put one (Buddhist monk) and one (postcards advertising local meditation classes) together and resolved to visit the Vajradhara Meditation Center.
Not that it was hard to find: Located in a brownstone at Adelphi Street and Greene Avenue, the 2-year-old center’s meditation shrine is visible from the street. I have a long-standing interest in Buddhism, but I hadn’t found a center nearby for regular meditation…until now, which is a particularly opportune moment to apply its teachings of compassion and patience to my life. Buddhist nun Kelsang Demo welcomed me in, and we spoke about Kadampa Buddhism, the local community’s support of the center, and how to make the time in a busy and tumultuous life for regular practice.
Q: How did you decide to become a Buddhist nun?
A: I’ve been ordained for about 6 years. I started off at a temple in Seattle, where I grew up. I spent about 6 years practicing at that temple as a lay person, and then I just decided that I wanted to be ordained and I preferred that way of practicing.
Q: How long did that take?
A: About a year. You try to live as if you’re ordained already — you kind of imagine you have the vows, you cut your hair, you kind of see if that feels natural, and then if does, then you go ahead….And usually you ask permission, you ask your parents, you ask any relevant people it would matter to. My teacher Geshe Kelsang, the spiritual director of the center, he’s who ordained me, so I also asked him.
Q: What’s the difference between practicing as a lay person versus as a nun or a monk?
A: Mostly just the vows. At least in our tradition, there’s no distinction in terms of abilities — we get the same teachings, a lay person can be a teacher…there’s no distinction there. It’s just more in terms of personal approach.
Q: There are so many different traditions [of Buddhism]….Is there a way to articulate how Kadampa Buddhism differs from, say, Tibetan Buddhism?
A: I think there’s an underlying set of beliefs that every Buddhist practitioner, you know, certain tenets that everyone has faith in that they use in their practice. In terms of Kadampa and how we differ, it would probably just be in our approach. “Kadampa” means someone who takes all of Buddha’s teachings as personal advice and puts them into practice. Our emphasis in the Kadampa tradition is practical application. So any teaching we hear, we try not just to take it at an intellectual level, but we use meditation to bring it into our heart. We really focus on how we apply it to our daily life: How is it applicable with my family, with my job, with my friends, with my activities?
Q: I notice there are a number of centers in the eastern United States and several in the New York area. Why New York, why this area, why this center here in this neighborhood?
A: Usually what happens is that dharma centers start by request. People from a local area will write Geshe Kelsang, and say “Hey, I’d really like a dharma center where I live.” Usually there’s a center close enough and they’ll send out branch teachers at first to do a few talks and see if there’s interest. In some cases right away he’ll send a teacher to be there full-time to start a center….It kind of varies. Our sister center in Manhattan, Chakrasambara, they came here about 12 years ago; they started off in Brooklyn and then they moved to Manhattan about 7 years ago. My feeling is — with respect to this center — is that Geshe saw there was still a need in the other boroughs. Even though there was one center, this is such a big city, and there needs to be many centers to cover the populace. Otherwise, people don’t want to travel if they live in the boroughs, especially if they’ve already traveled for work — they don’t want to have to go outside the neighborhood.
Geshe was very encouraging that we have branches in all the neighborhoods so that we’re not expecting people to travel to us. That’s why he wanted one in Brooklyn, and then we’ve also spread out to the other boroughs now, in Queens, in the Bronx, in Staten Island, hoping in the future those will become their own centers too with their own full-time teachers.
In terms of Fort Greene itself, it’s very interesting because we started in Carroll Gardens, and when I first came, we were looking for a space to use as a dharma center. I had had some branch classes in Fort Greene, and it was such a friendly neighborhood to me — people were so incredibly welcoming whenever I came here and whenever we put out publicity for the talks we were giving. People were always so kind in the shops, like “Oh, yeah, put your cards here, put your posters there.” They were so friendly that I always had a nice feeling for Fort Greene. And then when we were looking for a dharma center I met a real estate agent who worked in Fort Greene part time, and she knew about this house, so she showed it to me, and it just felt perfect — it’s such a nice neighborhood.
Q: Is this a central meeting space for the local practicing community or does it tend to take place in the meditation classes?
A: We have here meetings here usually weekly, but they’re our smaller ones because it’s a small space. We have day workshops and weekend retreats, and then we have a few weekly classes. In terms of classes that are a bit bigger, we have them at other venues like Lucky Lotus, where there’s more space. We’re hoping in the future to find a commercial venue.
Q: And is the community of people diverse?
A: Yeah, I’ve been really impressed because it is very diverse. The group of people that come regularly here — it’s a variety of ethnic backgrounds, a variety of ages, at different stages in their lives….I think it has a lot to do with the fact that this area of Brooklyn is so diverse that it naturally seems to attract a number of people who seem comfortable coming. And what’s really nice to see, what I really enjoy is that in that diverse group of people who come here, they love each other so much, they get along so well. I’ve been so impressed, they really make friends with one another versus it being kind of standoffish.
Q: If I want to start to deepen my practice now, how would you recommend going about that if you can’t come to meditation meetings or classes?
A: I would say that it’s always nice to have some regular time that’s set aside for emphasizing learning new things. One way that’s wonderful is through books: Find a good book and a few times a week or on a daily basis you decide, “I’m going to read a little bit and contemplate — gently meditate or contemplate something that struck me as relevant.” It’s a little bit more organized, it’s not as casual as picking up a book here and there, but you feel like there’s something formal, like you’re dedicating some space in your life or some time in your life for some spiritual practice.
Q: Are there any specific books you would recommend?
A: How to Solve Our Human Problems — there’s several amazing chapters on anger, and then there are about three chapters on acceptance. And then my second favorite book is Transform Your Life, because that’s kind of a condensation of everything, so in terms of people who want a kind of “Buddhism 101″ in one book, that’s my favorite, and also I find it very easy to meditate with.
Vajradhara Meditation Center is at 380 Adelphi Street, 2nd Floor (tel. 718/496-5514). Meditation classes are held at the center and at Lucky Lotus Yoga on DeKalb Avenue; check the website for schedules. Suggested donation $10.