Explicit goals of the gathering included:

This conference was decidedly not convened in order to conclude, decide, or legislate and make policies; to judge anyone; nor to create yet another organization or foment Dharma politics. This ten day intensive meeting was intended solely to raise the right questions; to penetratingly inquire into how the sublime Dharma, which many consider to be at a critical juncture today, can continue to be of genuine benefit in today's changing times, and how to keep the teachings alive, fresh, and relevant -- when the very earth and skies reel from the effects of a shallow, short term, materialistic ethic as the teachings are finding a home in Western lands. For are we not at a particularly significant point in our cultural evolution?

The conference was organized and convened by Lama Surya Das, a senior American disciple of H. H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Venerable Kalu Rinpoche, and the founder of the Dzogchen Foundation of America; it was sponsored by friends of the Dzogchen Foundation. The discussions were moderated by Dr. Jack Kornfield of the Insight Meditation West/ Spirit Rock Center in California. There were six days of teachers' meetings among the Western teachers, which took place before and after the four full days of intimate dialogue with His Holiness (and other important lamas) in the middle of that period, meetings which took place in armchairs in the new meeting room of His Holiness's private residence. Each of the four days with His Holiness was dedicated to a different theme:

All of the Western teachers stayed and ate together daily in a hotel near His Holiness's residence at Namgyal Monastery in Upper Dharamsala, a relaxed and beautiful mountainside setting which provided a great deal of time and space for informal interaction. It was an opportunity to find out what other teachers and traditions within Buddhism offer, and a marvellous chance to network among peers and colleagues both old and new; for I believe that the more we know each other, the more we learn to love and respect each other -- just as with ourselves. It was also an excellent opportunity to better educate ourselves in order to help the Eastern masters and teachers learn to better educate us.

One of the main themes to emerge from the conference was a shared recognition of the undeniable importance of a spiritual teacher as a role model -- an exemplary one, hopefully -- and the ethical responsibilities connected with such a role. Everyone present expressed the strongly perceived need for various kinds of mutual support systems, including explicit ethical guidelines, for both students and teachers. The discussions moved swiftly in surprising directions. There were innumerable extraordinary responses from His Holiness. For example, he emphasized the right, and even responsibility, of students to object to any behavior of teachers deemed abusive, damaging, immoral, or unsuitable for the time and place. (Examples were asked for and cited, without names.) His Holiness himself exclaimed: "I myself will shout about it, where necessary, if that would be helpful." Many present called for an advisory board or council of elders to review such problems; to help provide wounded students and teachers with recourse to a forum to air grievances, and with some form of accountability; and an opportunity to redress wrongs and eventually achieve reconciliation, forgiveness and rehabilitation. (Cited as a working example was the Ethics Committee recently formed by the Western Vipassana Teachers' group, at the behest of the Vipassana community in America.)

Regarding the notion of transmission and authorization of teachers, His Holiness stated that it is actually the students who empower the teacher, rather than - as so often stated - a formal certificate or ceremony performed by a member of the hierarchy. Moreover, he warned Westerners to be aware of the critical difference between a teacher's mere charisma and authentic spiritual realization. Lofty sounding titles were also cited as potentially misleading when seeking a genuine Buddhist guide for ones own practice. Many present questioned whether there is, or could be, a fixed curriculum of study and practice for everyone within each individual tradition, as often suggested by certain teachers; many teachers present thought that spiritual practice is most beneficial when tailor-made to suit each person's needs, which may require a personal relationship with a kalyana mitra (spiritual friend-cum- teacher).

"More fine Dharma teachers are needed," people agreed. "But where shall they arise from?" a Tibetan lama wondered.... One Rinpoche said that "Teachers are born, not made;" a statement most Western teachers do not accept. There ensued general outcry for the need for thorough "teacher training", a process reaching beyond simple training as a Buddhist practitioner. Another important theme was teaching as a practice, and the deep need to continue developing while acting in the role of a teacher -- to continue receiving teachings and undertaking intensive practice-periods oneself.

