Rating: 
Summary: Excellent presentation of Buddhism
Review: It was very refreshing and uplifting to read this book. It lays out very beautifully what Buddhism is all about, and the author comes across as a humble gentle teacher/master. The reason this book genuinely touches hearts is because the author writes from experience. He has lived the life of a monk, and now incorporates Buddhism as he returns to his western American life. The path and ways of Buddhism are laid out without being forced down your throat. The logic behind each explained. And tied in is the author's own and his lama teacher's experiences with it. This book will make you sit back and analyze your life. Make you nod about how simple some of the basic truths are in everyone's life, the ones we usually ignore. And how simple it is to be at peace with everything. I am not Buddhist. But this was amazing to read none the less.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful introduction for the western seeker
Review: I live with this book. There are so many bookmarks in it, just so I find my favorite passages and be inspired all over again. I quote from it. Lama Das brings the beliefs and practices of Buddhism into the 21st century and makes the ancient wisdom relevant to the modern westerner. I was a person that had given up all hope of finding my spiritual self; I felt I came home when I read this. I am now looking forward to reading his second book. Even if it's only half as good, it will be great. Thank you for a wonderful book.
Rating: 
Summary: A whitewash of Tibetan Buddhism
Review: Displaced Tibetan monks have been peddling their wares to Americans for years in an effort to keep a culture and people alive that has been subject to genocide at the hands of the Chinese. It has been a remarkable public relations campaign that has effectively whitewashed what Tibetan Buddhism actually was in its native Tibet - a grossly superstitious theocracy which kept its people in a backward state more appropriate to the 13th century than the twentieth. Tibetan Buddhism was actually very frightening. Illiteracy and mortality rates were very high, medicine and science were non-existent, and one third of the male population was enrolled in monasteries (probably knowing that it was the only escape from the brutal life of the peasants). Peasants walked around all day uselessly spinning "prayer wheels" and living in fear of the multitude of fearful dieties that inhabited the mythological landscape of Tibetan Buddhism (and which are rarely spoken of in the West). This theological and social mess has been thoroughly cleaned up and sanitized in order to appeal to westerners who would be shocked and provoked to laughter if Tibetan Buddhism was presented in its original form. Now streamlined to a sort of minimalist enlightenment philosophy, it is barely recognizable - but is now marketable. Indeed, the survival of Tibetan Buddhism depends upon its acceptance in the West - and prosperous converts from America. There is simply no place else for it to go. I found this book to be one more attempt to recruit. Surya Das does it well enough, though. He is sincere, likable, and a typically interesting American convert from the middle class of the late 1960's when the children of the World War 2 generation were questioning what all of the hard earned prosperity of their parents meant to their lives. He seems to have found his peace. The problems with Buddhism, for me, have always been: 1) Multiple lives via reincarnation is an unnecessary concept. I need faith for my own belief in one single after-life after death. Adding thousands of lives demands more credulity than I can muster. 2) Since so very few will ever achieve enlightenment in this one life (according to Buddhism's own teachers! ) and those who do must devote massive amounts of meditation and discipline to achieve that, Buddhism seems absolutely impractical and a waste of time for anyone but monks. The rest of us poor slobs are doomed to misery - and supporting monks who live off our hard work and, because of us, have the time and leisure to pursue their own enlightenment at our expense. We pay; they play (Hey, Lamas! Get a J-O-B! ). Even worse, since happiness comes as a result of a strict life of meditation and removal from the normal affairs of the world, the world must be dismissed either as an illusion or as unworthy of our complete involvement and immersion in. Buddhism becomes, essentially, a religion of escape, pessimism, and despair at this life rather than one of joy and delight at being alive and a part of creation. It will be interesting to see how far Americans, who are the wrold's most confirmed optimists and romantics, will accept a religion that is pessimistic and which dismisses romance as a wasteful distraction and neurosis. If you are looking for a highly readable book on Buddhism, I do recommend this one even though I do not find much in the philosophy itself that appeals to this particular Western reader.
Rating:
Summary: Buddhism for the West
Review: Lama Surya Das does a wonderful job of introducing the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western mind. Many people in the West see Buddhism as an exotic and arcane Eastern tradition without any relevance to our lives here and now. How unfortunate. One need not embrace Buddhism to gain much from Buddhist concepts. The Lama is a little soft in this writing on certain concepts (like reincarnation and magic). However, I think that this book is meant for one not already deeply involved in the practice of Buddhism; so I don't find fault with him here. Surya Das has written a loving tribute to the Buddha in us all.
