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Lama Surya Das Quotes

Breath by breath, let go of fear, expectation, anger, regret, cravings, frustration, fatigue. Let go of the need for approval. Let go of old judgments and opinions. Die to all that, and fly free. Soar...

Lama Surya Das

Breath by breath, let go of fear, expectation, anger, regret, cravings, frustration, fatigue. Let go of the need for approval. Let go of old judgments and opinions. Die to all that, and fly free. Soar...

Tags: approval, buddhism, buddhist wisdom, craving, desire, expectation, fatigue, fear, freedom, frustration

Give up grasping and see things as they are. THE SEVENTH DALAI LAMA

Lama Surya Das

Give up grasping and see things as they are. THE SEVENTH DALAI LAMA

About Author
Surya Das (born Jeffrey Miller in 1950) is an American lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist, author of many popular works on Buddhism, meditation teacher and spokesperson for Buddhism in the West. He has long been involved in charitable relief projects in the developing world and in interfaith dialogue.
Surya Das is a Dharma heir of Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, a Nyingma master of the non-sectarian Rime movement, with whom he founded the Dzogchen Foundation and Center in 1991. He received Nyoshul Khenpo's authorization to teach in 1993.
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. Surya Das is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

We are obliged to live as if there’s meaning in life, without any guarantee that there is.

Lama Surya Das

We are obliged to live as if there’s meaning in life, without any guarantee that there is.

When we are no longer so tightly identified with who we used to be and how we think things should continue to be—based on the past—every moment of wakefulness is an opportunity to actualize and enjoy...

Lama Surya Das

When we are no longer so tightly identified with who we used to be and how we think things should continue to be—based on the past—every moment of wakefulness is an opportunity to actualize and enjoy...

The thing is that this life is so precious and mysterious, I don’t know what to say about it most of the time. Words are like birds, passing through the trackless sky. The dog barking, the sound of th...

Lama Surya Das

The thing is that this life is so precious and mysterious, I don’t know what to say about it most of the time. Words are like birds, passing through the trackless sky. The dog barking, the sound of th...

Tags: lama surya das scandal, surya das, surya das affair, surya das controversy, surya das scandal

It is usually a mistake to believe that any opinion or situation is objectively good or bad, since everything depends on the perspective of the viewer.

Lama Surya Das

It is usually a mistake to believe that any opinion or situation is objectively good or bad, since everything depends on the perspective of the viewer.

People sometimes find Buddhism pessimistic, saying there is too much talk about death. It’s essential to understand that Buddhists don’t contemplate death because they are morbid or depressed; they fo...

Lama Surya Das

People sometimes find Buddhism pessimistic, saying there is too much talk about death. It’s essential to understand that Buddhists don’t contemplate death because they are morbid or depressed; they fo...

Riding Conflict with the Breath        •  Bring yourself to a place of restful awareness.        •  Let every thought float by like a dream, mirage, or an old and cancelled sitcom.        •  Inhale al...

Lama Surya Das

Riding Conflict with the Breath        •  Bring yourself to a place of restful awareness.        •  Let every thought float by like a dream, mirage, or an old and cancelled sitcom.        •  Inhale al...

We have to know about the world around us: whom and what we’re voting for and how best to address the vital social, political, and economic issues facing our communities, our nation, and our planet. N...

Lama Surya Das

We have to know about the world around us: whom and what we’re voting for and how best to address the vital social, political, and economic issues facing our communities, our nation, and our planet. N...

I went to a charnel ground for the practice of Chod a few dozen times in India and in Nepal. Several times I went to a place near a meat slaughterhouse where thousands of water buffalo bones were pile...

Lama Surya Das

I went to a charnel ground for the practice of Chod a few dozen times in India and in Nepal. Several times I went to a place near a meat slaughterhouse where thousands of water buffalo bones were pile...

With every breath, the old moment is lost; a new moment arrives. We exhale and we let go of the old moment. It is lost to us. In doing so, we let go of the person we used to be. We inhale and breathe...

Lama Surya Das

With every breath, the old moment is lost; a new moment arrives. We exhale and we let go of the old moment. It is lost to us. In doing so, we let go of the person we used to be. We inhale and breathe...

Tags: life, meditation

Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world. RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Lama Surya Das

Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world. RALPH WALDO EMERSON

With every breath, the old moment is lost; a new moment arrives.

Lama Surya Das

With every breath, the old moment is lost; a new moment arrives.

For it is not what happens to us that determines our character, our experience, our karma, and our destiny - but how we relate to what happens.

Lama Surya Das

For it is not what happens to us that determines our character, our experience, our karma, and our destiny - but how we relate to what happens.

Pleasure and pain arise from virtuous and non-virtuous actions which come not from outside, but from within yourself.

Lama Surya Das

Pleasure and pain arise from virtuous and non-virtuous actions which come not from outside, but from within yourself.

Tips and Pointers for Building a Spiritual Life from Scratch Pray Meditate Be aware / Stay awake Bow Practice yoga Feel Chant and sing Breathe and smile Relax / Enjoy / Laugh / Play Create / Envision...

Lama Surya Das

Tips and Pointers for Building a Spiritual Life from Scratch Pray Meditate Be aware / Stay awake Bow Practice yoga Feel Chant and sing Breathe and smile Relax / Enjoy / Laugh / Play Create / Envision...

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead it's about becoming more fully human. . . . It is the end of ignorance.

Lama Surya Das

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead it's about becoming more fully human. . . . It is the end of ignorance.

By meditating, we´re learning to disengage ourselves from habitual clinging and disperse the defilements and obscurations that hinder our capacity to serve others, such as illusory feelings of scarcit...

Lama Surya Das

By meditating, we´re learning to disengage ourselves from habitual clinging and disperse the defilements and obscurations that hinder our capacity to serve others, such as illusory feelings of scarcit...

Often we cling to habits that aren't even comforting or satisfying, simply because we are unable to let go or explore new ways to do things.

Lama Surya Das

Often we cling to habits that aren't even comforting or satisfying, simply because we are unable to let go or explore new ways to do things.

As long as we’re preoccupied with our former traumas and triumphs, or our fears and dreams about what might happen down the road, or who said what to whom, it’s very difficult to appreciate and cheris...

Lama Surya Das

As long as we’re preoccupied with our former traumas and triumphs, or our fears and dreams about what might happen down the road, or who said what to whom, it’s very difficult to appreciate and cheris...