Product Description

Lama Surya Das, author of the bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within, is the most highly trained American lama in the Tibetan tradition. In this elegant, inspiring book, he integrates essential Buddhist practices with a variety of other spiritual philosophies and wisdom traditions, to show you how to create a personalized spiritual practice based on your own individual beliefs, aspirations, and needs. Through reflections on his own life quest, thoughtful essays, and entertaining stories, Surya Das examines the common themes at the heart of any spiritual path, including faith, doubt, love, compassion, creativity, self-inquiry, and transformation. He then explores prayer, yoga, chanting, guided meditations, breathing exercises, and myriad other rituals, providing practical examples of each that we can use day-to-day to nurture our inner spirit.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #117420 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05
• Released on: 2000-05-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Amazon.com
Surya Das is like a Buddhist Johnny Appleseed, galavanting across the countryside, planting seeds of spirituality in bare patches of ground. He believes that we are all fertile soil for cultivating the sacred in everyday life. "We all have spiritual DNA," he says. In Awakening to the Sacred, Surya Das heightens his efforts to increase the planet's spirituality quotient by teaching people how to take advantage of their own spiritual resources. Whether Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, or atheist, we can all enhance our spiritual side. Certainly meditating is a good way, and there's no one better to teach us than this limpid lama. But even more familiar activities can help, like praying, creating a spiritual notebook, or reading spiritual books--even gardening and walking count. Surya Das excels at demystifying the mystical and urges the reader to capitalize on resources closest at hand. No need to look too far when we can draw inspiration and practices from our own traditions. So take that apple seed, thumb through Awakening to the Sacred, and nourish those precious roots of spirituality. --Brian Bruya

From Publishers Weekly
The truth is that I feel as though I learn as much from my students as they do from me, writes Surya Das, an American lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and the author of the popular Awakening the Buddha. Here in the West, he adds, it seems appropriate that student and teacher should share Dharma in this way, finding their way together. In this affable, conversational tour of spiritual ideas and practices, the author, calling himself a spiritual player-coach, reaches out to the broad audience in this country who experience spiritual longing yet arent harnessed to a particular teacher or tradition. Dividing his book into three sections, Surya Das moves from a discussion of such major themes as rebirth and faith to spiritual practices, giving clear, simple instructions in meditation and the cultivation of the moment-by-moment awareness that Buddhists call mindfulness. With a disarming lack of pretension or reticence, the author explains his personal take on fasting, psychotherapy and prayer. Some of the prayers that I use include the concept of God or Divine Source or spirit, he writes. As a Buddhist and a Westerner, I am completely comfortable doing this. Others may feel differently. The book concludes with Surya Dass description of his own Buddhist tradition of Dzogchen: Dzogchen is about recognizing and realizing who we are. The author emphasizes that Dzogchen is grounded in principles of naturalness, openness and authenticity, and he demonstrates these qualities throughout. Offering the reader fresh, authentic impressions that are clearly the result of his own spiritual work and reflection, Surya Das emerges here as a genial post-denominational spiritual teacher, one whose straightforward approach to the esoteric deserves to reach a wide readership.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Lama Surya Das (Awakening the Buddha Within, LJ 8/97) was once a Jew named Jeffry Miller, and though his central perspective as a monk is Tibetan Buddhist, he speaks well to the spiritual concerns of Americans and ably brings the views of several religious traditions to his topic. In his understanding, humans are essentially good, and the sacred is our own deeply spiritual nature. He breaks down his discussion to cover "Matters of the Spirit" and "Approaches to Spiritual Practice," respectively, introducing Tibetan Buddhism and helping the reader understand its fundamental spiritual concerns and then offering simple yet profound and practical suggestions on how to practice it. In the final part, he explains Innate Great Perfection and how seemingly nonspiritual activities (gardening, writing haiku) can be deeply spiritual. Surya Das's ability to meet readers where they are while explaining how Tibetan Buddhist or spiritual practice can meet their needs is highly effective. Recommended as a gem among the plethora of books on spirituality.ADavid Bourquin, California State Univ., San Bernardino
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Practical Spirituality At Its Best
The American-born author of this fine book is a Lama in the Dzogchen lineage of Tibet. He was raised in the Jewish faith, and his unique background makes him an especially lucid exponent of the principles of Tibetan Buddhism for Westerners steeped in Judeo-Christian beliefs and principles.

Lama Surya Das has been engaged in spiritual studies for over thirty years and sat at the feet of a number of teachers in Asia. He has written several books, and this one is a particularly good introduction to the spiritual life. Though the emphasis is on the philosophy and practices of Buddhism, some of the descriptions of the spiritual path and the problems that many of us encounter, can be applied for people working in other traditions. The strongest points of the book and of Lama Surya Das' teachings in general, are his suggestions for incorporating a sense of the sacred while living an active Western lifestyle. So often we see writers and teachers extolling the virtues of a spiritual path that is not compatible with a family life and career. I once knew an excellent teacher who had some extraordinary insights. He insisted that anyone who came to learn from him should give up his or her home, family and career. He did not have that many takers.

This book is far more realistic. The chapters are short, pithy and deal with many of the more common problems that we might run into as we walk the spiritual path. They include the practicalities of the establishing a regular practice as well as issues like the emergence of the dark side of our nature as we meditate.

There are numerous suggestions for meditation, prayer and chanting. Many can be found elsewhere, but what sets this book apart is that all the practices are grounded in daily life.

The book is very engagingly written: clear, insightful, and even some humor. This is one of my top ten favorite books on practical spirituality. Highly recommended.

Excellent
This book is not to be missed by those seeking insight into the nature of reality and life. It's not often that spiritual leaders communicate in plain, intelligent, and profound ways that incorporate common sense and mystical insight. This author is one of very few that radiates sincerity, insight, and humility.

Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Personal Spiritual Life
Lama Surya Das expains the Tibetan Buddhist outlook in a way that is meaningful to Western culture regardless of what kind of faith one may have. He also has a wonderful sense of humor and is a very good writer.