Q & A with Suryagupta
Meet the new Chair of the London Buddhist Centre
Why are you a Buddhist?
In a nutshell, it makes sense of why I’m here on this planet. For me, Buddhism is about making the most meaning possible out of life, so that it is lived fully and for the benefit of others.
What does your name mean?
I received my name at ordination, it means ‘She who is protected or guarded by the Sun’. The Sun, with its qualities, is an epithet for the Buddha.
What’s the closest you’ve come to death?
I’ve had quite a few brushes with death! The most pivotal was on an aeroplane journey when I was twenty-one. It was the first time I’d thought, ‘Okay, this could be it’. I decided then that if we did make it I would have to find some answers to my life because I knew I wanted to die without regrets. I needed to find out how to do that. It was the trigger for me actively looking for a spiritual path.
What book most changed your life?
The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path by Sangharakshita, the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order of which I’m a part. The episode on the plane and a few other visionary-type experiences had opened up a whole new set of vistas. I knew those experiences held the key to how I wanted to live but I didn’t know how to connect them to everyday life. As soon as I’d read the first chapter, I thought, ‘Ah, this is exactly what I was looking for’. I’ve come back to it again and again to help me to integrate any insight experience so that it makes a difference to who I am and how I live.
What dream will you remember for the rest of your life?
It’s hard to pick one in particular, since so many have been important. Dreams really are part and parcel of how I practice the spiritual life and make sense of my experience. I put them into different categories which help me figure out how to respond to them. ‘Flotsam and jetsam’ dreams process random events from the day. Anxiety dreams signal what I’m worried about. Psychological dreams make sense of relationships and interactions through metaphor and symbol. ‘Psychic’ dreams don’t make sense at the time but, like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing, point to things which are yet to come into being. Finally, but most significant, are the archetypal dreams — I don’t have many, but they are like a teaching. I just have to wait to discover what they’re trying to teach me.
Which three people, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party?
I’ve often thought about this! As soon as I encountered Martin Luther King I thought, ‘Oh, I would love to have met him’. He was a guide through my childhood and teens and even now I’m still inspired by him. John Coltrane was another. Later on I was inspired by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Buddhist and social reformer. So I think those three and myself would make for a very interesting conversation! But then I’d also probably want the author Toni Morrison in the mix as well. And I’d like to meet Dhardo Rimpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rimpoche, who are teachers of my teacher Sangharakshita. I think I’d need him there too to help me to understand the significance of what they were talking about! Oh and I forgot Nelson Mandela…
What has been your happiest moment?
It depends what you mean by happiness. What spring to mind are when my son was born and when I was ordained. These were times I felt incredibly proud, present and joyful but which came with a deep sense of responsibility and even vulnerability. I don’t know if you’d call that happiness. More straightforward happy experiences are often on retreat — in nature, meditating and in deep communication with others. I’m also very happy visiting family in Antigua with the combination of the culture, the heat of the sun, the light and the expansive blue sky.
In three words, how do you feel about becoming the Chair of the London Buddhist Centre?
Humbled, grateful and daunted!
