Cecilie Kwiat, is a Canadian dharma teacher, based in Alberta, who has taught widely around the Western world. She has been a powerful influence and inspiration in the lives of many people interested in Buddhism, particularly men and women living in North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. She been blessed with the opportunity to practice a wide range of dharma with teachers from Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Burma, India, China and Tibet, teaching from Vajrayana, Mahayana, Theravadin and Zen Buddhist schools.
In this (hour long) interview Cecilie shares how she has learned to live and work with her own physical pain and aging process and the physical and mental pain of others. She reflects on her distinctive and trusting attitude towards money, ranging over her experiences living on the street in her youth through to the last thirty or so years living "by the bowl", dependent on free giving by others. She compares some of the basic similarities and differences between Buddhist and Western psychological approaches and some of the similarities and differences in the relationships between therapists and their clients and teachers and their students. She emphasises the key importance of compassionate motivation and has some particularly interesting things to say about some unhelpful attitudes towards rituals that appear shaped by mystifying cultural influences but may actually be powerful vehicles for wisdom transmission, when explored with an open mind.
My dear sister taught well.