Customer Reviews

Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living

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BUDDHA IS AS BUDDHA DOES may prove to be the most important spiritual book I've read in my ten years as a meditator and practitioner. While most Buddhist and spiritual authors effectively express much-needed wisdom and perspective to apply to our hectic, and often frightening, world today, Lama Surya Das shows us how to put that wisdom into practice to make a real and lasting difference in our lives. The book outlines the Bodhisattva Code, an ancient, time-tested guide to enlightened living, which we can live by immediately for our own and others' benefit through the recommendations and practices offered within. It clearly spells out how to improve and strengthen all our relationships, including with ourselves.

For the beginner stepping on the Buddhist path for the first time, BUDDHA IS AS BUDDHA DOES describes that path in all its richness. For the activist, spritual or otherwise, it is a true resource that will guide its readers with wit, wisdom and a wealth of practical knowledge. Add to all that the fact that the book was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I saw the title and thought to myself, "Is Lama Surya Das, beloved author of Awakening the Buddha Within" writing a Recipe Card style personal development book cloaked in the Buddhist tradition? Argh!"

Well - this is a book about personal development. It is a book that has a touch of that "recipe style" that American authors "eat up" - but in this case what is delivered to "the table" is so much more than I could have ever hoped for or expected it is challenging to put it succinctly into words.

Right from the beginning I knew there was something happening.

In the preface, Surya Das is teaching about the term "Bodhisattva" - as "an awakened being" or"helpful spiritual altruist, activist, service-oriented leader, seeker of wisdom, truth, unconditional love, deathless peace and ultimate enlightener."

Wow.

And that is what the book then goes to teach its readers.

How to be a Boddhisvatta - using wisdom not only from ancient Buddhist teachers but also the likes of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dr. Seuss, Mother Teresa and lets not forget "backyard Bodhisattva" known to the reader as "Exxon Ken"... an owner of a service station who once helped out the young Surya Das through generosity and caring....

The entire book is filled with stories, lessons and examples and ends, quite fittingly, with a Spiritual Revolutin and Enlightenment Prayer.

This is a phenomenal title that needs to be experienced, not simply read.

This is the first of Lama Surya Das's books that I have read and it will not be the last. Buddha Is as Buddha Does is the most practical and useful book I have read yet on Buddhism for the modern American mind. The wisdom within its pages can be appreciated and applied by Buddhists and non-Buddhists (such as myself) alike.

Lama Surya Das guides his readers along a ten-step path towards spiritual enlightenment utilizing the original six paramitas (perfections) of the Buddha: generosity, ethical behvaior, patience, heroic effort, mindfullness through meditation, and wisdom, and appends the four additional practices of Mahayana Buddhism: skillful means, spiritual aspirations, higher accomplishments, and awakened awareness. It is as if this book has two parts, the first encompassing the original six practices on how to live a life of selfless compassion. The second part outlining the latter four practices borders on the mystical or miraculous, but enlightnment itself is a miracle in our modern world.

For those like myself who wish to live a better, more fullfilled life while still adhering to the mundane necessities of contemporary life, such as meeting sales quotas to pay the mortgage, etc., this is a useful book. What I appreciate the most is that although Lama Surya Das is a lama trained in Tibetan Buddhism, he demonstrates a knowledge of all religions, including in this book inspirational passages from the Christian bible, Sufi mystics, and his own Jewish roots, as well as other schools of Buddhism such as Zen. It is this inclusiveness that has attracted me to Buddhist literature. Furthermore, Lama Surya Das is a rarity in that he is a Buddhist who openly seems to believe in God, although he describes the word "God" as a placeholder for an abstract higher consciousness or reality. The title of my review is an actual quote from the book. He also includes such messages as "Thank God for the Dharma," and "When you learn to give yourself, it may claim all of your energy, body, and soul, but you will receive in return God's heart, Buddha's mind." He even ruminates on the possibility of reuiniting with deceased relatives in Heaven. On the surface, these may seem like contradictions to the Buddhist faith, but on further investigation, it is not hard to see the value of such wisdom as a means of transcending this world of pain and suffering into an existence that is truly enlightened through compassionate living.

