This month (October 2004) we talk to Greg Goodman who lives and works in Tampa Bay.

Greg is the Administrative Director of Parbawatiya Center and studies on the Teacher Training Program.

When and how were you first attracted to Buddhism?

It surprises me that I was attracted to a religion, as I expected to have nothing more to do with any religion from when I was young. However, I've always felt that there was something worth understanding, something that I found hard to define. Unexpectedly, I kept hearing about Eastern philosophy from reading books on Cosmology and Quantum Mechanics. I started listening to Joseph Campbell talk about mythology and Buddhism. And I thought I wanted to know more about these ideas on meditation, yoga, obtaining a tranquil mind, etc. It sounded like something I had been looking for, even before I realized I had been looking for it, but I assumed I'd have to go to Tibet to learn more. Then one day, a year or so ago, while looking for a computer book at a near by bookstore, I bumped into these people giving a talk about this very subject, and they had a Buddhist Center just down the road! This seemed like an invitation too amazing to ignore, so I started to attend ...

What made you choose to come to this Buddhist Center?

At the time I didn't know one Buddhist Center from another (maybe I still don't). But this one was just down the road from where I live, and the people I'd already met seemed friendly and inviting.

Were you apprehensive about coming? What did you expect?

I'm always apprehensive about meeting new people or new social situations, but not about Buddhism. I didn't know what to expect. Maybe fun, excitement, and really wild things???

What were your first impressions when you arrived?

Although it was different, the Center didn't seem as wierd or uncomfortable as I thought it might. And, there were many nice and friendly people to help explain things.

What do you like best about coming here?

I most like being among other like minded people, who value Dharma, and want to better learn a more compassionate and meaningful way for us all to live our lives.

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

With meditation you finally get to learn what an unruly mess your mind really is! This is a benefit!?! Yes, and once you learn that whatever troubles your mind originates from within, rather than from anything "really" going on outside the mind, then you can learn to be more tranquil just by improving your mind.

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

I would often feel a great sense of loss or discouragement when many things in my life and in the world, that I thought were very important, would instead seem unimportant to others or too easily destroyed to last. But now I think I understand a little better the true lack of actual or inherent importance of these things, and so I can better let go of what isn't worth holding on to, so as to seek more worthy goals.

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

More than ever, the world now needs to know and live by a set of values that allows every person and every country to be and do the best "good" they can, without resorting to killing or making war on others, or leaving them in poverty or with disease, etc., etc... It seems to me that Buddhism stands the best chance of teaching this so everyone can truly understand how to do this, and why its so important to do so.

What is your favorite Kadampa Buddhist quotation?

OM MANI PAME HUM

What is your favorite Dharma movie, and why?

Now that I've learned a little about Dharma, it's interesting how many movies appear to me to have some Dharma element, even old movies I've seen before but never saw the Dharma before. And there are many new and popular movies that fit, but I think my favorite Dharma movie would be an older and lesser known one called 'The Lathe Of Heaven'. A story in which a man discovers that his dreams can change reality, and then must struggle to keep from letting his desires cause harm, while those who learn his secret instead seek only to use his power for the "greater good" ... at any cost.

What is your favorite Dharma song, and why?

Like the movies (above), much of popular music now seems to me to have some Dharma. But I think I'll pick an unusual musical sound: Philip Glass's Symphony No. 5 as my favorite. But its not a song, rather, its a work of modern opera covering a "broad spectrum of the world's great wisdom traditions" including Buddhism.

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

I'm not sure I "identify" with any, not yet anyway. But I'll pick Buddha Shakyamuni... the only one I really know anything about.

What aspect of Buddhism most inspires you?

I really like the way Buddhism encourages you to logically analyze doctrine, and to reject that which your own wisdom says doesn't make sense. The idea is, I think, that each one of us can achieve enlightenment by following the path which is right for us, rather than what others tell us is what we must do and must not do.

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

The idea that some people dedicate their lives to compassionate living, and letting go of selfish material or worldly gain, for the benefit of both themselves and others inspires me as, I think, it should inspire us all to do likewise... or at least try a little.

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

I don't know, but I will when the time comes...

Anything else you'd like to add?

I'd also like to say how grateful I am to have found such an excellent and skillful teacher as Kadam Lucy James. If I got any of these ideas (above) right, its due mainly to her help. All mistakes are my own. Thank you Lucy!