Surya Das's breezy delivery makes his teachings come off like colorful conversation. In the third installment of his bestselling "Awakening" series, America's most popular lama shows us how to integrate inner and outer practices. Our inner spirituality, he says, can never be separate from our relationships with others. With his trademark clarity, he integrates his teachings with light- hearted anecdotes and down-to-earth practices. Basic meditation, for instance, can help us create a gap between our knee-jerk judgments and our reactions, allowing for calm, wise relations. Likewise, one can try authentic listening ("opening the third ear") or exploiting the power of speech to build deeper connections. And beyond human relations lies our connection to the natural world, for which Surya Das also includes a few lovely meditations. Taking that extra step in our practice from the self to the world requires more than just individual persistence, it takes compassion and teaches more than you'd expect. --Brian Bruya


From Publishers Weekly
The "Buddhist heart" that Surya Das refers to in his third book turns out to be a good heart. Blending intimate anecdotes with wisdom gleaned from his decades of study with traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachers, the American-born author seeks to help readers to awaken this heart so that their everyday relationships may become a way to experience the meaningful interconnectedness and sacrednessness of life. Surya Das wishes to cut to the essence of Buddhist wisdom, while bolstering a general readership with a dawn-of-a-new-era pep talk: "As we enter a new century and a new millennium... it seems increasingly important to awaken our Buddha-like hearts through spiritual connections." Unlike in his first two booksAAwakening the Buddha, an explication of Tibetan Buddhism, and Awakening the Sacred, an attempt to describe spiritual values in nonsectarian termsAhere Surya Das initially seems to be trying to be all things to all people, and the advice he offers can feel flimsy or vague. He counsels readers to cultivate a more authentic presence, for example, by learning to be natural, simple and open. The disarming honesty of the many personal accounts he presents puts a friendly human face on an ancient tradition, yet the work as a whole lacks power and coherence. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Developing spiritual intelligence is the heart of Surya Das's program. By developing compassion and learning how to connect with each other, we will overcome alienation and loneliness. Surya Das uses modern stories and ancient Buddhist practices to show the listener how it can be done. Listening to Surya Das is like listening to your kindly Jewish uncle from Long Island. His voice is friendly and intimate, his stories filled with lessons and self-deprecating humor. His relaxed style is well suited to the message he shares. P.B.J. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
Advance Praise For Awakening the Buddhist Heart

"Surya Das's book brings to life the timeless wisdom of Buddhism in traditional teaching stories and heartfelt everyday examples.  Anyone on a spiritual path will recognize themselves in these pages and find both inspiration and practical advice."
--Sharon Salzberg, author of A Heart as Wide as the World and Loving kindness

"This brilliant, amusing, and wise book is the perfect distillation of ancient spiritual wisdom for our times. Practical and down-to-earth, written by one of the greatest American dharma teachers, it has the power to awaken you to an ever-deepening relationship with all of life. What a precious jewel you hold in your hand. Use it with joy."
--Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Mending the Body, Mending the Mind and A Woman's Journey to God

"Awakening the Buddhist Heart contains about as much wisdom as any book I know. It will help you in the lifelong path of becoming more wise, more compassionate, and more joyful."
--Sam Keen, author of Learning to Fly

"When we come to the end of our lives, what will matter most are the relationships we've shared with loved ones.  In his new book Awakening the Buddhist Heart, Lama Surya Das takes you on a spiritual journey that will return you to this important priority-a deep connection with yourself, others, and the Divine. It is written with grace and love, and you'll not only want to read this book again and again, you'll want to share it with those who matter most."
--Cheryl Richardson, author of Take Time for Your Life and Life Makeovers

"Lama Surya Das makes the Buddha nature seem very real and accessible.  I feel lighter, I feel calmer, I feel more peaceful. This book is a blessing on my bookshelf and a blessing on my heart."
--Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love


From the Hardcover edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Life is about relationship-the relationship we have with ourselves, with each other, with the world, as well as the connection to that which is beyond any of us yet imminent in each of us. When our relationships are good, we feel good; when they are bad, we feel awful. Let's accept it: We need each other. We need to feel connected; we need to feel each other's presence and love."

What is the "Buddhist heart" and how do we awaken it in ourselves? Lama Surya Das, author of the bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within, defines the Buddhist heart as our own inner goodness-our most tender, compassionate, and caring self, our innate Buddha-nature. The Buddhist heart, called Bodhicitta by Tibetans, beats within each and every one of us and is awakened through meaningful connections-connections to our families, romantic partners, our colleagues and work, our neighbors, society, and extending out to all living creatures, including ourselves. This book tells us how we can use relationships as a vehicle for a sacred life.

Everyone needs to feel connected, to love and feel loved, to reach out to others and communicate in order to overcome alienation, loneliness, and a feeling of being disconnected. In Awakening the Buddhist Heart Surya Das shows you how to reach inward and outward.

By developing spiritual intelligence, a sense of compassion that helps us be more sensitive, more aware of our own feelings and the feelings of those around us, we become more intuitive; we relate better and love better. Cultivating spiritual intelligence and learning how to connect will improve our capacity for intimacy, making us better mates, friends,parents, and coworkers; it helps all of us to become more giving and brings us fulfillment, meaning, and love.

Using down-to-earth, everyday experiences and stories, as well as specific ancient Buddhist practices and meditations, Surya Das illustrates how to develop authentic presence, how to connect to our own life experience, build deeper relationships, embrace life's lessons, as well as learn how to love what we don't like. With tremendous insight he explores specific ways in which we can more fruitfully relate to our own experiences as well as each other in today's fast-paced, complicated, and often confusing world.

Surya Das also includes his translation of the rare and invaluable Thirty-seven Practices of a Bodhisattva-a timeless, legendary Tibetan text, along with his commentary. These practices for self-reflection help us think about how we live our lives and the lessons we can learn from mindfulness, love, and compassion.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The "Buddhist heart" that Surya Das refers to in his third book turns out to be a good heart. Blending intimate anecdotes with wisdom gleaned from his decades of study with traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachers, the American-born author seeks to help readers to awaken this heart so that their everyday relationships may become a way to experience the meaningful interconnectedness and sacrednessness of life. Surya Das wishes to cut to the essence of Buddhist wisdom, while bolstering a general readership with a dawn-of-a-new-era pep talk: "As we enter a new century and a new millennium... it seems increasingly important to awaken our Buddha-like hearts through spiritual connections." Unlike in his first two books--Awakening the Buddha, an explication of Tibetan Buddhism, and Awakening the Sacred, an attempt to describe spiritual values in nonsectarian terms--here Surya Das initially seems to be trying to be all things to all people, and the advice he offers can feel flimsy or vague. He counsels readers to cultivate a more authentic presence, for example, by learning to be natural, simple and open. The disarming honesty of the many personal accounts he presents puts a friendly human face on an ancient tradition, yet the work as a whole lacks power and coherence. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In this highly readable guide to learning "to dance gracefully with life," an American lama trained in the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism shares lessons, practices, and meditations to foster a spirit of loving kindness towards ourselves, other sentient beings, and the inanimate objects that comprise the relative world. Das (Awakening the Buddha Within; Awakening to the Sacred) makes his message more accessible to Western sensibilities by presenting Buddhist teachings stripped of much of the vocabulary, rituals, and trappings we find so enigmatic. Das's numerous fans and other seekers will appreciate finding his latest offering in popular collections alongside the works of Sylvia Boorstein, Pema Ch dr n, and the prolific Thich Nhat Hanh. James R. Kuhlman, Univ. of North Carolina at Asheville Lib. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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