One Spirit Q&A with Lama Surya Das

Ask the Lama
Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost Western Buddhist meditation teachers and scholars. He has spent nearly thirty years studying Zen, vipassana, yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism with the great old masters of Asia. This month, Lama Surya Das teaches Dzogchen: The Clear Light Practice of Tibetan Buddhism and Buddha is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living at One Spirit. Read on to learn more about Lama Surya Das, his teachings and philosophies.

You spent 25 years studying with the great spiritual masters and have become the leading teacher of Buddhism. Your background sounds very serious, yet, you are known as a "hip and regular guy," according to the "Boston Globe", and as a person as humorous and gregarious as erudite. Why do you teach with humor and stories and feel it's important to combine "lightness with enlightenment?"

I think we have to lighten up while we enlighten up along the Way. If we take ourselves too seriously, it ain't very funny. One of my old friends in India during the '70s used to call me Serious Das, but I'm much younger now, as the song says. There are definitely serious questions we must inquire into about life, love, injustice, and the nature of reality. But we shouldn't let religion drive the smile away. Regarding the secret of life, the afterlife, and rebirth, I like to say that if we don't get the joke this time around, we may have to be reborn until we do.

Humor disarms our defense mechanisms and helps quickly bridge all kinds of gaps between us, especially in public with strangers. It helps provide access to the timeless treasure trove of spiritual wisdom by removing some of the barriers that keep ordinary people from benefiting by traditional religion and serious philosophy. A good story today is worth volumes of more serious hot air. Also, I'm just a regular guy, a Buddha from Brooklyn; my message is, If I can do it, you can do it, anybody can do it. That's why I teach the way I do: although I speak Tibetan, I prefer to use the American idiom, and dress like everybody else, although I have a full set of maroon and gold lama robes and I am an authorized and empowered lama in the Tibetan Buddhist order and known as one of the most highly trained American lamas and Buddhist meditation masters.

Are there activities in daily life that naturally encourage and cultivate awareness of the sacred?

Definitely. Usually we think of religious activities as being explicit - going to church, or praying, or reading scriptures, or doing good works and serving the poor. But daily life presents us with so many opportunities for accessing the sacred dimension of our experience. Connecting with nature through gardening or through taking walks; connecting with beauty and the mystery of being through art - these are activities that awaken that spirit of the transcendent, which is also immanent in things around us every moment. Lighting candles, creating altars or sacred spaces in our homes or gardens - this is spiritual homework that helps us sacralize our daily life. The simple act of loving our children, our pets, our mates, our work, of caring for our world and for future generations, learning to love life - this is connecting with the sacred. So, too, exercise and relaxation and joy help us connect to the inner-spirit, what some call our "inner child" and I'll call our "little Buddha" inside that's just wanting to grow up and come out.

What other spiritual practices and rituals can people apply in their everyday lives?

One thing people can do, even if they don't believe in God or any religion, is pray. In my book, I include a chapter of peace prayers, healing prayers, and centering prayers that are meditation. People can also do yoga, fasting, chanting, exercise, or martial arts that train our minds and bodies and help us to awaken and be more healthy and balanced. They can perform simple rituals like lighting candles, or placing flowers on an alter or a dining room table in a spirit of reverence and offering. They can do spiritual reading, whether scriptural texts or the mystic poets, or they can write a haiku poem or create a spiritual notebook. Cooking food with love, serving others, and taking care of our children and families and communities - these are also all spiritual practices and meaningful aspects of a humanistic, spiritual way of life.

Does one have to give up one's job, family, or friends to achieve enlightenment?

Not at all. It's true that a spiritual journey almost inevitably begins with a decision to renounce or change dramatically a certain way of life. But that decision involves inner change and transformation, and is less about changing your environment or letting go of people or things. So you don't have to walk away from responsibilities, friends, or families, or shave your head and go live in a distant land. But you may have to give up something even more dear to you - your cherished attachment to your ego and opinions, and to the unexamined beliefs and assumptions that you've inherited from family or from society but that may not be fulfilling you. Doing this may be hard, but it's something you can do right here without renouncing your life.

What is Spiritual Intelligence? And how do we get it? How can we each find a higher or deeper transcendent spiritual vision and perspective?