BUDDHA IS AS BUDDHA DOES is a wonderful and practical book for anyone, regardless of background or experience! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and am benefitting from bringing these practices into my daily life and interractions with others. Lama Surya Das reveals a fresh and relevant view of these timeless practices through engaging, real life stories and experiences we can all relate to, while remaining uncompromising to their ever-rich traditional meanings. I am sincerely grateful for Lama Surya Das' ability to present these indispensible enlightening practices in a way so applicable and useful in our modern and challenging world. I am sure all will benfit from his vast experience and wisdom shared through this book!

Author, meditation teacher, and poet, Lama Surya Das is the founder of the Dzogchen Medition Center and one of the most learned and highly trained American-born lamas in the Tibetan tradition. In "Buddha Is As Buddha Does", he addresses just how to cultivate 'bodhicitta', the spirit-engine of enlightenment that allows human beings to embody and actively practice the Buddha's teaching while engaged in the real world. Lama Surya Das shows how to actively practice the ten 'paramitas' which are the transcendental virtues of daily life: Generosity, Ethics, Patience, Energetic Effort, meditation, Wisdom, Skillful Means, Higher Aspiration, Powers, and Pristine Awareness. An important and strongly recommended addition to personal and community library Buddhist Studies collections, this superbly recorded, five hour, 4 CD audiobook edition of "Buddha Is As Buddha Does" also provides contemporary examples of enlightened action based on the realization of the fundamental Buddhist tenet regarding the oneness of life.

In this accessible book Lama Surya Das makes an important contribution to both the study and practice of Buddhism. The book offers a relevant approach to embodied spirituality; and outlines a way to a spiritual life based on transcendental virtue in the 21st Century.

I was particularly impressed by the relevant, modern examples he uses to illustrate traditional teachings. After reading this book I feel better able to notice the overt and hidden bodhisattvas in our world today; and to personally take steps in the direction of becoming more of a spiritual activist myself.

One part Jerry Seinfeld, one part Dalai Lama, one part Steve McQueen = The Mighty Das! The man is a force of nature, and this latest entry packs a powerful jolt of humor, uprightness, and spiritual power. You've hit the main nerve with this one: the meaning of life propounded by one of today's true heavies.

This is a great book. It has succeeded in reviving my fledgling Buddhist practice, which was floundering due to life's many other distractions and isolation from like minded people. It is accessible, readable and inspiring. I am now firmly committed to incorporating elements of the first six paramitas into my daily life, and Lama Surya Das provides practical practices and examples to do just that. The other four paramitas seem a little esoteric and inaccessible to me just now, but may seem less so as I progress along the path. It is a book that I am likely to return to time and again for further inspiration and guidance. The only down side is that my reading wish list has greatly expanded due to the many reading references in the book. I would highly recommend this book to others looking for practical guidance in their spiritual practice and in day-to-day life.

The author Lama Surya Das has created a book that is truly the road to enlightenment. By presenting the ten Paramitas that Boddhisattvas follow in their practice he has given us the behaviors we must cultivate in our minds that will eventually lead to our own liberation from our ego.(Boddhisatvas are serious Buddhist practioners that take many vows, one of which is to liberate everyone from delusion).
The chapters of this book cover the following Paramitas:(Practices)generosity, self-discipline, patient forbearance, heroic effort, mindfulness and meditation, wisdom, skillful means, spiritual aspirations, higher accomplishments, along with awakened awareness. If you are able to successfully practice any of these Paramitas consistently they will radically change your life. You must change yourself and your motivations. To truly master the Paramitas it takes fearless courage and egoless wisdom. To comprehend the nature of reality the ego must die."Character is the root of action."
What this book will show you is that you need to start taking as much responsibility for thinking in a positive manner as you do for acting appropriately. "Practice and cultivate freedom from extremes in all things.""If you desire to enjoy happiness in this life and the next, don't keep talking about others' qualities, but watch yourself and examine your own path."
The author has produced a very understandable and practical book in which he gives you the information to begin the process of awakening to the fact that your self created ego is not you. You are the pure observing awareness that witnesses everthing through your senses. You are not a brain, thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or a body. When you look for "YOU", you will end up with nothing but conscious awareness, all else is somthing you can observe. Please, do yourself a favor and start on your own path of awakening, either through this book or through a guided meditation practice.
"Enlightenment comes about primarily through nonattachment, wise awareness, and clear vision. The enlightened person is not ruled by external things."

I am still hearing this CD because I enjoy the contents but I really dont enjoy the authors voice. It may seem quirky but I was a bit dissapointed about that.