One of the liveliest and most hilarious discussions concerned the concept of Crazy Wisdom, a concept those present felt is too often invoked in order to rationalize all sorts of questionable, even unethical behavior. This critique became a prototype for other far-ranging discussions. Various ways were pointed out regarding how one's ego -- as well as various quasi-enlightened teachers, unscrupulous individuals, and charlatans too -- can exploit the prestige and position of being taken as a spiritual teacher in a materialistic, yet often spiritually naive, society; exploitation often seen as abusive in the areas of sex, wealth, alcohol, arrogance and power. The existence, in some cases, of double standards was perceived as a source of various problems.

His Holiness himself considers the phrase "crazy wisdom" an oxymoron, almost a contradiction in terms; he questioned whether anyone today had reached the level of the Indian siddhas (enlightened tantric adepts) of old, for whom excrement and gold were one. "What is needed is more genuine wisdom based on complete insight into sunyata, not simply more madness," His Holiness explained. The insouciant Professor Robert Thurman, in his inimutable style, proposed "The Taste Test" for the so-called crazy-wise masters, exclaiming: "Let them taste shit and piss, and see if any will pass that test!" His Holiness himself stated that he would rather see what he called proper wisdom, or genuine compassionate wisdom, being promoted in the so-called spiritual marketplace. He directly questioned a zen sensai's realization of emptiness, when it was implieproper wisdom, or genuine compassionate wisdom, being promoted in the so-called spiritual marketplace. He directly questioned a zen sensai's realization of emptiness, when it was implied by him that realization of sunyata placed one above and beyond moral standards of ethical behavior. "Your realization -- please excuse me for saying this -- seems incomplete".His Holiness told him.

During the morning of discussion of Psychology & Dharma, an extremely moving interchange took place between His Holiness and this American sensai, the Dharma heir of a Japanese roshi in America. Sensai said; "Your Holiness, I have completed my koan study and practice in the Rinzai zen school, as taught by my teacher, and received formal transmission and authorization, along with a traditional certificate, from him; yet I still have psychological problems and difficulties. Is Buddhist practice sufficient for us, or not?" His Holiness said: "This sounds sectarian, I know; but I think that Tibetan Buddhism has most effectively preserved until now all the skillful means of the three yanas (vehicles) of Buddhism, and therefore contains more inner methods to deal with undoing these problems than what you have described as zen practice. Sitting alone is not enough. Meditation is not the only practice of Buddhism."

Sensai pursued this point. "Some Dharma teachers put down psychotherapy. I told my roshi I wanted to seek psychological counseling from a therapist, and from other peers and colleagues, for my responsibilities as vice-abbot of the community had left me feeling lonely, isolated, worn down and burned out (feelings many present had also experienced.) Roshi, however, said: 'Just sit. Zazen is enough.' Finally -- although I am his appointed successor -- I felt compelled to leave him, for this sort of traditional rigidity as well as other (ethical) reasons." This raised an oft-discussed point: if some people (even Dharma teachers) feel unsatisfied with the Dharma, is it because they have yet to fully plumb its depths, or perhaps because everything that everyone needs is not there?

Another major theme running through all the meetings was the ongoing issue of preservation, adaptation and authenticity of teachings in the transmission of Buddhadharma to the West--in short, how to distinguish form from essence. The similarities and differences between the genuine Dharma teaching and its various forms of accumulated cultural trappings led to much discussion. In short, the general understanding among those present was best summed up and expressed by His Holiness himself when he said: "You must each understand the fundamental principles of the teachings, take the heart of Dharma, and apply them to your own culture in any and every way that can benefit others." During another discussion, His Holiness surprised everyone by exclaiming: "There is no outside creator. You must create it yourselves!" He was, I presume, talking about or lives and our world as well as our American Buddhist dharma.

