by Gavin Heaney
According to Kadampa Buddhist practitioner and meditation teacher Kadam Gerry Donovan, happiness is a state of mind and the method to accessing it is through meditation. How this functions will be the focus of his upcoming public talk at The Hermosa Playhouse later this month on Friday, November 21.
Donovan is the resident teacher at The Mahamudra Kadampa Meditation Center in Hermosa Beach on Cypress Avenue, where he conducts weekly meditation classes for all levels. For him, the allusive genie in the lamp is the mind. Once we harness its power, it becomes like a wish granting jewel.
“The talk will focus on how we can use the practice of meditation to develop and maintain a peaceful, positive mind, even in the face of external difficulties. In meditation practice, we learn how to control our minds so that we don’t feel constantly pulled in different directions by external events that we can’t control.” he said. “Happiness is not something we find outside ourselves, but something we cultivate within. Through this understanding, we gently shift our perspective and learn to respond to life’s challenges with clarity, compassion, and resilience.”
There are wildly varying definitions of happiness and procedures to procuring it. Perhaps because it is an effect of the mind that people cannot agree on an objective strategy to being happy. Donovan believes the mental well being that results from meditation is the happiness we all seek and he aims to prove that this process is systematic and its results are reproducible.
“We call it the science of the mind because we use our own experience as data. We learn to observe our mind, experiment with making changes and gain direct experience of the results,” he explained. Seeing for himself was believing for Donovan.
He has since devoted himself to the practice and teaching of meditation.
“I started meditating almost 30 years ago when I was a psychiatry resident. It was a stressful time of life with a young child and a demanding job. A common experience of medical trainees is that you can start to develop fears that you have the conditions that you’re studying. The slightest weird twitch of your body or mind can be seen as the start of some major condition. I was aware of this tendency, but just being aware of it did not stop it from happening and I realized that I needed to learn to control my mind. So I bought a book about meditation, and then a few more. I read them and found them helpful. I started looking around for a teacher and a meditation community and tried several different ones before I found my current practice.” he said.
“Over the years, it has become the central part of my life. First I incorporated it into my psychiatric practice and now I am fortunate to be able to focus on teaching meditation full time.”
“This mental training also has positive effects on our external world. We begin to understand the patterns that cause stress and dissatisfaction, and how to replace them with peaceful, constructive states of mind. As our inner world becomes more balanced, our relationships and communities naturally benefit. By nurturing our own happiness in this way, we contribute to a more peaceful world.”
Kadam Gerry Donovan will speak on “The Science of Happiness – Meditations for World Peace” at The Hermosa Beach Theater at 5 p.m. on Friday November 21. ER
