This month (Jan 2004) we talk to Eileen Stead.

Eileen, who celebrated her 82nd birthday on October 26, '03, has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1977. Her interest coincided with Geshe Kelsang's arrival at Manjushri Centre in the Lake District, UK, near where she used to live. Eileen now divides her time between her lovely house at Madhyamaka Centre in York, UK, and Parbawatiya Center, Tampa Bay, where she resides through the winter.

When were you first attracted to Buddhism?

I first met a type of meditation, which was quite effective for calming the mind, when I was playing with the Opera and Ballet Orchestra in Australia in the early 1970's. I was an Oboe player -- most Oboe players become nervous wrecks, due to the particular problems of the instrument. And so the Principal Cellist, who was a very calm person, came to our rescue. Never again would split reeds, or water in the octave key, upset us and ruin our performance. He meditated on a candle flame. For two hours at a time!!! Wow!! We were impressed. So, we tried it. Maybe we didn't make two hours, but it did help. My first experience of concentration, hardly Tranquil Abiding, but a little glimpse perhaps.

What made you come to this Buddhist Center?

So, when my husband and I, on our return from Australia, bought a house in the English Lake District, and read one day, in the local newspaper, that a place called "Conishead Priory" had been bought, with a view to making it a Buddhist Center where Meditation was to be taught, we were intrigued. For the first year there were a number of visiting Lamas, and then in 1977 there was great excitement. A Lama, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso was coming. I can't remember just how many, but it was only a small group who attended his first teaching. Translated by a young Tibetan, Tenzin, Geshe Kelsang's subject was "The Conventional and the Ultimate". How we tried to understand, but how stupid and dull we were. We didn't know what it meant. Conventional what? Ultimate what?

That winter was freezing cold. The Priory had no heating and no hot water. The rain came through the roof, and we sat wrapped in blankets, trying to understand the teachings, which were coming a little clearer now. Beginning to meditate on compassion and patience. The strange thing is that we didn't realize who Geshe Kelsang was at that time. Just a diminutive Tibetan, with very little English. How could we have guessed that he was a true emanation of Je Tsongkhapa, a fully enlightened being. I marvel now, when I sit amongst a gathering of three thousand people in the Temple. I just marvel and feel a great humility.

Were you apprehensive about coming? What did you expect?

Coming? Coming where? To Florida? In 1996, when Kadam Nick and I were working together at Atisha Center in the north of England, Nick had a phone call from Geshe Kelsang. He simply said something like "How would you like to go to Florida?" A teacher has been requested to open a Center there". So here we came, and did we find what we expected?

What were your first impressions when you arrived?

We came in a September, seven years ago. I had expected beaches, dolphins, pelicans, and swimming pools. I found all those, and more besides. At first we got lost driving around, so many cars, and so many traffic lights. Every crossing looked the same. But the most important thing we found were people who were searching for a life that would have more meaning than looking for happiness in material things.

What do you like best about coming here?

I can say without a doubt, that the best thing for me has been the wonderful Sangha friends I have made in Florida. Americans have a great gift of openness and generosity, they are so easy to be with, and I enjoy every moment of their company. What more can I say? I mean every word of it.

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

The benefits are so extensive and never ending, from the first experience of a calmer mind, to the deeper training of tranquil abiding, and the more advanced Tantric meditations on the energy channels of the body. To someone new, I would say that the simple and immediate benefits are a more peaceful mind, more energy for your everyday work, and an improvement in relationships.

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

I think I just answered that !!

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

It is obvious that the world is fast becoming a dangerous place. If the world is to change, the minds of individual people have to change. Greed and violence of many countries have grown out of the greed and violence of individuals. The more individuals who try to live in accordance with Buddhist principles of respect for life and loving-kindness, the more hope there will be for a safer world.

What is your favorite Kadampa Buddhist quotation?

If you don't know the story of the blind turtle, ask someone to tell it to you, then you will understand my favorite quotation:

"It is extremely difficult to obtain a precious human life. Just as it is rare for a turtle to insert it's neck into a yoke on a vast ocean".

What is your favorite Dharma movie?

A wonderful movie made a few years ago called Mindwalk. It is a discussion on the nature of matter, between a Physicist and a Politician. Great stuff. They are just getting around to what Buddha Shakyamuni taught 2500 years ago.

What is you favorite book by Geshe Kelsang?

What a question? How does one have a favorite? The one I read most is Clear Light of Bliss.

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

Maybe Milarepa (AD 1040-1123), a great Tibetan Buddhist meditator and disciple of Marpa, who is celebrated for his beautiful songs of realization. Milarepa had to demolish his own efforts, and try again, not once, but many times. We try so hard to do something, or be something, but we shall never succeed until we let go of our ego-grasping mind. It is only the ego-grasping mind, the cause of all our delusions, which prevents us from attaining the perfection of Buddhahood.

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

We can be Bodhisattvas right now in our everyday lives. There are countless opportunities to help others, to give what they need at this moment. Read the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. To be a shelter for those who need shelter. A bridge for those who wish to cross the water, etc. I think we should never miss an opportunity to help, jump in, and do it. For those people who like action, a Bodhisattva's way of life is for them.

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

Wow!! That's a good one. Throw Fairy dust in the eyes of every living being, so that they would love each other.