Lama Surya Das - blog is back
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on May 27, 2007
I’m glad to see that Lama Surya Das’ blog is becoming more active. Launched back in April, 2004, it remained more or less inactive for its first couple of years; but I see that he’s been posting regularly for the last 6 months or so. I’ve added the blog back to my list of must-reads.
I consider Surya Das my first dharma teacher, even though we’ve never technically met. His book, 
Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, was the book that finally put it all together for me. I’d been reading (or trying to read) a number of dharma books for several years, but many of them were just too esoteric or too dependent on Sanskrit and Pali terminology to be understandable by my novice mind. Awakening the Buddha Within is a very accessible introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and remains the first book on my list of recommended reading for those who are looking for a good starting point in understanding the topic.
In 2003, I was fortunate to be able to attend a 7-day meditation retreat sponsored by Lama Surya Das’ Dzogchen Foundation. This was my first retreat experience, and in fact, was the first time I’d ever actually been around people who called themselves “Buddhists”. The fact that all 7 days were spent in silence prevented any conversation with my new-found dharma friends, but the experience was profound and enlightening (in the traditional, not Buddhist, sense of that word) nevertheless. I was particularly drawn to the teachings on compassion given by Lama John Makransky at the retreat.
Surya Das has recently published 
Buddha is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living, a commentary on the paramitas (perfections or virtuous actions.) I haven’t had a chance to read it, yet, but I’m hearing very positive reviews. I’ll be checking it out soon. The author discusses the book here.
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