Musings

Published in Tricycle Magazine Winter 2007 Lama Surya Das explores the common roots of various Buddhist meditative practices. Clinging to one’s school and condemning others Is the certain way to waste one’s learning. Since all dharma teachings are good, Those who cling to sectarianism Degrade Buddhism and sever Themselves from liberation." —Milarepa, The One Hundred Thousand Songs During my initial private meeting with the Venerable Kalu Rinpoche, my first root guru, I asked him about the main points of meditation. He asked what kind of meditation I was doing, and I told him mindfulness...

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Published in The Huffington Post 4-12-2010 Last night PBS aired The Buddha, a new TV special about the sage's life, impact, and particular relevance to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. By filmmaker David Grubin, the documentary features the work of some of the world's greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia have depicted the Buddha's life through art rich in beauty and complexity. Moreover, this film points out how we may integrate enlightening wisdom and mindfulness into our daily lives today, which is the main point of Buddhism in practice,...

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Published in The Huffington Post 5-25-2010 Last week someone told me that in his eighty-odd years he had never seen such pervasive levels of fear and anger. This observation gave me pause to wonder: how do we restore ourselves, heal our spirit and revitalize the earth too? What is true healing, anyway, and can it be effected? When we are unwell, it's mostly due to imbalances clogging our lives and limiting our innate capacity for joy and well-being. These internal imbalances and energy blockages often express themselves as disturbing emotions--anger, frustration, anxiety and alienation, to name...

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Published in The Huffington Post 4-28-2010 Can you tell me What is Wisdom while standing on one leg? This was the challenge put to a rabbi of old. King Solomon said that wisdom was the knowledge and judgment to know right from wrong. He received his vaunted wisdom from God in a dream; would that we too had such dreams! "Blessed  is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for he is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold." -- Proverbs 3:13 The Talmud says that the wisest among men is he who learns from all. My father's view on the subject was that...

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  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 teeenage thinkaholic, even till recently, but I’m much more spacious now. American Buddhas, awaken! Loosen your attachments.” Lama Surya Das, New Dharma Talks 2012

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“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

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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....

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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.

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"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  

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“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

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