LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Gen Samten Kelsang upon the occasion of
his designation as recipient of the Men at Work Award from the SULLIVAN
COUNTY DEMOCRAT

WHEREAS, Individuals who give of their time and energies and serve the
best interests of their communities are an asset beyond remuneration and
cannot be sufficiently extolled; and
WHEREAS, Gen Samten Kelsang has given not only of his time and ener-
gies but also of his competence, intelligence and leadership and conse-
quently has been designated for special honor; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Gen Samten
Kelsang upon the occasion of his designation as recipient of the Men at
Work Award from the SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT; and
WHEREAS, Gen Samten Kelsang knew that he had a special gift for learn-
ing and as he grew up, his quest for knowledge and understanding grew;
one day he was seeking an answer that was giving him great difficulty
and discovered that Buddhism and teaching were his calling; and
WHEREAS, Gen Samten Kelsang is the senior Buddhist monk and is the
resident teacher at Kadampa Meditation Center in Glen Spey; and
WHEREAS, He came to the United States from the United Kingdom in 2008
after spending many years there and where he was taught the teachings of
the founder of Buddhism, Siddartha Gautama or Buddha Shakyamuni; and
WHEREAS, Buddha taught that peace is calming and that the calm of the
heart also calms the mind as well as the heart; and
WHEREAS, Gen Samten Kelsang was ordained 25 years ago in England; he
got to this step in his life by wanting to find the truth to all the
suffering and conflict both in his personal world and the world we all
know; like others, he did not have a full understanding of it all; he
just wanted the basic truth and felt if we can see this, then we can
have the truth as well; and
WHEREAS, Gen Samten Kelsang teaches many classes including meditation
classes and self-help classes; people learn the tools to deal with the
outside world; he teaches them the right tools to help them keep their
minds clear; and
WHEREAS, Though he teaches meditation and is the main teacher, Gen
Samten Kelsang downplays the idea of leadership; when he is not teach-
ing, he works in the office and provides one-on-one assistance; he sche-
dules the lectures and classes and believes they are one big family at
the Center and together work to achieve the common goal of peace; and
WHEREAS, The mission of the Kadampa Meditation Center is simply to
work towards world peace and that peace is a state of mind; and
WHEREAS, People from all faiths have come to the Center to see how
calming it actually is and they walk away with a lot of tools to help
them in their day-to-day lives; and
WHEREAS, Gen Samten Kelsang has been called upon to contribute his
time and talents to countless civic and charitable endeavors and has
always given of himself unstintingly; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the entire period of his community service, a
period of constructive involvement, Gen Samten Kelsang has stood
constant in dignity, good grace and humor; and
WHEREAS, Rare indeed is the impressive dedication shown by an individ-
ual for the benefit of others which Gen Samten Kelsang has displayed
throughout his life; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Gen Samten Kelsang upon the occasion of his designation as recipi-
ent of the Men at Work Award from the SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT; and be
it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Gen Samten Kelsang.