Daily Insight: Lama Surya Das on the Essence of Buddhism

“The more truthful I am with myself and others, the more my conscience is clear and tranquil. Thus, I can more thoroughly and unequivocally inhabit the present moment and accept everything that happens without fear, knowing that what goes around comes around (the law of karma). Ethical morality and self-discipline represent the good ground, or stable basis. Mindful awareness is the skillful and efficacious grow-path, or way. Wisdom and compassion constitute the fruit, or result. This is the essence of Buddhism.”

― Lama Surya Das, Buddha Is as Buddha Does:
The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living

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Daily Insight: Lama Surya Das: Love and Help Everyone

“I've also learned that you don't always get to pick the people with whom you travel the journey. You sometimes may think you do, but don't be deceived. And the corollary of that - and this was my real lesson - is that you start to realize that you can love even the people you don't like and must love and help everyone.”

― Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within:
Eight Steps to Enlightenment

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TODAY’S BOOK RECOMMENDATION:

The Yeti and the Jolly Lama: A Tale of Friendship
by Lama Surya Das

According to Lama Surya Das, 'The Yeti and the Jolly Lama: A Tale of Friendship' is an "ancient Tibetan teaching tale, shared with me many years ago by some of the greatest storytellers in the remote snowy Himalayas."

Lama Surya Das, aka 'The American Lama,' recounts this wonderful story in his first childrens book. It is a story of spiritual friendship between the aggressive and intolerant Yeti, and the Jolly Lama who tames the savage beast with lovingkindness.

It is a wonderful read for children of all ages.

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Daily Insight: Lama Surya Das: Letting Go

“Breath by breath, let go of fear, expectation, anger, regret, cravings, frustration, fatigue. Let go of the need for approval. Let go of old judgments and opinions. Die to all that, and fly free. Soar in the freedom of desirelessness.

Let go. Let Be. See through everything and be free, complete, luminous, at home – at ease.”

― Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within:
Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World

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Daily Insight: Lama Surya Das: Right Here and Now

“As long as we're preoccupied with our former traumas and triumphs, or our fears and dreams about what might happen down the road, or who said what to whom, it's very difficult to appreciate and cherish the intrinsically joyful gift of life right here and now.”

― Lama Surya Das

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Daily Insight: Lama Surya Das on Missing Out on Life

“The past is over, and the future is unknown. We can dwell in the imagined worlds of yesterday and tomorrow if we so choose. But the more we do so, the more we miss out on life itself as it is happening, moment by moment, and the more we fail to realize who we actually are, moment by moment.”

― Lama Surya Das, The Big Questions:
A Buddhist Response to Life's Most Challenging Mysteries

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Daily Insight: Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das

“I've also learned that you don't always get to pick the people with whom you travel the journey. You sometimes may think you do, but don't be deceived. And the corollary of that – and this was my real lesson – is that you start to realize that you can love even the people you don't like and must love and help everyone.”

― Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within:
Eight Steps to Enlightenment

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Words of Wisdom for Dec. 12, 2019: Lama Surya Das onthe Crux of Happiness

“I have been thinking that the crux of happiness matter for me is whether or not I am in the moment, in the flow, at one with what is happening and I am doing. Otherwise, I'm lost in worry, and anxiety about past and future, plagued by what Buddhist meditators call "comparing mind," comparing what is to other so-called possibilities.”

― Lama Surya Das

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Words of Wisdom for Dec. 4, 2019: Lama Surya Das on the Wisdom Within

“The secret, or innermost, level of wisdom is pure intuition, clarity, lucidity, innate wakefulness, presence, and recognition of reality. This transcendental wisdom is within all of us—it just needs to be discovered and developed, unfolded and actualized.”

― Lama Surya Das

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Words of Wisdom for Nov. 16, 2019: Lama Surya Das: Truth and Conscience

“The more truthful I am with myself and others, the more my conscience is clear and tranquil. Thus, I can more thoroughly and unequivocally inhabit the present moment and accept everything that happens without fear, knowing that what goes around comes around (the law of karma). Ethical morality and self-discipline represent the good ground, or stable basis. Mindful awareness is the skillful and efficacious grow-path, or way. Wisdom and compassion constitute the fruit, or result. This is the essence of Buddhism.”

― Lama Surya Das, Buddha Is as Buddha Does:
The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living

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Words of Wisdom for Oct. 16, 2019: Lama Surya Das: People on Your Journey

“I've also learned that you don't always get to pick the people with whom you travel the journey. You sometimes may think you do, but don't be deceived. And the corollary of that - and this was my real lesson - is that you start to realize that you can love even the people you don't like and must love and help everyone.”

― Lama Surya Das,
Awakening the Buddha Within:
Eight Steps to Enlightenment

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Words of Wisdom for Sept. 8, 2019: Lama Surya Das on Non-attachment

“Non-attachment is not complacency. It doesn't imply a lack of caring and commitment. The philosophy of non-attachment is based in the understanding that holding on too tightly to those things, which in any case are always going to be slipping through our fingers, hurts and gives us rope burn.”

― Lama Surya Das,
Letting Go Of The Person You Used To Be

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Daily Dharma July 28, 2019 Lama Surya Das

“Breath by breath, let go of fear, expectation, anger, regret, cravings, frustration, fatigue. Let go of the need for approval. Let go of old judgments and opinions. Die to all that, and fly free. Soar in the freedom of desirelessness.

Let go. Let Be. See through everything and be free, complete, luminous, at home—at ease.”

― Lama Surya Das
Awakening the Buddha Within:
Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World

19015

Daily Dharma July 15, 2019 Lama Surya Das

“By meditating, we´re learning to disengage ourselves from habitual clinging and disperse the defilements and obscurations that hinder our capacity to serve others, such as illusory feelings of scarcity and fears of deprivation. We gradually learn to be more conscious and make better choices. We develop simplicity instead of comlexity, open-mindedness instead of narrow-mindedness, flexibility rather than rigidity. We feel ourselves to be more available to others and to give more generously of ourselves.”

― Lama Surya Das
Buddha Is as Buddha Does:
The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living

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