Surya Das

Surya Das (born Jeffrey Miller in 1950) is an American lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.[1] He is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist, author of many popular works on Buddhism, meditation teacher and spokesperson for Buddhism in the West.[1] He has long been involved in charitable relief projects in the Third World and in interfaith dialogue. Surya Das is a Dharma heir of Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche,[2][3] a Nyingma master of the non-sectarian Rime movement, with whom he founded the Dzogchen Center and Dzogchen retreats in 1991. His name, which means "Servant of the Sun" in a combination of Sanskrit (sūrya) and Hindi (das, from the Sanskrit dāsa), was given to him in 1972 by the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba.[4]

Lama Surya Das
Pictured is Lama Surya Das (left) and Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche (right)
TitleLama Surya Das
Personal
Born
Jeffrey Miller

1950
New York City, United States
ReligionBuddhism
NationalityAmerican
SchoolNyingma
OccupationReligious educator
Senior posting
Websitewww.surya.org

Early life and education

Surya Das was born Jeffrey Miller and raised in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York.[5] He attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, graduating with honors in 1971, with a degree in Creative Education.[6]

Early studies

After his best friend's girlfriend, Allison Krause, was killed during the Kent State shootings,[1] Surya Das began pursuing spirituality.[1] From 1971 to 1976 he traveled in India. There he studied Hinduism with Neem Karoli Baba[7] as well as Vipassana with S. N. Goenka and Anagarika Munindra, of the Theravadin tradition.[8] He was given the name Surya by Neem Karoli Baba in 1972.[9]

In 1973 and 1974, he lived in Kyoto, Japan, where he taught English and studied Zen Buddhism[10] under Uchiyama Roshi.[11]

During his travels in India and Nepal, Das studied with Tibetan Buddhist Lamas Thubten Yeshe,[12] Kalu Rinpoche,[13] The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa,[14] Tulku Urgyen,[15] Thrangu Rinpoche,[15] Dezhung Rinpoche,[15] Dilgo Khyentse,[16] and Kangyur Rinpoche.[15]

He resided at the newly established Karma Triyana Dharmachakra monastery in Woodstock, New York from 1977 to 1980. Surya Das attended the first Nyingmapa retreat center in Dordogne, France in 1980. At the center he completed two Dzogchen three-and-a-half-year retreats under the guidance of Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.[15] He was empowered to teach in 1984.[15]

He has worked with the Dalai Lama since the early 1990s on a variety of projects. That included organizing several weeklong International Buddhist Teachers Conferences with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, and America.[17] He also founded the Western Buddhist Teachers Network.[18]

Writing, teaching

Surya Das travels, teaches and leads meditation retreats throughout the world. He is often called upon as a Buddhist spokesman by the media and has appeared frequently on TV and radio. One episode of the popular ABC TV sitcom Dharma and Greg, "Leonard's Return," was loosely based on his life and return to America.[1] In 1977 he helped establish Gyalwa Karmapa's KTD Monastery on a mountaintop overlooking Woodstock, New York.[17] He has appeared as a special guest on Bill Maher's TV program Politically Incorrect[18] and on the Comedy Central television show The Colbert Report.[18][19]

Surya Das is based in Cambridge, MA.[20]

Dzogchen Foundation

In 1991 Surya Das returned from his two decades at Tibetan monasteries and retreats to establish the Dzogchen Foundation and Centers to help further the spread of Tibetan Buddhism in the West.[21] According to the foundation, Dzogchen introduces and unveils the "innate spiritual intelligence or intrinsic awakefulness" in practitioners. Surya Das has said, "It is the perfect nature of all things."[22]

He has brought many Tibetan lamas to teach and reside in the United States and continues to do so. At the request of the late Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, Surya Das founded Dzogchen Osel Ling Retreat Center as a nature sanctuary, group hermitage and lineage seat on the Pedernales River west of Austin, Texas, where he annually conducts an intensive, cloistered 100-day autumn retreat for experienced students as well as other shorter retreats during the year.[20]

