“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
I came upon this rather enlightening article-- "Don't Just Sit There" --in the New York Times and thought it obviously relevant for us all, especially meditators and contemplatives, writers, thinkers, Buddhist geeks and other sedentary denizens of the great Immobile State.
As a writer who spends seemingly endless hours at my computer, I've learned to value a movement break as much as a breath break! I've also found there are many options for "moving". Walking meditation, yoga or tai chi are all interesting choices, as well as working with a physical trainer to focus on a more skillful work-out....
I love sports and have been involved with athletics since before I can remember. I claim a lifetime batting average of over .400, including softball and stickball as well as school and little league baseball teams. My parents too were into it. My uncle Bill Miller even tried out for the Pittsburgh Pirates major league baseball team, after playing on the travelling US Army team in Europe during WW II.
Recently, in response to an inquiry submitted to my "Ask The Lama" blog regarding the Diamond Mountain University and Retreat Center tragedy, the answer I posted received such overwhelming feedback that I decided to add it to my Huffington Post blog-- "Spiritual Responsibility and Cult Awareness" .
Twenty years ago, when there was quite a bit of troubling public news concerning dangerous cults among spiritual groups, I co-authored a white paper called "Spiritual Responsibility" with my Boston neighbor, cult deprogramming expert Steve Hassan. At that time the guru Bhagvan Rajneesh was deported...
(Lama Surya Das' presentation at The Global Buddhist Conference in New Delhi, November 2011)
What is the future of Buddhism and of enlightenment-oriented spirituality in the West and in this tumultuous world? What part shall we play as spiritual activists, visionary leaders, altruists and aspiring bodhisattva, as well as stewards and guardians of our world, the environment, and society? It has been pointed out that historically whenever Buddhism has entered a culture, it has not only changed the culture, but Buddhism has also been changed by that culture. This is the nature and reality...
"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 the purling stream,
the wind among the weeping willow trees:
how are these not right off the tongue of the Buddha?"
--Lama Surya Das
Lama Surya Das will be in Melbourne for a two-day event to help raise funds for the Odiyana Buddhist Center. The Friday night event will also feature a live performance by ARIA award winning performer Kavisha Mazella. More Information
