Awakening Now With Lama Surya Das

On this special episode of Awakening Now, Lama Surya reflects on the life of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Surya shares his experiences studying under the Dzogchen master who shared his wisdom and grace with all who sought it.

Lama Surya Das brings on his longtime friend John Krishna Bush, who is a director, artist, and writer as well as being a wise devotee of Neem Karoli Baba.   It was John that took a young Lama Surya on his first pilgrimage and introduced Surya to his Guru. He was given the name Krishna in 1971 by his guru in India – Neem Karoli Baba, introduced in Be Here Now as Maharaji. shares the influence that his spiritual path has on his work. He and Lama Surya Das talk about practice, pilgrimage, and more on this episode of, Awakening Now.  

Father Michael Holleran joins Lama Surya Das this week to discuss the intersection of Christianity and Buddhism. While the two belief systems may not seem similar on the surface, they both share a deep tradition of contemplative practice and shared philosophy. Father Michael Holleran is a Catholic priest, Sensei in the Zen tradition, and scholar. He is also a former Carthusian Monk who spent years at silent Benedictine monastery. There is much insight to be had, as Father Micheal give his unique perspective on contemplative practice, shared wisdom, and the essence of awakening. “Awake sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will give you life.” – Ephesians 5:14

In this talk in from a past retreat, Lama Surya Das discusses the Dzogchen principle of basic awareness.Through practice, we become opened to the nature of our mind. We are then able to detach ourselves and become a witness; we experience things as they are. Hearing becomes just hearing and seeing becomes just seeing. Lama Surya Das also answers insightful questions from his audience on suffering and the middle way. How do we come to trust ourselves and what does it mean to apply the Middle Way to our lives? "It is not outer things that entangle us; it is inner attachment and fixation which entangles us" -Tilopa

Lama Surya Das brings on Wayne Muller to talk about time and how we spend what precious little of it that we are given. How can we lift ourselves from the trance of our mundane lives? Wayne believes the most radical challenge to our culture is to challenge the way we live in time. Wayne Muller invites us to step out of the trance of ordinary time. We associate efficiency with success and acquiring more and more. However, stepping away from that lifestyle is the key to using our limited time best. If we do not step back and give attention to ourselves, we burn out and become unavailable to others. Listen to Lama Surya Das and Wayne's thoughts on time, fulfillment, and more on this episode of Awakening Now!   "When people are on fire about something, they can make almost anything happen." - Wayne Muller

Author and educator, Susan Kaiser Greenland, chats with Lama Surya Das about teaching the younger generation. How do we not only bring old teachings and wisdom into the modern world but bring it into the secular world as well? Lama Sura Das and Susan discuss the role of family and devotion. The importance of being open to the perspective and wisdom children have to offer is emphasized. How do we teach loving kindness and compassion without raising children to be passive and without boundaries? All this and more on this week's episode of Awakening Now!   Show Notes 01:05 - After a warm salutation and brief introduction, Lama Surya and Susan get right into the topic of bringing mindfulness and awareness into a secular education system. How do we teach our next generation the principals of the practice to bring the more peace, harmony, and wisdom into the world? We also need to remember to listen as much as we teach because young minds have plenty of wisdom to share as well. 3:55 - Susan talks about the now comm

On this latest episode of Awakening Now, Lama Surya Das shares on the many aspects of Ram Dass that he has experienced. As a friend, mentor, and spiritual pioneer, Ram Dass has been an inspiration to Lama Surya Das. As a teacher at the forefront of the Be Here Now movement and counter-culture of the sixties, through Ram Dass' own practice and exploration, he has helped millions of seekers find there own truth: "Ram Dass is an axial personality, as Carl Jung called it, someone who brings the divine fire down and transforms it into human language and discourse... a person that brings together the past, present, future and the timeless." Show Notes: 3:30 - Lama Surya Das discusses Ram Dass in the sixties and his first encounters with him at Syracuse and India. 6:00 - Ram Dass as a spiritual pioneer and the greater impact of his teachings, helping to bridge eastern and western approaches to spirituality 9:00 - "Fierce Grace" the movie, and Ram Dass' perspective on being grateful for everything, even having a str

“Our own body is like the Sangha, our energy the Dharma, and our heart-mind the Buddha” Surya Das reminds us that to rest in the empty and luminous nature of mind is to practice the ultimate form of refuge. We are all Buddhas by nature, but we must recognize this fact before we can embody it. Equanimity is revealed in balancing the absolute, the emptiness, and the mystery with the relative causation of karma and compassionate action. To not get lost in the illusion of expectation is to walk the path toward freedom.