Another main issue was how, and even if, to create and organize appropriate Buddhist institutions in the West, both lay and monastic, in order to facilitate deepening spiritual practice and a spirit of free inquiry. After a spirited and detailed thirty minute presentation by senior British nun Ani Tenzin Palmo on the many difficulties experienced by new Buddhist monastics in the West over the last decades -- including the lack of support and training and their almost impossible predicament -- a visibly stunned His Holiness broke down and wept openly for several minutes. Tenzin Palmo said: "According to my understanding, the problems faced by neophyte Western ordained sangha in Western lands today -- where Dharma has not yet really entered the mainstream, and society has yet to begin really support Buddhist monastics -- are greater than those faced in new lands at any time in Buddhist history. It seems to be a general perception among Tibetans that Westerners can't keep their vows and commitments, but for we Westerners it seems incredible that anyone at all has managed to keep their monastic vows, considering the Western environment. And women are discriminated against to an incredible extent in traditional Buddhist centers and communities." This highly impactful analysis was delivered by a Kagyu bhikshuni (Gelongma) of nineteen years who had spent over ten of her thirty years as a Dharma student in the East meditating in solitude, under her lama's guidance, in a Himalayan cave.

His Holiness expressed his total support and encouragement for monastics, and his intention to seek to redress these problems and iniquities; to begin with, he will strive to convene a Sangha Council of Buddhist elders from all the Buddhist countries and traditions in order to adapt the timeless wisdom of the Vinaya (Buddhist monastic code) in the light of modern realities. Establishing the equality of both sexes under the Vinaya was cited as one example of the need for reconsideration and possible adaptation.

The relationship between psychology, psychotherapy and Dharma was also of major concern. Many spoke up for the benefits of utilizing Western methods to heal the mind in cases where meditation practice alone does not seem to be sufficient. The possible uses of other Western intellectual disciplines, including the arts and sciences, as well as other philosophies and religions, were also endorsed by His Holiness as an acceptable part of any individual's path. The group wondered aloud together: Can we afford to ignore own own Western culture and knowledge base in the pursuit of spiritual truth and freedom through Buddhadharma?

His Holiness himself felt that it was more important to help others achieve happiness and benefit society than to preserve and propagate Buddhism per se, not to mention exotic Oriental cultural trappings. Many teachers expressed their heartfelt concern that their Western Dharma students often seem to have quite a different agenda than many of their Oriental teachers when such issues as these come into play, giving rise to an awkward (if not occasionally painful) feeling of divided loyalty; for example, when Eastern teachers wish to preserve their culture as well as the Dharma teachings, while most Western students primarily seek liberating knowledge, not Oriental history and culture.

The elaborate building projects of many Tibetan and Bhutanese lamas in the West, sometimes viewed as being at the expense of the building and training of Western sanghas, was cited as one such frustration; several huge, ornate, newly-built, Oriental style temple complexes are lacking in residents, fine translators and translations, and active, qualified teachers, although seemingly successful from an external point of view. "But where are the long-term, experienced practitioners, ongoing training programs and the well-developed Dharma-heirs?" several participants wished to know."

Several Westerners expressed the general perception in the West that Tibetan Buddhism is, not unlike the Catholic church, too hierarchical and topheavy-- with many lamas living at a standard far above that of their students-- and that a disproportionate amount of fund-raising energy was dedicated solely to benefit projects back in their own Oriental communities, however worthwhile such Third World and refugee development projects may be, as well as for their own families. One Rinpoche who was not present said, when asked, that the greatest problem with the Dharma coming to the West is that Westerners give too much money to the visiting Asian teachers, who then too often become corrupted. "Don't spoil them!" he advised.

Perhaps the most strikingly radical exercise during the course of the meetings was presented by Sylvia Wetzel of Germany, a disciple of Lama Thubten Yeshe. She invited His Holiness, the venerable rinpoches and all the assembled Western teachers "to gently close your eyes and clearly visualize, or imagine for a moment, that you are a male, and that you are entering a Buddhist shrine room, where the Buddha statue, all the images on the altar and walls, and the master sitting on the teacher's seat or throne are all female. Imagine that you are asked to, and actually become engaged in, chanting prayers and lineage invocations to beings and historical teachers who are all female; and that all the nuns and women are proudly seated up front on a carpeted dais upon comfortable cushions, near the teacher and Buddha, while you -- as a male -- creep around the rear of the crowded hall in a submissive, bent-over posture and slip unobtrusively into the ranks of men crowded on the cold, bare floor near the rear of the hall... For a moment, just feel and sense the entire atmosphere -- where you are and how everyone around you is structured in favor of a group you are by birth excluded from; how the scriptures--and even the Tibetan language itself -- refers to womenkind as a lower from of human birth.... " Then she continued: " Can you just imagine the effect that has on your male ego! Would you -- if you were a Western intellectual brought up in a more egalitarian society, a Westerner with any self respect at all -- feel compelled to join such a sexist and hierarchical foreign church?"

