About the author
Lama Surya Das is an American-born Buddhist teacher in the Tibetan Dzogchen lineage, ordained after years of study with Tibetan masters, and widely credited with helping popularize Buddhist practice for a general Western audience. His book Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment became a bestseller and is often cited as an accessible entry point to Tibetan Buddhist teaching adapted for Western readers, structuring the Eightfold Path as a practical framework for daily life. Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living returns to core Buddhist teaching through the model of the bodhisattva, presenting compassionate, engaged living as a practice available to lay readers rather than only monastics. Both books, published by Harmony and Sounds True respectively, combine explanation of traditional Buddhist concepts with guidance for incorporating them into ordinary life, reflecting Surya Das's broader work teaching meditation and Buddhist philosophy outside monastic settings.
📖 Where to start with Lama Surya Das
💬 What our editors say about Lama Surya Das's books
“Vita’s approach is refreshing for those weary of spiritual materialism, offering a candid look at how thoughts bind us. However, readers seeking structured rituals, dogmatic theology, or gradual progressions may find the…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Instant Presence: Allow Natural Meditation to Happen
“Lama Surya Das offers a refreshing approach by framing meditation as a gateway to all-encompassing connection rather than mere inner peace. The concept of 'intermeditation' is compelling for those seeking to integrate…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from the Illusion of Separation
“Lama Surya Das offers a robust manual for integrating the ten paramitas into modern existence. The text excels in providing concrete methods for cultivating virtues like generosity and wisdom, effectively moving beyond mere…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living
📋 Editions by Lama Surya Das in the catalog
| Edition | Year | Publisher | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instant Presence: Allow Natural Meditation to Happen | 2017 | Watkins Publishing | 208 | 9781786780614 |
| Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from | 2015 | St. Martin's Essentials / | 352 | 9781622034123 |
| Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlight | 2007 | Sounds True | 4 | 9781591795599 |
| Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment | 1998 | Harmony | 432 | 9780767901574 |
