Rating: 
Summary: Great application of western Buddhism. Changed my life!
Review: "Awakening the Buddha Within" is compiled in a manner that allows the average reader to enjoy and understand the basic principles of Buddhism. Using familiar examples, Lama Surya Das guides the reader toward a life of kindness, selflessness, joy, and ultimately enlightenment. This book has changed my outlook on every aspect of my being and I am in debt to Lama Surya Das for beginning me on a path toward a more meaningful existence. Read this book, regardless of your religious affiliation.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply bad...
Review: This is not a good book. It is poorly written and does not offer a clear understanding of Buddhism. It also has a weird New Age vibe. The author, it should be noted, is an American and a former hippie, not an Asian (as his hilarious pseudonym implies). Arguably, the act of using a pseudonym goes against losing one's ego, a tenet of Buddhism.The book provides some interesting historical background, but it is more concerned with talking around its subject than tackling it directly; for example, the auther mentions as an aside that he has seen people levitate, then drops the subject and does not mention it again. Doesn't he think people--Americans especially--might be a bit skeptical of levitation and would like an explanation? He also claims that lucid dreaming has endowed him with the ability to see the future and have out-of-body experiences. This is the kind of New Age silliness that gives Buddhism and the other Eastern religions a bad name. For a better-written explanation of Buddhism, read The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts.
Rating:
Summary: OK, yeah, this book changed my life.
Review: This is the most important book I've ever bought. I'm on my fifth copy because I keep giving my personal copies away --curling edges, dog-eared pages, underlined passages and all. I could have saved one full bookshelf if I had found this book four years ago. I could have prevented myself from making many bad life decisions if I had found it thirty years ago. Save yourself shrink fees ... Buddhism is the basis for effective personal therapy. Save yourself money spent on alcohol and other substances designed to make you numb ... Buddhism can give you a new appreciation for life exactly as it is. Learn to live fully, lovingly, joyously and with compassion for all. Have peace. Das is (was) one of us, he knows who we are and how we live and is able to deliver Buddhist basics at a level we can understand. Use this book to enrich your personal spiritual experience, or use it as a tool to help you embrace Buddhism as a way of life.
Rating: 
Summary: A truly meaningful way to spend time.
Review: Peace on earth ... there is no greater gift than to help others find internal peace. The book, obviously, is more rich with information, but these tapes are wonderful. I'm buying them for a few friends, especially the ones too busy to sit down with the book. When I was driving two hours one way to the office, listening to Das helped keep me sane & calm and braced me for the day ahead despite the repeated downsizings we were experiencing. I was able to keep my head while all those around me went wild with stress. Das has helped me learn the basics of Buddhism. Listening repeatedly to the tapes has helped the principles become a natural part of who I am, helping me respond compassionately to the emotional violence we encounter every day. When my cousin's teenage daughter is with me, I tune to select pieces for a few moments, then we discuss what we've heard. (I once asked a shrink friend what age was the hardest and he said "every age.") If everyone chose this path, there WOULD be peace on earth. Blessings ...
Rating:
Summary: Tibetan Buddhism for Beginners
Review: Lama Surya Das does a good job of introducing the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Many people see Buddhism as an exotic Eastern tradition without any relevance to our lives here and now. However, one need not embrace Buddhism to gain much from Buddhist concepts. This book is a little soft on certain concepts (like reincarnation). However, this book is meant for one not already deeply involved in the practice of Buddhism, so maybe it's better that way. I also highly recommend "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Eastern Wisdom" by Taro Gold. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Making my life that much more clear, LOVE IT!
Review: If your looking to undstand buudhism or just want to make your life more meaninful then just read this book. It's very good.
Rating:
Summary: buddha comes to life
Review: This is a terrific book for those looking to learn about Dzogchen and the essence of Buddhism. Lama Surya Das describes the eight fold path to enlightenment following the common teachings in the several schools of buddism; wisdom training, ethics training, and meditation training. It is beautifully written with an array of wonderful stories that will keep inspriring you along your journey toward enlightenment. If you are looking for a book to uplift your spitiritual intentions, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: was dissapointed
Review: First id like to say that I think Lama Surya Das is probably a wonderful person. He has studied with some of the most gifted masters of our time and has done retreats that would make even the most dedicated buddhists in america feel at least a hint of awe...In "Natural Great Perfection" he gives a brilliant introduction and when I originally saw it I was really looking forward to reading more from him....then, this book came out and I couldnt help but notice first of all that he seems all too content to use catch phrases, by-words and the like. He offers up a contradiction when he considers himself "a kalyanamitra, or spiritual friend" rather than vajra master. But for him to have been permitted to teach, especially a path such as Dzogchen, he must be much more than a friend. He gladly espouses the benefits of practice yet gives no follow through by presenting anything but the most basic practices. He mixes up the teachings; hi and low, western and eastern, in a sort of hodgepodge that had me feeling dizzy. It seems to me that he is not so much giving dharma teachings as selling them. I hope that in the future he will go a little deeper instead of trying to please the masses.
Rating:
Summary: Awakening Me to the Light of Myself and those that Love Me
Review: Lama Surya Das has a style of writing that grabs your soul and holds you in your own heart. A very good read on ones self and how to cope in a world of busy, busy, busy. I found a path to ease the trying times of my life and to deal with every antagonist through mindfullness. My changes have been noticed by my family and co-workers, and are all to our benifet. I am more whole and my marriage is as well. My wife is reading it now and we are having the best talks of our 28 years together. It has many months since I have originally read this book. I have since read it 3 times. I think this is the perfect get it together book. Peace to you all who read it.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on Buddhism That I Have Ever Read!!!
Review: This is simply a superb book. What I hope will become a classic. Lama Surya Das manages to make a complex subject very simple, while maintaining the innate complexity of the subject matter. Further, he manages to take Buudhism and exposes it in the light of our everyday life. It's as if he, in each chapter, manages to exemplify what he is trying to help us understand - he gives us domestic examples so that we can "see" Buddhism in everything that we do! In this book, he is like a teacher who is explaining fractions to us. But he does so by cutting an apple into halves and quarters. Then he has us eat the apple! It is nearly imossible for us not to understand. The eight-fold path, which is the heart of Buddhism, is mapped out so beautifully this way that it is the best explanation I have ever heard or read. One step flows into the other. After seeing how this can be applied in our daily life...No, strike that. After seeing how this is already applied in our daily life, we come to a full understanding. There are many exercises, meditation and otherwise, that help us to experience what the author is stating. Although the entire framework is Buddhist - everything fits into his explanations: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism. Our mundane activities as well as our highest aspirations. I can not see how anybody could not profit deeply in their life from reading this simply wonderful book.
| 