Rating:
Summary: Great intro to Tibetan Buddhism
Review: This is a great book explaining the major concepts and practices of Tibetan Buddhism, in a way that Westerners (like me) can understand. Accordingly, it gives you the background to understand more Eastern texts, such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Furthermore, it provides several meditations/exercises for the beginning Buddhist. The book, constrary to many other classics in this area, also advocates a new Westernized Buddhism practice. This is especially helpful when you're trying to figure out how to begin a Buddhist practice without running away to join a Tibetan monastery :) All in all, if you are interested in studying Tibetan Buddhism, this is a great intro. If you are interested instead in finding out about the different branches of Buddhism, i.e., you don't know what's the difference between Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, don't look for that answer here. Read Dinty Moore's "The Accidental Buddhist" instead. Happy journeys
Rating:
Summary: FINDING MY BUDDHA NATURE
Review: this is the second book i read about buddhism. since then ,ive read many. i enjoyed this the best,and still do every day. i was seeking information on buddhism in general and i found it easy to read. it sparked my interest since he talked about his point of view also. if i have something nawing at my brain i pick it up and read it. like an old friend it has things to help me learn more about myself and others. it easly spells out the principles of buddhism and the pitfalls of modern life. the lama has a good writing style and ive since gone on to read his other books with appreciation and enjoyment. i thank lama das for his help in awakening my buddha within.
Rating:
Summary: Still Mind Blowing After All These Years!
Review: I have studied with Surya and attended the Dzogchen Foundation retreats since the early 1990's and I bought a copy of this book when it first came out. It's a wonderful book that covers Buddhist basics from the Dzogchen viewpoint of the Non-Sectarian Practice Lineage, of which Surya is the recognized lineage-holder. Dzogchen is known as the "quick and comfy" path to awakening in this very lifetime, and emphasizes experiential techniques as a compliment to the more traditional techniques of Buddhist study and practice. It's not very well-known in the Buddhist world and we are fortunate to have access to these teachings...and to have them presented to us in a very clear and humorous way! I have just completed an intensive week long silent retreat in the Three Vital Points with Surya and the first thing I did upon returning was to re-read this book. It has been a great aid over the years in helping me to integrate and stabilize my retreat experiences into daily life...and is even more useful now (as my awareness grows) than the first time I read it. To the other reviewers who pooh pooh this book and / or Dzogchen in general....Sogyal Rinpoche's Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is an awesome book, but it emphasizes Guru Yoga, the bardo states, and is a great preparation for those who are entering a ngondro practise. It covers / emphasizes a different subject matter area than does Awakening the Buddha Within. I find the 2 books to be complimentary in my own practise. Homage to the Lama who placed Buddha in the palm of my hand! May we all together complete our spiritual journeys! Emaho!
Rating:
Summary: Eastern wisdom in it's simplest terms.
Review: This book has changed my life in the past six months, keeping me up at night to ponder the Buddha's words. I am grateful to Lama Surya Das, as well as his teachers, for helping get this wisdom to people of the western world. Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: Dzogchen Empowerment
Review: Lama Surya Das has combined in his book "Awakening the Budda Within", the innate understanding of Tibetan Wisdom teachings with a western mindset sensitivity. While some have voiced concern over the simplicity of the teachings themselves, and their seemingly stripped away message, placed into an American or western hipness of delivery, the jewel that is hidden within is the essence of Vajrayana Buddhism. Dzogchen itself is the awareness that all things are perfect as they are, and that each and every being is then presented innumerable times, with the opportunity to awaken to the innate perfection that is inherent within all...the Buddha Nature. Sometimes, the problem with all of us...is that we look too hard for the answers, that we seek too much, into too little, when all around us, in all things, is manifest the Buddha Fields. Lama Surya Das has presented the fundamental Buddhist teachings, which have transcended through time, from the Buddha himself, and passed through successions of teachers and holy men and women. There in fact is nothing watered down about the teachings themself, for they uphold the Four Noble Truths, and the Eight Fold Path to Enlightenment. The Buddha himself is said to only have taught one thing, suffering, as a samsaric reality, and the path to the alleviation of suffering, or nirvana. In fact Dzogchen strives to show the aspirant that both these dualities only exist in the mind, and that the mind is the key to Awakening the Buddha Within. As the Lama has stated, it takes a whole community to raise a Buddha... and this fact is self evident. Blessed be the World in which a Buddha has been born. Om mani padme hung. Hail the Jewel in the Lotus.
Rating: 
Summary: Good introduction to western Tibetan Buddhism
Review: Not being Buddhist myself, and having a very hard time understanding what buddhism is all about, This book cleared up alot of misconceptions I had. It is a very nice introduction to Tibetan Buddhism with a "western" flavour. The author seems to assume (and rightly so) that most western readers will be neophytes in Buddhism. If you have heard of buddhism and do not understand it, if the beleifs of buddhism are unclear to you, if you cannot comprehend the "nothingness" or nirvana concept that is prevalent in buddhism, then THIS is a very good book to get.
|
