Interview with Geshe Tenzin Losel
Can you share with us your personal journey to becoming a monk and what led you to follow the Tibetan Buddhist path?
One friendly lady university teacher had suggested I was an idealist. That seems to be true in the sense that I was and still am a person seeking for the ideal answer; the one that solves all problems and makes them go away. Listening to Tibetan monks teaching Buddhism in the UK in the 80s, I began to see a way past notions that human imperfection is inevitable —only God's grace can save us — or that the human mind has wired in limitations — a presumption of modern, materialist science. The teaching that we humans can so far overcome our ignorance as to achieve enlightenment, is more favourable to me! So, here I am, still following the inspiration of those masters.
Are there any particular teachers that inspired you along the path and why?
Of course, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been a great example for me and so many others. Lama Zopa, who established the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition was another extraordinary figure. I remember with great gratitude the late Geshe Damchö Gyaltsen, the teacher at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala, who taught us the great texts of the geshe programme over a period of a decade and a half. He was our teacher all through that time. Not like the Western system of more frequent changes of teachers from year to year and for different topics. Such persistence on our behalf! From time to time, below the window of our classroom one could watch the labourers chopping wood for the school kitchen fire. No easy task. No chainsaws and the wood the school purchased for fuel was always bulky, twisted, knotted and gnarled, the straight bits of wood having gone elsewhere as building timber and so on I suppose. The labourers tussled and pounded with iron wedges and sledgehammers to split the wood up into usable pieces, 'Bink, bink bink,' the noise of the sledge hammer doing its work punctuated Geshe Damchö's lessons. Their struggle was just like our teacher's, as he tried unrelentingly to hammer some sense into our deeply unenlightened minds!
What aspects of Tibetan culture do you feel most connected to and how do they influence your spiritual practice?
I have never been to Tibet, only to the Indian border regions where the mountain people are Tibetan in many aspects of their culture, language and religion but born free Indian citizens. People of those regions and Tibetan refugees in India, I mostly found to be extremely good-natured and cheerful, in spite of exile or very simple living standards. It made me think that I was a bit too solemn and serious. My time spent in India with them was very fortunate in respect of the kindness of the people I lived with.
The claim of my Tibetan teachers that Tibetan Buddhism in their lineage at least, is principally a faithful continuation of Indian Buddhism, I see as an authentic claim. The main establisher of that lineage, Je Tsongkhapa, always sought to provide a source for his presentations and interpretations from the words of Buddha himself or from classic Indian masters, of the Nalanda tradition, as His Holiness calls it. This I find satisfying, that Tibetan Buddhism should be authoritative in this way. Also notable for me is the fact that, not reliant upon the scriptural word alone, Tsongkhapa, as does His Holiness, always promotes a reasoned approach, requiring an investigation into the path from ignorance to happiness by means of reasoning and debate.
How do the teachings help us in our daily life?
The stresses and strains of a busy daily life can be very trying. A daily morning meditation practice, even if short, as the first part of the waking day is a great help. One can become skilled at calming and balancing the mind at least and that will have a beneficial effect throughout the day. As we begin to understand a little about where our unhelpful moods and emotions come from, we can work on applying antidotes to them or seeing how to cut them off before they become strong and dominating. Deeper acquaintance with Buddha's teachings strengthens our positive connection with others as we train in kindness and see that one of life's great purposes and greatest satisfactions is helping others.
What is your opinion on how to integrate Tibetan Buddhism in the West?
I think that has to happen naturally. Different aspects of Tibetan Buddhism appeal to different people. If there is an authentic modern Buddhism that is a development from traditional Tibetan Buddhism, it will emerge as people follow their inspiration. His Holiness has shown great interest in modern science, particularly as relating to the mind and he has been responsible for co-operation between scientists and Buddhist masters. Scientists have now become aware of and investigated how the mind influences the brain and not just vice versa. Students of advanced Buddhism at the major study monasteries under his direct authority, now have science studies as part of their curriculum.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in exploring Tibetan Buddhism or spirituality, but doesn't know where to start?
The teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama are a very good place to start. There are books and videos of teachings at all levels and for all degrees of interest in Buddhism, with reflections on other religious traditions, paths of exploration and practice, and many social issues also.
How did you become connected to Lam Rim Buddhist Centre Wales and what are your thoughts for its future?
Although I was never a student of the late Geshe Damchö in Wales and only met him late on in his life, other Tibetan geshes in Britain who were his contemporaries and friends were my teachers, in Britain or in India. Particularly, there is a connection through Drepung Loseling Monastery. We both became geshes of that monastery, myself at Drepung Loseling in exile in India, where Geshe Damchos would return every so often from Wales. I can't read the future. All I can say is that Lam Rim Buddhist Centre, Wales, is a lovely country retreat and study centre. The amazing efforts and generosity of many people have made great improvements and I look forward to enjoying the place and teaching there soon.
British born Geshe Tenzin Losel received full ordination as a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan tradition from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1994. He is one of the handful of Westerners trained for two decades in the traditional Tibetan way as a geshe. A graduate of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, he attended many teachings by His Holiness there. In 2006 he received his geshe degree from Drepung Loseling, the monastery where the late Geshe Damchos, founder of Lam Rim Wales also trained.
To learn more about Geshe Losel’s, teachings and publications visit: www.geshe-graham-losel.com