One of the most learned and highly trained American-born lamas in the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition. He is a meditation teacher and author.
“Breathe, relax, center and smile. Let things come and go, and just let be. Practice Presencing. It’s not about trying not to think but about letting things come and go. Learning to relax, just be, center, and naturally meditate is a well known spiritual secret that people ought to be able to learn and integrate into life. Like mental flossing, it keeps one open and free, calm and clear. I too was a teenage thinkaholic, even till recently, but I’m much more spacious now.
American Buddhas, awaken! Loosen your attachments.”
Lama Surya Das, New Dharma Talks 2012
Dear Lama Surya Das,
Yesterday, I bought your book “Awakening the Buddha Within”. Today, I started reading it. I am only on page 7, but I had to get off the couch, find you online and send you this message. I am convinced I will love your book. Actually, I already do. I got totally pulled in – well, apart from the fact that I got off the couch to write to you.
The truth is, I am in a desperate need of a change… a personal change, if one can simply put it that way. Perhaps there is a better description and I just have not found it. I spent the past 20 years seriously losing touch with myself, my dreams, my goals, my spirit… and if it weren’t for my best friend who recently pointed out what an introverted selfish mess I have become, I would probably still fumble around, stuck, as a very bad version of myself. It may sound overly dramatic, well, it’s been pretty bad.
So, my best friend also suggested that I pick up a few books (to start with), do some serious soul-searching (not sure where to begin), start meditating (I am running mental lists and cannot focus) and get back to yoga (I am one of the people who claims to be “doing yoga” just because I own a yoga mat). See, I actually need friends to tell me all these things about me, I am so scattered that I don’t realize it myself.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I just finished reading “Fear” by Thich Nhat Hanh, as fear seems to be running the show when it comes to my life. As my best friend pointed out. It’s a good book and a really good breathing manual. I also bought “Buddhist Philosophy – Essential Reading” by William Edelglass & Jay L. Garfield, but I will have to get a dictionary as a supplementary reading to that book. My friend tells me that I am making a mistake in approaching this book as “complicated”, and that I should take it slowly, no matter how long it takes. I think he’s right.
To finally get to the point – I do not know what to expect from your book, but I guess that’s the part of the journey. I am hoping that it will help me find a way to solve some of my personal issues: relax, stop freaking out, stay focused, stop getting angry with myself, stop being angry with myself, learn how to breathe properly… to name a few. I will let you know how I am getting on. I think that would be the least I could do, since you took your time to write your book.
I thank you in advance.
Kind regards and best wishes,
Andrea K.
Belgium