Surya Das and fellow spiritual and meditation teacher, Sally Kempton discuss the merging of the paths of devotion (Bhakti) and wisdom (Jnana) and how they've discovered the true inseparability of the two paths within their own lives. They illuminate on the topics of earnestness in our post-modern secular world, Tantra, meditation practice, the concept of altruistic enlightenment, and their respective Buddhist/Hindu lineages. Surya Das and Sally's conversation also explores how we balance the surrendering to grace that comes with walking the spiritual path, while also living in the world of "effort, energy and motivation." For more on Sally Kempton, please visit her website.

Surya Das touches on the natural and relaxed qualities of Dzogchen meditation, and answers questions on a variety of topics including decision making, balancing the meditative and contemplative mind, emptiness within awareness, sky gazing, and awareness-based meditation.  

Surya Das is joined by fellow MindPod natives, Raghu Markus and Kelly Rego, for a lighthearted discussion about the growing relationship between Western culture and the higher powers that have influenced previous generations. The perceived increase in altruistic sentiment among modern youth is highlighted as evidence for a rapidly evolving cultural consciousness. Other topics include the role and value of service, noble solitude, and the current state of political engagement.

Uninhibited and inexhaustible, like the ocean’s waves, leave it as it is. There is no ‘self’ for your self-improvement project, but there is room for just being. Through practice we develop the skillful means necessary to both recognize and reside within the illusion, relative and ultimate truth being woven into each passing moment. Of course we can strive to make the world a better place, but we must also balance our ambition with the ease of understanding that we don’t always have to fix everything. Question and answer topics include releasing control, and the cultivation and evolution of the meditation practice.

Surya Das explains that Dozchen is not just a practice of the mind, but rather an exercise of the Spirit, a dance with the pure and primordial presence that we all have access to. It is the essence of who we are, not just what we become. Don’t bother the mind and it won’t bother you. Open mind, open heart, seeing through and being through. Question and answer topics include immediate versus ultimate enlightenment, relativity, and karma.

Sound advice on the importance of theoretical and experiential learning within the context of any spiritual framework. The initial inspiration may come through text, but must then be applied and tested in the trials of day-to-day life. Our practice is to plumb the depths, not just skim the surface. Question and answer topics include practical compassion, origination of thoughts and emotions, altruism, and distinguishing between the brain and mind.

Surya Das offers a teaching on the wisdom of allowing, encouraging us to familiarize ourselves with a simple yet engaged lifestyle, learning to live in harmony with a deep appreciation for the full spectrum of our experience. Question and answer topics include the shifting of identity in practice, suffering and illusion, and the difference between separateness and autonomy.

Surya Das reflects on the bigger picture of the Great Perfection, as it relates to the art of acceptance within our practice. A little acceptance goes a long way as we continue to work on ourselves, moving toward the middle path of choiceless awareness. Question and answer topics center around meditation techniques and the evolution of practice.

What is our perspective? How do we nurture a new perspective that is more interconnected with our fellow humans? Lama Surya Das chats with Raghu and they recall the Lama’s first meeting with the “Big Maharajji” - and what that deeper reality represents beyond the body. Also, the Guru as a mirror that reflects true nature and also reflects so clearly that it helps us see through self deception. Lama discusses the concept of “spiritual bypass” - how the ego uses spiritual practices to avoid our human foibles. Finally, Lama discusses the truth of motivation, His Holiness the Dalai Lama quotes from the Buddhist canon all the time, “Everything rests on the tip of motivation.”

Surya Das responds to audience questions on a variety of topics including transmission from teachers, the role of lineage, and working with reactivity. He explains that it is encouragement and inspiration that is conveyed from the great teachers, regardless of their time and place.

Daily life is where the rubber meets the road on the spiritual path, as we attempt to integrate our takeaways from retreat, travels, and other spiritual endeavors. Bringing the virtues of mindfulness into our home, work, and social environments is a profound offering, as well as an opportunity to both embody and further encourage the cultivation of these qualities. Surya Das outlines practical methods and means for carrying the Dharma out into the world and flourishing in all of our domains.

Surya Das responds to audience questions on a variety of topics including appropriate responses to fear, working with your demons, and the meditative practice known as Tonglen.