Bibliography
Books by Surya Das
Yr Title Format Release info ISBN
1992The Snow Lion's Turquoise ManePaperback 288 pagesHarperSanFrancisco (December 4, 1992)ISBN 0-06-250849-0
1995Natural Great Perfection (with Nyoshul Khenpo)Paperback 204 pagesSnow Lion Publications; 1st ed. USA edition (October 25, 1995)ISBN 1-55939-049-2
1998Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western WorldPaperback 432 pagesBroadway; Reprint edition (June 15, 1998)ISBN 0-7679-0157-6
2000Awakening to the SacredPaperback 400 pgsBroadway; Reprint edition (May, 2000)ISBN 0-7679-0275-0
2001Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning and Connection into Every Part of Your LifePaperback 272 pagesBroadway (December 11, 2001)ISBN 0-7679-0277-7
2003Letting Go of the Person You Used To BeHardcover 240 pagesBroadway; 1st edition (August 12, 2003)ISBN 0-7679-0873-2
2005Natural Radiance: Awakening to Your Great PerfectionHardcover 110 pagesSounds True; Book & CD edition (August 2005)ISBN 1-59179-283-5
2007The Big Questions: How to Find Your Own Answers to Life's Essential MysteriesHardcover 288 pagesRodale Books; (October 2, 2007)ISBN 1-59486-208-7
2008Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened LivingPaperback 288 pagesHarperOne; (February 26, 2008)ISBN 0-06-085953-9
2008Words of WisdomPaperback 128 pagesKoa Books; (June 1, 2008)ISBN 0-9773338-7-6
2009The Mind Is Mightier Than the Sword: Enlightening the Mind, Opening the HeartPaperback 432 pagesDoubleday Religion; (August 25, 2009)ISBN 0-7679-1864-9
2011Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of NowHardcover 224 pagesHarperOne; (May 24, 2011)ISBN 978-0-06-177456-0
2015Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from the Illusion of SeparationPaperback 280 pagesSounds True; (May 1, 2015)ISBN 978-1622034123

Notes
  1. Eisenberg, Carol (August 12, 2004). "His Jewish mother calls him the Deli Lama". Newsday.
  2. Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche Archived October 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Certificate of Dharma Transmission and Authorization to Lama Surya Das Archived October 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. The Natural Great Perfection: An Interview with Lama Surya in Integral Yoga Magazine, Spring 2006.
  5. Lama Surya Das biography at Dzogchen.org. Retrieved on 2015-05-18.
  6. UB Today (Winter 2007). "Lama Surya Das: Buddhist spiritual teacher conveys a message of enlightenment." Archived June 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Alumni profiles. University at Buffalo's online alumni magazine. Retrieved on 2009-01-02.
  7. Das, Surya (1998). Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World. Broadway. pp. 41. ISBN 0-7679-0157-6.
  8. Das, Surya (2015). Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from the Illusion of Separation. Sounds True. p. 49. ISBN 978-1622034123.
  9. "How To Meditate: Tips From Lama Surya Das, The 'Buddha From Brooklyn'". The Huffington Post. June 7, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  10. Richards, L. January Interview: Lama Surya Das. January Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
  11. Das, Surya (1998). Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World. Broadway. pp. 253. ISBN 0-7679-0157-6.
  12. Das, Surya (2009). The Mind Is Mightier Than the Sword: Enlightening the Mind, Opening the Heart. Doubleday Religion. p. 224. ISBN 0-7679-1864-9.
  13. Das, Surya (2009). The Mind Is Mightier Than the Sword: Enlightening the Mind, Opening the Heart. Doubleday Religion. p. 47. ISBN 0-7679-1864-9.
  14. Das, Surya (April 7, 2014). "My First Encounter With the Sixteenth Karmapa". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  15. Das, Surya (2015). Make Me One With Everything. Sounds True. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-62203-454-3.
  16. Das, Surya (December 6, 2016). "Awakening Now with Lama Surya Das - Ep. 35 – Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche". Be Here Now Network.
  17. Marcus Borg. "Lama Surya Das: American Buddhist teacher and author." preachers and teachers. beliefnet. Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
  18. "Bio: Lama Surya Das". Surya.org. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  19. "Lama Surya Das". Comedy Central. February 21, 2006. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  20. Surya Das Biography. "A Spiritual Life." Archived March 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
  21. American Buddhism on the rise
  22. Interview with Lama Surya Das
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