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Buddhism – Suffering is Optional
By Catherine Krantz

Israel Lifshitz got in touch with Buddhism 13 and a half years ago when he attended a lecture that opened his eyes and changed the path of his life. “Buddhism addressed many of the existential questions about my life,” says Israel, on a recent trip to Zihuatanejo, where he conducted a seminar on Tibetan Philosophy and Psychology. “From there I started to look for a serious education, and I have since had the good fortune to receive teaching from 21 Tibetan Lamas and western Tibetologists.” Originally from Mexico City, now living in Morelia, Michocan, Israel, along with his wife and a friend, started a center for learning and practicing of Tibetan Buddhism in Morelia called Lhundup Lam-rin Ling, which is Tibetan for “garden of the spontaneous gradual path to enlightenment.” The spiritual director of the center is Tibetan Lama Geshe Lhundup Sopa, one of the teachers of the Dali Lama, and they now have 100 members. In Tibetan tradition one cannot become a teacher by choice, one must be commanded to teach by their own teacher or a request must be made by students. Israel has been an instructor for ten years and he was in Zihuatanejo at the request of gallery owner Rocio Madrazo, who had attended one of his workshops in Morelia and thought the residents of Zihuatanejo might enjoy it. His 16-hour, two-day seminar, Introduction to Tibetan Philosophy and Psychology, was held in the conference room of the Palma Real golf course and was attended by an interested group of Zihuatanejo residents who came with very little pre-knowledge of Buddhism. (Israel also offered a forty-five minute round table discussion on Buddhism in English for interested non-Spanish speaking residents.)

“One of humanities largest cognitive errors is thinking that pleasure is the same as happiness. Trying to extract happiness from pleasure is like trying to milk a crocodile.”
-- Isreal Lifshitz

The seminar was an introduction to Buddhism, aimed at people who knew very little before hand and thus required some basic clarifications right from the start. The main point that was stressed and what came as such a surprise to audience members unfamiliar with Buddhism was learning that Buddhism is not a religion, because it has none of the common attributes that describe religions. Buddhism has no deity, no dogma and no universal truth, it is merely teachings on how an individual can live better. “Buddhism is not a faith, not a religion,” stresses Israel, “It is a science of mind. We have the misassumption that it is a religion because we view it from our western minds.” Seeing is not always believing, cautioned Israel. Just because you look at other cultures, or travel to other countries does not mean you understand them. Because, he explained, “You are always looking with the eyes of you own culture.” To understand non-occidental concepts, he says, “Westerners need more than a dictionary, they need a cultural bridge between the two worlds.” (Not just true for a Westerner trying to understand Buddhism, one thinks.)

We can only see with our own eyes, so we must learn to change how they see. Buddhism (or Nang-cho in Tibetan, which roughly translates as “inner knowledge”) is an internal journey to combat the war within our own minds, a way to minimize our sufferings and enhance our happiness-es. A main tenet of Buddhism is the belief that we all suffer, we all want to be happy and none of us are. The goal of practicing Buddhism is to minimize our negative emotions, enhance our positive emotions and to reach a lasting happiness. It is a misconception that Buddhism is mystical; it is very grounded, it is only, says Israel, “Men and women working with themselves to change their lives,” and it has been inspiring inward looking humans for 1200 years.

The Lhundup Lam-rin Ling center in Morelia offers four classes a week at four different instruction levels and five days a week has one-hour meditation sessions. They also have night classes and weekend seminars on specific topics and three-four times a year offer intensive meditation retreats from two-three days to 10 days. Several times a year visiting teachers, Lamas and Western Tibetologists come and teach at the center. Although the courses are primarily in Spanish, Israel is bi-lingual and can offer workshops in English if there is enough interest. For more information you can contact the center by email at blueaeon@hotmail.com

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