Lama Surya Das is an American lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He 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 affectionately calls him “The Western Lama.”
He is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist, author of many books and an all round beautiful person. He has long been involved in charitable relief projects in developing countries and in interfaith dialogue. Lama 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 Center. His name, which means "Servant of the Sun" in a combination of Sanskrit and Hindi, was given to him in 1972 by the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba.
Surya has spent over forty five years studying Zen, vipassana, yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism with the great masters of Asia, including the Dalai Lama’s own teachers, and has twice completed the traditional three year meditation cloistered retreat at his teacher’s Tibetan monastery. He is an authorized lama and lineage holder in the Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism, and a close personal disciple of the leading grand lamas of that tradition. He is the founder of the Dzogchen Center and Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and its branch centers around the country. Over the years, Surya has brought many Tibetan lamas to this country to teach and start centers and retreats. As founder of the Western Buddhist Teachers Network with the Dalai Lama, he regularly helps organize its international Buddhist Teachers Conferences. He is also active in interfaith dialogue and charitable projects in the Third World. In recent years, Lama Surya has turned his efforts and focus towards youth and contemplative education initiatives, what he calls “True higher education and wisdom for life training.”
I first met Lama Surya Das while on retreat with Ram Dass and it was beautiful to dive into this podcast chat with him. I deeply appreciate his wisdom balanced with and wonderful sense of humour. I hope you enjoy our chat!
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