Ms. Wetzel proceeded with a brilliant analysis, summing up her written paper entitled "The Four Veils / Women, Men and Freedom: Introduction to Buddhist Psychology". Her actual thesis on the Four Veils (based upon a teaching by Venerable Kalu Rinpoche) begins. "Because we are (1) not in contact with our buddha-nature (the veil of not-knowing, or ignorance), we freeze our experiences into (2) rigid concepts, ideas, images (the veil of habitual clinging to self and others, or duality); defend these fabricated concepts with (3) agitated emotions (the veil of negative emotions, or kleshas), and temporarily stabilize this false reality with our (4) karmic habits (the veil of karma, or actions).... In order to be able to work practically and effectively with these four veils, I relate them to our cultural, social, conceptual and emotional conditioning as women and men in the West today, in order to teach and practice Dharma in a manner which is actually congruent with my own experience in this time and place, and with the experience of many of the individuals I happen to meet in my work."

Along with everyone present, His Holiness endorsed an attitude of deep questioning, rather than of blind faith and uncritical adherence to traditional values. Each individual must be able to assume responsibility for his or her own spiritual life and development, not simply rush naively into the hands of whoever happens to present themselves as a teacher. "One should examine a teacher for years before accepting him or her as one's principal guru, after which one might then receive high tantric initiation and undertake the practice of pure vision called "seeing the teacher as a perfect Buddha, beyond all judgement and criticism."... An advanced practice which can also, in certain cases, become problematical. Seeing everything the guru does as perfect was discussed in detail, from the sides of both benefit and harm. The problems of teachers becoming isolated and cut off from meaningful feedback and input were also highlighted, and the need for a genuine sangha of peers, friends and colleagues, for teachers as well as students. Everyone recognized the great value of sangha, of being part of a spiritual community, in these turbulent times.

Various other interesting questions came up, such as: How to make the deep teachings more accessible? How relevant is dharma teaching to social and ecological issues today? Can Westerners ever be the way Eastern masters sometimes seem to envision us becoming; is our vision necessarily different than theirs? What are necessary or adequate, rather than the ideal, qualities of a spiritual teacher in our time? Will we be Buddhists in the future? Is there a generic or basic Dharma practice suitable for all, which could form the basis of public Buddhist centers in the West -- rather than every single sect, lineage, and individual teacher needing to have their own center? Is lay practice as potentially profound and far-reaching as monastic life? How, as teachers, to deal with the projections and transference of students towards us as idealized parent figures? Can one be a Buddhist without believing in rebirth? -- In karma? Can one fruitfully practice Buddhist meditation without a mature ego-base and self-esteem? These will all be considered in future rounds of discussion.

Some of the most nagging problems concerning right livelihood, lineage holding, sectarianism, sexism, integrating practice with daily life, Engaged Buddhism, translation, chanting in Western languages, restricted (secret) teachings and initiations, tantric commitments (samaya), hell realms, ancient Buddhist cosmology, etc. were also discussed. Other topics remain for next year's conference, including the situation faced by Western monastics; wounded students and teachers; loneliness, isolation, and building sangha; foreseeing and dealing with what comes up in a long intensive retreat; coping with students with pathological problems, addictive behavior, etc.; interface between Western sanghas and ethnic Buddhist communities in the West; and so on.

Among the many things to emerge from this conference are: an Open Letter to the Buddhist Community, signed by all the conference participants, lamas and Westerners alike, including His Holiness , which will appear in fifty-five newsletters and journals worldwide; an emerging Network For Western Buddhist Teachers, presently led by Lama Surya Das, Jack Kornfield and Bodhin Kjolhede Sensai, and coordinated by Lopon Claude D'Estree. Also underway are the organizing of further such Teachers' Conferences, to occur in Dharamsala, Europe and America; a large teachers' conference in San Francisco Bay Area will take place Sept. 8-11, 1993, sponsored by The Spirit Rock Center, The Zen Center, and the Dzogchen Foundation, called "The Art of Teaching". Also formed were a group of Western teachers to sponsor and visit, where invited, teachings in Third World and developing countries.

