Sangha Superstar Cameron Interview
Interview with Cameron Hensley, the 3rd Sangha Superstar of the Spring 2021 Semester
When did you pledge dbt and what was your experience like? I pledged in Spring of 2020 right before we went online. What was my experience like? Hmm there is a lot to share. At first, I was a bit nervous because it was my first time joining a group in college, but I do have history with Dharma Bum Temple here in San Diego. I remember there was a time when it came to bid night, I was quite nervous. I didn’t know what to expect plus I never heard of a bid night. Entering a room with the lights of and candles lit while the active members sitting in a circle around us what a crazy feeling and meditating brought a feeling of peace and comfort. Overall, DBT is a space to be yourself to be respected and most importantly learn how to respect others and not come from a place of judgment.
How has dbt impacted your college experience/life? Being a part of DBT impacted my college experience and life in that it gave me a sense of community on campus and gave me a change to help others and the community around San Diego. DBT gave me something to look forward to after a long day of classes especially on Wednesday night meditations having a long class beforehand, being able to meditate and let all my stress out from the day was very rewarding and relaxing. It was a perfect way to put my life on pause and take some time for myself to focus on my health mental and physically. DBT has truly changed my life for the better.
How do you embody the heart of dbt in your daily life? That is a great question, embodying the heart of DBT in my life means that I strive to be a selfless person by giving back to others like the food donations for the homeless when I was a pledge and even donating clothes this semester to Sharia’s Closet by providing them with both men’s dress clothes and street clothes for whoever ends up needing them and potentially making an impact in that person’s life. Another example would be how I treat others with kindness and compassion, due to the pandemic I use this practice of compassion towards my family and loved ones.
What Buddhist teaching is your favorite and why? My favorite Buddhist teaching would have to be impermanence. I chose this because I have learned that the things you do, the choices you make, and your actions are not permanent. This means that if you have done something in your life you have regretted after the fact or you make a poor choice in your life, will come and go and not be a part of who you are. Because nothing in this life is permanent and it should not dictate the actions you make in your life.
What does mindfulness mean to you? Mindfulness means to me is that I am aware and fully in the moment whether its meditation or sitting outside in the backyard and listening to the sounds around me and truly stopping the racing thoughts in my head and think about the things I have done and accomplished in my life. Mindfulness has changed the way live my life in that it has made me a more thoughtful and understanding person.
What is your favorite Dbt memory? I would say that my favorite DBT moment has to be the pledge retreat we had when I first joined at the meta forest. This was really fun because we got to see the sunrise come up while we were driving up the road to the monastery even though it was super early in the morning. That same day we got to do some yard work with the monks and trailblazing through the dead brush and trees to carve a path to a new meditation spot they wanted to have, so that was by far the most interesting thing I have done in my life.