Spiritual intelligence includes finding our own innate spiritual ground or center; gaining a sense of the bigger picture-the God's-eye view or perspective of Buddha vision-on things; sharpening and refining our ability to distinguish the real from the unreal; an understanding of the law of karma, or cause and effect-how and why things happen and how it all works and is interconnected and fits together; and becoming more wise, enlightened, and unselfish. The Dalai Lama says, "The basic fact is that all sentient beings, particularly human beings, want happiness and do not want pain and suffering. On those grounds, we have every right to be happy and to use different methods or means to overcome suffering and to achieve happier lives. It is worthwhile to think seriously about the positive and negative consequences of these methods. You should be aware that there are differences between short-term interest and long-term interest and consequences- and the long-term interest is more important. Buddhists usually say that there is no absolute and that everything is relative. So we must judge according to the circumstances."

You are a self-described Jewish jock from Long Island American, who has studied and practiced Buddhism for nearly thirty years. How have you reconciled your Buddhist practice with your Jewish-American roots? Do Westerners need to convert in order to practice Buddhism or can they adapt some Jewish practices to their own lifestyle and religions?

We each contain multitudes, as the poet said. The inner jewel of my spirit, just like yours, has many luminous facets. My father's house has many mansions. My brain scientist brother Michael Miller, after I came back from twenty years in India and the Himalayas, said in 1990: "You're still yourself, Jeffrey-- only more so!" In spiritual life, we become simply more and more authentically and genuinely ourselves every day. We don't have to put somebody else's head on our shoulders in place of our own-not a Buddha's, not a guru's, not a god's. I try to keep my feet on the ground and my gaze upon heaven; this is what Buddha called the Middle Way. For example, I am Jewish on my parents' side, and they always told me to be a mensch-- a real, decent human being, or a good guy. This fits in with Buddhist ethics such as simplicity, naturalness and authenticity, straightforwardness, and nonviolence. Buddhism and Judaism are both very dedicated to a better life in the here and now, and to social conscience, not just having a blissful afterlife; to wisdom, knowledge, and education; to questioning, and to a certain sense of irony and the cosmic absurdity of things. I feel like these're me.
The Dalai Lama always says to contribute to others rather than to convert others, and that he would rather see Westerners in general use Buddhist practice to become a better whatever they are than having them convert to Buddhism.

You are the founder of Dzogchen Foundation, which is an international Buddhist congregation, with local meditation groups and retreats and workshops around the country. What is Dzogchen Buddhism? How does it differ from Tibetan Buddhism?

Dzogchen, or the Natural Great Perfection, is the highest teaching of Tibetan Buddhism. Elder Tibetan lamas have often called it the teaching for our times, the most swift and direct path to enlightenment in this very lifetime. I founded my center ten years ago, in Massachusetts and in Northern California, along with my late dzogchen master Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche of Tibet, with the blessings and endorsement of the Dalai Lama and other high lamas of the Tibetan tradition. Dzogchen is an ancient practice lineage reaching back to the time of the Buddha, 2500 years ago in India. Tibetan Buddhism has various schools and traditions, each with their own emphasis; the Dzogchen tradition comes from the oldest original school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Nyingma, and emphasizes awareness meditation above all other forms of practice. Dzogchen itself is not just meditation practice, but is explained according to three things: View (outlook), Meditation, and Action/conduct.
Tibetan Buddhism has many practices, including meditation, chanting, rituals, visualization, energy yoga, breath work, prayers, philosophy, monasticism, and debate. Dzogchen is based in Tibetan Buddhism, but teaches us the very heart of the matter.

One of the most important tenets of Buddhism is that we must live according our deepest heartfelt values and take advantage of the wondrous opportunities our life provides today. What are four basic thoughts that can help us sort our values and priorities?

The following reflections can help us grounded in reality and conscious of what's truly important:

1. I have been blessed with a life in which I can do many things to further my own happiness and the happiness of those around me.
2. Life is short; there is no time to waste.
3. The journey through life isn't supposed to be easy; it's supposed to be real.
4. Our karma is the one thing we carry with us always.

What are eight practical steps to helping us connect with who we really are?

