Lama Kunsang

I was graced to meet a Tibetan lama, Lama Kunsang, on my travels to Manila, Philippines. As a businessperson, I am always fascinated to meet people who start out in business and choose a spiritual vocation instead, like my friend and interviewee Freddy Khambata, the Zoroastrian fire temple priest in Mumbai, or Brother Pau Valls at Montserrat, both of whom were accountants. I love the explanation Lama Kunsang gave about when he realized the world is still samsara, so he must switch from business to being a monk, so I wanted to investigate the concept of samsara and how it shows up in our lives.  

Samsara means ‘endless wandering’ and it refers to the Buddhist concept of endless suffering in the cycle of birth, karma, death, and reincarnation until enlightenment occurs. I do believe in reincarnation, past lives, and the eternal life of the soul, but I have no particular attachment to this idea of constant suffering and rebirth ‘until we get it right.’ What I do see as highly relevant is the way I perpetuate samsara when I cause suffering for myself and other people. In therapy and spiritual work, I have identified that I am most susceptible to causing suffering when I practice any of the following: the need to be right, the need to feel important, when I focus on indulgence, or when I’m demanding more than I need. I have to be on a constant watch for these character defects that cause suffering for me and other people. I remember years ago when I realized that most of the problems in my life were self-created and what a big realization that was. So, I see samsara as anytime I am contributing to suffering in the world. I am grateful that this is not who I need to be anymore and that I can practice gratitude and service to others instead—which must be the opposite of a life of samsara.

Thank you to Lama Kunsang in Manila for highlighting this lesson of samsara for me whether interpreted literally according to Buddhism or metaphorically.