Physician to the Dalai Lama gives lecture at UCF

Dr. Barry Kerzin, a Buddhist monk and physician for the Dalai Lama, gave a lecture about meditation to students in Classroom Building 1 on Wednesday.

Kerzin spoke about Buddhist philosophy, held a question-and-answer session and gave everyone 10 minutes to meditate.

Shaun Gallagher, a philosophy professor, met Kerzin while stuck in an airport in Dharamsala, India. After seeing Kerzin during a more recent visit to the Mind & Life Institute in New York, Gallagher asked him to come to UCF.

Kerzin chose consciousness as the main topic. He said that while some societies believe that everything has a conscience, Buddhists believe plants and objects do not. He spoke about levels of consciousness based on one's state of waking or sleeping, life or death.

Kerzin defined meditation as discovering what is inside and shifting it to a more positive place. He asked if anyone had experienced intuition, and most of the people in the room raised their hands. Some students, such as Maryna Checo, shared thoughts about intuition.

"Intuition is like data we have not yet sorted out," Checo, a history major, said.

Jane Compson, a philosophy professor, said she learned valuable information about Buddhist thought through Kerzin that she plans on passing on to her classes. Compson gives her classes the option to practice mindfulness meditation in class.  

Compson said reactions to Kerzin were fun to watch. Most smiled as he walked by, and some even wanted pictures, she said. Gallagher said he is amazed by how interested students are in learning from and about Kerzin.

While Gallagher's main interest is cognitive science, he is also interested in meditation. Scientific studies done at the Mind & Life Institute show that meditation has the ability to reduce stress and strengthen the immune system, Gallagher said. Kerzin said that clinical death and actual death do not occur at the same time according to recent research and Buddhist philosophy.

Kerzinreceived his medical degree at the University of Southern California.He has lived in Dharamsala for 22 years. Kerzin says he became interested in philosophy when he was six, and that his interest in meditation began when he was fourteen. While taking courses on Buddhism in college, something resonated, and it all came together, Kerzin said.

During his visit to UCF, Kerzin said he has been impressed by the facilities, especially in the medical school, and that he enjoys the energy of the students. He said he wishes he had the same kind of experience when he was in medical school. He is also impressed with the unconventional practices of the philosophy department and its ability to make philosophy relevant.

Kerzin met His Holiness the Dalai Lama 20 years ago in California. Kerzin said that the Dalai Lama is almost superhuman in his abilities but extremely modest.

A world traveler, Kerzin has given lectures and meditation classes in many different countries. He has been all over the United States and was in Japan during the recent earthquake and tsunami. He recalled a time when he visited a Mongolian sports college.

"I was talking to the class about meditation when, suddenly, a large man walked through the door, and everyone stood up. This man was a wrestling star.  Without knowing what I had just talked to the class about, he said that he used to meditate before every match," Kerzin said.

While in Central Florida, Kerzin said he plans to give a meditation class at UCF, visit the Institute for Simulation and Training and go to Cocoa Beach.