This was the first time that Tempel spoke to us, so he gave some biographical information. His unusual name came from his father who had a German mentor named Tempel. Tempel is also the name of two comets that revolve around the sun. He described several types of practice that are less typical and described his own evolution toward his life's work of socially engaged Buddhism.

He grew up with a Marxist upbringing from his father and step mother who were intellectuals. As a child he traveled through East Germany and got a sense of what social systems were all about and later found this experience useful when he began studying Buddhism.

A life-changing experience when he was 12 years of age resulted in a sort of mystical opening which impacted him profoundly. He began going to wilderness camps in the summer where he experienced life at its most basic - a primitive experience which touched him deeply. He was able to watch the socialization of modern life fall away, and this had a lasting impact. He soon realized that these times in nature were the happiest, not just for him, but for his friends who were part of that wilderness experience. This way of living was in sharp contrast to the way people usually lived and the way he and his friends lived the rest of the year – always trying to put adversity aside and going after what was pleasant. He wanted every day to be that precious, but the experience would always wear off as he resumed his daily life after summer was over. Living in woods had brought a sort of liberation.

While Tempel was in college, he was drawn to the nuclear non-proliferation movement and would protest at the Nevada test sight along with hundreds of others. Watching veteran protestors and how they interacted with the authorities helped him realize that anger and violence were not the way to end the violence that they were protesting. An inspiring Quaker woman who befriended a test-site guard became a role-model for how he wanted to be, and he began looking for ways to transform himself.

During that time, he also began guiding young boys in wilderness experiences, and on a dare from some Zen friends, went on his first meditation retreat. He soon saw that meditation practice and looking at one's own habits of mind was the vehicle he needed to make the change. Right away he was hooked. This was the training he needed to be a front-line activist.

Then he began working in a shelter for abused teenagers. This was an extremely stressful place, not just for the abused kids and parents, but for the workers, as well. At the same time, he started going on long meditation retreats. It soon became apparent that the training he was undergoing in retreats was in conflict with the authoritative role he had taken on at the shelter. He found it increasingly difficult to "armor up" for the kids after learning to let go at the retreats. These long periods of meditation changed his relationships with the teenagers. They opened up to him, and he, in turn became more effective. He saw this as a gift, and it transformed his relationships with the youth. That's when his relationship to socially-engaged Buddhism took off.

After a few years, Tempel decided that he wanted to be an activist monk. So he went to Burma and Thailand and was ordained after several months. He lived a year at the monastery and then got extremely ill and had to come home. His illness progressed for the next four years. No cause was ever found. He was grateful for the mindfulness training though, because it allowed him to be aware of what it meant to be ill and to gain benefit from it.

His illness began to fade as he got more in touch with himself, accepting things as they were rather than trying to change them. He learned about anger and how to hold it with compassion He learned that by opening up, his illness could be adjusted, and he took an interest in working with this.

Because of his awakening in the wilderness as a child, he began working with young people in wilderness experiences again and saw the same awakenings in them. This has given him incredible faith in what young people are capable of – even babies. He now leads meditation retreats for teenagers. This training is not to make them "good" teenagers, but rather to help them express their own authenticity. As this happens, their own innate goodness manifests itself. He also works with prisoners and sees these same transformations.

Like the Quaker woman who protested at the nuclear test site, Tempel has learned that the most effective activists are able to hold their anger and passion, and sit in the middle of strife, letting compassion come up in a unifying way that shows how all parties may prosper, not just those on the "right" side.

We ended with a Q & A.