Interview with Cliff Spencer

by Sal Gallina

Q- Where were you born & when?

A- Birmingham Alabama- 1972. I was the middle child. I have an older brother & a younger sister.

Q- What is your educational background?

A - I graduated from Mountain Brook High School. I have a degree in English & Theater Arts.

Q - What type of work did you do before you became a furniture maker?

A - I worked in the L.A. film industry doing set design & art direction. I did this for about five years then went to New York. There I was acting & writing in live theater & working part time.

Q - How & when did you start making furniture?

A - At the time I was working part time in an office trying to get my acting & film thing going, but it wasn't enough money,& not working out. I met someone who was a window designer & who had a wood shop. I had experience in building sets so the transition into building displays for windows was easy. So I began working in wood shops in N.Y. & L.A. While in L.A. I was working in what you might call a professional cabinet shop. I was doing films part time & and part time wood work. At this time I gave up the the film business and started working on furniture full time. I met my wife Liegh and we went to Colorado for about a year and a half. While in Colorado we became engaged. At this time I was working in a very professional cabinet shop, getting more experience & learning as much as possible. I started doing my own designs. So in 2004 we left Colorado and came back to L.A. & then started my own shop.

Q - How & when did you meet your wife Liegh?

A- We met in 2002. We were living in the same apartment building. When we came back from Colorado we were married.

Q - When was Scout born?

A - August 30th 2005. Which is my birthday.

Q - When did you first come into contact with the Dharma.

A - I was living in New York and I had an apartment in the East Village, a first floor walk up. At that time 1995 -96, I was pursuing an acting career and working in a wood shop. I came home from work one day and found there had been a fire in the apartment building. It was three months before they began repairs. They started with the first floor store front then rented it out. After that I started seeing Monks and Nuns coming and going they were putting a book store together, The Three Jewels. I went in and asked if they needed any help and met Annie Pelma. I started meeting her in the morning for meditation, started taking some classes and courses.

Q - What is your rule of thumb as to teaching or dispensing spiritual information when you are out and about in the world...on the job, back home with friends and family?

A - Be a compassionate listener and if needed cause and effect could be brought up but not necessarily in the guise of Karma.

Q - Had you taught in any other way before you started teaching the Dharma?

A - No.

Q - When you were going through the 18 formal courses, did you have any difficulty with any particular aspect of them, and did you find anything that you might call easy learning?

A -In course 15,the Mind Only School, the different levels of emptiness,the varied characteristics of the other Schools. In the beginning I had a little difficulty with understanding the gradations of the Six Flavors. On the other hand, I found meditation what you called easy learning.

Q - To those new students and to those students who have a few courses completed or almost completed, what advice would you give to them?

A - The task of the Lam Rim is completely individual, be happy about who you are and what you are doing, not to worry about others. Just be clear on who you are and what you want to do, and do it nicely.