Burgeoning Buddhist Community Finds Its Spiritual Center in Ojai

Few small towns can claim to be home to an active Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Center.

But then few small towns are like Ojai--which also happens to be home to the Krishnamurti Foundation, the Krotona Institute and Meditation Mount, to name a few other less-than-mainstream religious organizations that have long found acceptance there.

“Not only are we less-than-mainstream, I’d say we’re side street,” said Tom Pope, co-director of the Dharma Center, which is housed in a converted bungalow near downtown Ojai.

Being a practicing Buddhist in quaint Ojai, is, frankly, no big deal.

“This town is so seasoned in hosting different traditions,” Pope said. “We’re not made to feel like oddballs at all.”

The center’s other director, Elizabeth Heffelfinger, agreed.

“Ojai is a very sophisticated community,” she said.

Heffelfinger added that their group, which counts about 40 members, isn’t the only practicing Buddhist organization in the Ojai Valley.

“Buddhism seems to be becoming more appealing to people in this country, more visible, especially on the East and West coasts,” she said.

Buddhism, which is 500 years older than Christianity, has millions of members. It took hold in India, then spread throughout Asia and the Far East.

“Fundamentally, Buddhism is a teaching of how to live a good life,” Pope said as he sat cross-legged on a pillow at the Dharma Center.

“In particular, it shows how to work with your experience to see sacredness in everyday life, using meditation as its basic tool,” he said.

Asked to compare Tibetan Buddhism with, say, Zen Buddhism, or that of other cultures, Pope said the differences arose as the religion migrated. “Buddhism has essentially the same roots, but as it traveled from country to country, it mixed with each country’s culture. Zen Buddhism is more popular in Japan, for instance.”

Styles of practice in different countries are usually manifested in more or less emphasis on austerity or discipline.

“I’d say Tibetan Buddhism is marked more by a sense of richness, of celebration, as well as discipline,” Heffelfinger said.

In California, a more energetic American flavor is present in the practice, beginning with the use of English, she said.

Another Americanization: Most of those who belong to the Ojai center attend a Sunday morning meditation service, which members take turns leading.

The two co-directors are typical members of the Ojai center: American-born, often in their 40s, reared in mainstream Christian homes, who found what they were looking for in Tibetan Buddhism.

The center began in 1989, when an American named Osel Tendzin, a student of Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa, moved to Ojai.

“Tendzin visited on vacation and fell in love with Ojai as a spiritual center,” Pope said. “He thought it was both a protected and an open community.

“Most of us came here because of Tendzin, although he died in 1990,” Pope said. “We’ve been a group here in Ojai since 1989.”

The local Buddhists don’t stand out, Heffelfinger said.

“We’re all typical families,” she said. “Some are married, some divorcees, some are single. Our teachings emphasize that we should participate in our culture. We have 37 kids among us.”

Which means that most of the grown-ups hold jobs in the community. Pope works as a cabinetmaker and Heffelfinger as an acupuncturist.

“And as we live our lives, we try to practice Buddhism’s fundamental principle of nonaggression and to generate compassion for all beings in the world,” Pope said.

Meditation, he added, is at the heart of the religion.

“It’s a way of being simple in your mind and body.”

Heffelfinger said that meditation isn’t a trance. “We don’t necessarily empty our minds of daily cares, but just sit simply and let thoughts come and go. The result is usually to develop a sense of peace and clarity.”

The Dharma Center, 306 W. Matilija St., bustles with activity almost every day and Sunday morning. Weeknight meditations are ongoing, along with classes for three levels of students.

There is an open house “for the curious” on the last Monday of every month, Pope said.

The next open house will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 25.

“It’s an introduction to who we are and what meditation is about,” Pope said. “It’s more of a discussion, really. Newcomers can feel comfortable to ask questions.”

The Dharma Center can be reached at 646-2102.