A complete transcript and a book, edited by Surya Das, will come out of the conference, as well as audio and videotapes of the sixteen hours of discussions with His Holiness (available from Meridian Trust videos in London). [Note: A video can be also ordered from the Dzogchen Foundation.]

Everyone present shared a general commitment to invite teachers of the different traditions to teach and practice together, and to become better acquainted with others' teachings and practices, in order to minimize sectarian bias and to further the Dharma in both theory and practice. Several of the participating teachers are joining together in various places in America for nonsectarian intensive retreat practice-periods, tentatively called Teacher Retreats.

The discussions with His Holiness were remarkable in their depth and authenticity. He is, in my humble opinion, unique in his openness to, and willingness to explore, these questions, and his transectarian outlook and guiding influence will indubitably remain as a beacon in our lives. The Western teachers too more than lived up to anyone's possible hopes and expectations. Nor did anyone present -- Eastunique in his openness to, and willingness to explore, th

I personally found the experience of the entire Western Teachers' Conference extraordinarily powerful, moving, thought-provoking and profoundly empowering-- an affirmation of all that I had long held dear, a profound confirmation of many thoughts, intuitions, and constructive criticisms not easily expressed in the Tibetan Vajrayana sangha of which I am a member. Many things I had long thought about, often secretly, were brought out into the open, clarified and refined during the course of our lengthy and detailed discussions, and my secret heart was as if purged. How many times has my "bullshit detector" buzzed alarmingly, yet I have felt compelled to ignore it, in order to adhere to the party line. His Holiness himself pointed out, when apprised of certain problems concerning ethics, exploitation of power and Dharma politics, that he too had faced similar situations and spoken out frankly about it, even regarding his own venerable elderly tutors when he was a youth in Tibet.

On the one hand, His Holiness's awesome presence and brilliant compassion; his unique combination of traditional Buddhist training and modern thinking, his timeless wisdom and totally unconditional openness -- the very embodiment of the Bodhisattva ideal, an active voice of wisdom and compassion that is comfortable in the modern world, and yet fully embodies the timeless truths of Dharma.... A spiritual master who is also the head of state of a disenfranchised traditional culture and people, who could state with authority: "There is no off-duty time for a true Bodhisattva, no vacations. Why discriminate; everything is part of it."

And on the other, an extraordinary mandala of committed and evolved Western individuals dedicated to the impeccability of the Bodhisattva; a task force or think tank of spiritual heroes, peaceful warriors, awakening together on the path, sharing in common an altruistic practice due to being called to the vocation of Dharma teacher.

For most of us, this was truly a uniquely fulfilling experience. Buddhist author Stephen Batchelor afterwards said: "These four days talking freely with His Holiness and everyone present in such an intimate setting was more empowering for me than receiving many high tantric initiations." I myself felt that there was an incredible, instantaneous synergy which all the participants definitely experienced; a spontaneous energy now being felt all over the world, both within and beyond the Buddhist community-- perhaps best summed up as an emerging American Buddhism, or a Western Buddhism, or perhaps even a new World Buddhism.

Yet another colleague expressed what many others doubtlessly also felt: "Simply to come and meet together in this way with the Western teachers would have been sufficient, even without the four days with His Holiness." For me this sums up the true import of this remarkable meeting, and the significance of our currently emerging Network For Western Buddhist Teachers, which His Holiness has enthusiastically agreed to help direct and guide. Western Dharma teachers who would like to join the emerging Teachers' Network can write to Network's address for details. One hour after the final meeting, while discussing the conference with two observers, His Holiness himself slapped his knee and exclaimed happily: "We have started a revolution!"

We welcome any and all interested Western Buddhist Dharma teachers to join this dialogue. As the Buddha himself said, "Ey-hi pasiko (Come and see)."