BUDDHIST MONK FINDS NEW PRACTITIONERS SEARCHING TO FILL VOID

Author: By Diego Ribadeneira, Globe Staff

Date: SATURDAY, November 21, 1998

Page: B2

Section: Metro

In one sense, Rinpoche, 58, is the patriarch of the family. But this is a family united by beliefs, not blood. Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, has played a key role in bringing Buddhism from the Himalayan highlands to the West.

Rinpoche, a close spiritual ally of the Dalai Lama, is at the head of a growing Buddhist organization with thousands of members across the country.

With its emphasis on practical exercises to cope with stress, Buddhism has found an ideal spiritual home in a society where stress from the demands of family and work is a daily fact of life for many Americans.

In Buddhism, an increasing number of practitioners are finding a theological system that satisfies their yearning for spiritual fulfillment, without the institutional qualities of most Western religions.

Buddhist masters such as Rinpoche draw loyal followings whenever they travel across the United States. Some 200 people are expected to attend the extensive Buddhist teachings Rinpoche, who lives in India, is leading today through Thursday in Cambridge.

``Many people cannot find answers for life's problems in science, education, or their jobs so they are interested in Buddhism,'' said Rinpoche. ``This is not to say that there are not many good things in, for example, Christianity. But maybe one cannot find all the answers there. Buddhism offers ways to cure people of their sickness -- mental, physical, spiritual, everything. It can fill that emptiness that many people say they feel inside their heart.''

The diminutive monk gives one concrete example of Buddhist teaching when asked how one should deal with anger. Eyes closed, head bowed, Rinpoche reflects silently for a moment. Then, leaning forward, he says:

``If someone beats you with a stick would you get angry at the stick? No. Why? Because the stick has no control over its actions. In the same way the person that doesn't love you, that abuses you, that hurts you, that person is completely under the control of their anger. That person is a total slave to anger. This person has no freedom. Therefore, the right response is compassion. You must help the person find how to be free from their anger. You must help the person find peace.''

Rinpoche, who is regarded by followers as the reincarnation of an important Tibetan Buddhist master, is spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition, which has 110 centers worldwide, including the Kurukulla Center in Cambridge.

Mahayana is the school of Buddhism prominent in Tibet, Mongolia, China, South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. One of the school's most essential teachings is the ``Great Compassion,'' the overriding requirement that practioners practice compassion for all living beings.

Indeed, Mahayana stresses that an individual's ultimate personal goal, nirvana, cannot be achieved until all living beings are freed from suffering.

Nirvana is defined as the complete detachment from this world and all pain and desire, leading to an eternal blissful condition. Buddhists believe in rebirth and reincarnation because it can take many ``lifetimes'' of work and meditation to achieve nirvana.

Despite Buddhism's rising popularity in America, Rinpoche worries that too many practioners are reducing Mahayana solely to meditation. ``It is not true that you can meditate without working on your external or moral life,'' Rinpoche said. ``If you do not give shelter, food, justice, love, to those who need it, then that is not practicing a moral life. You are missing the essence of Buddhism.''

A mind without moral discipline, Rinpoche instructs, is like a pool of dirty water. ``You can't see anything through the water because of all the dirt, but a pure mind is like clean water; you can see things perfectly because you are unobstructed by negative thoughts or actions. The purpose of meditation is not just to relax or to have peace of mind. The purpose is to achieve all those things so that we can be useful to others. This is what we teach. And it is much work.'' (For more information on Rinpoche's classes, call 617-624-0177.)

-- A church-sponsored program in Vermont that repairs donated cars and sells or gives them away to low-income people has been recognized by a national foundation for its innovative approach to helping people move from welfare to work. The New York-based Drucker Foundation presented its nonprofit innovation award earlier this month to the Good News Garage in Burlington, Vt. The program is sponsored by Lutheran Social Services of New England.

-- Today, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Cambridge Center Marriott Hotel, 2 Cambrige Center, James Augustine Healy Award Dinner to honor Robert P. Gittens, commissioner of state Department of Youth Services (746-5813).

-- Tomorrow, at 10 a.m., Christ Church Cambridge, Zero Garden St., Rt. Rev. Paul Moore Jr., retired Episcopal Bishop of New York to preach (876-0200).

-- Tomorrow, at 11:15 a.m., Lutheran Church of the Newtons, 1310 Center St., Newton, forum on ``Luther and the Heritage of Hatred'' (332-3893).

-- Tomorrow, at 1 p.m., Harvard Science Center, Harvard Square, Chet Raymo, professor at Stonehill College, to speak on ``Spirituality, Rationality and Religion'' (495-5529, 547-1597).

-- Tomorrow, at 3 p.m., St. Margaret's Convent, 17 Highland Park St., Roxbury, concert by Coro Stella Maris (445-8961).

-- Tomorrow, at 7 p.m., Trinity Church, 124 River Road, Topsfield, Patterson Chorale concert ($6-$12, 978-887-5570).

-- Tomorrow, at 7 p.m., Paulist Center, 5 Park St., Boston, Sean Cahill, director of Massachusetts Human Service Coalition, to speak on welfare reform (742-4460).

-- Friday through Sunday, La Salette Center, 947 Park St., Attleboro, retreat entitled ``The Grace and Curse of Addiction'' (508-222-8530).

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