The first step is to Recognize that This Is It, that this life we have right now is our chance to be happy and do good, to learn and grow. Our life is our path, and all of our joys and difficulties are just what we need to awaken. The second step is to Connect to the Lessons in Our Own Lives, to stop and take time to reflect on what is happening in our lives and to begin to discern the patterns of cause and effect, so that we can see where we can make changes.

The third step is to Pay Attention, to notice our projections, interpretations, attachments, and perceptions. The fourth step is to Understand Samskaras, or tendencies and inclinations. Samskaras are those tendencies we have to respond positively or negatively to certain situations or people, our psychological conditioning. By seeing our own samskaras, we can...

The fifth step is to Connect to Our Spiritual Warrior. The first task of the Spiritual Warrior is to get honest about our thoughts and feelings, to bravely and honestly acknowledge our essential core of goodness as well as face and deal with the layers of problematic conditioning that are wrapped around this Buddha within.

The sixth step is to Contemplate Our Lives. The seventh step is to Use Mindfulness as a Tool. The eighth step is to Connect to the Present Moment through the Power of Now.

What is your prayer for the new Millennium?

My prayer and New Millennium Resolution is this: to dedicate this life and all my lifetimes to the selfless service of spiritual enlightenment through working for the peace, harmony, and liberation of all beings. This is our heartfelt aspiration: That we may be the greatest that we all, together as well as individually, can possibly be.
May all beings everywhere,
be awakened, healed, peaceful, and free;
May there be peace in this world,
and an end to war and poverty;
and may we all together
complete the spiritual journey.

The Six Building Blocks of a Spiritual Life:

1. Daily personal practice
2. Spiritual study, reading, and self-inquiry
3. Group work-retreats, lectures, workshops, weekly group meeting
4. Personal inner growth work-therapy, men's and women's groups, 12 Step Programs
5. Teachers, elders, and mentors
6. Service/seva

What advice would you give people who want to connect with their spiritual lives but don't know where to begin?

There's an old saying, "The path begins right beneath our feet." It doesn't mean we have to look down; it means we have to attend, to pay attention to where we are and what we're looking for in life. It means we should look into ourselves and at our motivations, and raise our sights, spiritually speaking, and try to connect with the bigger picture. We can begin to do this in any number of ways: by slowing down a little, by simplifying our lives, by taking a vacation or sabbatical, or by devoting half an hour every day to our true selves - our transcendent selves. Making time in daily life for personal prayer, journal writing, or meditation allows us to connect with the sacred right here in our own life. Because if it's not here, it's nowhere. The Good Book says, "The Kingdom of heaven is within." And Buddhism says nirvana can be found in the here-and-now. So, we have to begin right where we are, and that's the good news. The bad news is that it's so obvious and close to us that we might overlook it. Attention is the essence of the matter - attention and openness.

For more on Lama Surya Das, visit him on the web at www.surya.org and register for Dzogchen and Buddha Is as Buddha Does today. He will be signing copies of his latest book, "The Mind is Mightier Than the Sword" at One Spirit on Thursday, November 12 at 7PM.

Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost Western Buddhist meditation teachers and scholars, one of the main interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, and a leading spokesperson for the emerging American Buddhism. The Dalai Lama calls him "The Western Lama."

Surya has spent 35 years studying Zen, vipassana, yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism with the great masters of Asia, including the Dalai Lama's own teachers. He teaches, lectures, and conducts retreats worldwide. Lama Surya Das is the author of the recently released The Mind Is Mightier Than the Sword: Enlightening the Mind, Opening the Heart (Doubleday, August 2009) as well as Words of Wisdom (Koa Books, 2008), The Big Questions (2007, Rodale) and Buddha Is As Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living (2007, Harper San Francisco). He is also the author of the best seller Awakening the Buddhist Heart .

Lama Surya Das is a Lineage Holder of the Dzogchen Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the Rimè (non-sectarian) tradition. For over thirty-five years, including more than eight years in secluded retreat, he has studied with the great masters of Tibetan Buddhism. With his open and lively style, he is particularly effective in the transmission of Buddhism by presenting Buddhist values and insight, as well as methods of practice, in a manner accessible to all.