Awakening to the Sacred - Creating a Spiritual Life from Scratch - by Lama Surya Das

Lama Surya Das, author of the bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within, is the most highly trained American lama in the Tibetan tradition. In this elegant, inspiring book, he integrates essential Buddhist practices with a variety of other spiritual philosophies and wisdom traditions, to show you how to create a personalized spiritual practice based on your own individual beliefs, aspirations, and needs.

Through reflections on his own life quest, thoughtful essays, and entertaining stories, Surya Das examines the common themes at the heart of any spiritual path, including faith, doubt, love, compassion, creativity, self-inquiry, and transformation. He then explores prayer, yoga, chanting, guided meditations, breathing exercises, and myriad other rituals, providing practical examples of each that we can use day-to-day to nurture our inner spirit.

"Learning how to love is the goal and the purpose of spiritual life - not learning how to develop psychic powers, not learning how to bow, chant, do yoga, or even meditate, but learning to love," writes Lama Surya Das. In this ambitious and far-reaching work, he looks at matters of the spirit, approaches to spiritual practice, and coming home to your true nature. He draws upon the wisdom of a variety of religious traditions and believes that a "mix and match" spirituality does not have to result in something shallow and self-centered. Just the opposite, eclecticism signals strength.

A "dharma-doer" is a person who cultivates clear vision, personal authenticity, and a firm resolve to act ethically and appropriately. The spiritual practices of nonviolence, compassion, kindness, joy, and peace are constantly sought. Surya Das shows how the sacred can be incorporated into our thoughts, words, and deeds via a spiritual teacher, sangha, inner work, yoga, fasting and simplicity, prayer, spiritual reading, gardening, and other naturally grounding activities. Awakening to the Sacred proves once again that spiritual practice is the common ground linking all religious traditions together.

SURYA DAS is the highest trained American lama in the Tibetan tradition. A poet, translator, and full time spiritual teacher, he is the author of the bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within and Awakening to the Sacred. Surya Das lectures and leads meditation retreats worldwide. Surya Das lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts