Lama Surya Das | |
|---|---|
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| Title | Lama Surya Das |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Jeffrey Miller 1950 (age 75–76) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Religious educator |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Nyingma |
| Website | surya |
Surya Das (bornJeffrey Miller in 1950) is an Americanlama in theTibetan Buddhist tradition.[1] He is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist, author of many popular works onBuddhism, meditation teacher and spokesperson forBuddhism in the West.[1] He has been accused of sexual misconduct by several of his former students.
Surya Das is a Dharma heir ofNyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, a Nyingma master of the non-sectarianRime movement, with whom he founded the Dzogchen Foundation and Center in 1991. He received Nyoshul Khenpo's authorization to teach in 1993.[2]
His name, which means "Servant of the Sun" in a combination ofSanskrit (sūrya) andHindi (das, from the Sanskritdāsa), was given to him in 1972 by the Hindu guruNeem Karoli Baba.[3] Surya Das is based inCambridge, Massachusetts.[4]
Surya Das was born Jeffrey Miller and raised in Valley Stream,Long Island, New York.[4] He attended theState University of New York at Buffalo, graduating with honors in 1971, with a degree in creative education.[5]
After his best friend's girlfriend,Allison Krause, was killed during theKent State shootings,[1] Surya Das began pursuing spirituality.[1] From 1971 to 1976 he traveled in India. There he studiedHinduism withNeem Karoli Baba[6] as well asVipassana withS. N. Goenka andAnagarika Munindra, of theTheravadin tradition.[7] Neem Karoli Baba gave him the name Surya Das in 1972.[8]
During his travels in India and Nepal, Surya Das studied withTibetan Buddhist LamasThubten Yeshe,[9]Kalu Rinpoche,[10]The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa,[11]Tulku Urgyen,[12]Thrangu Rinpoche,[12]Dezhung Rinpoche,[12]Dilgo Khyentse,[13] and Kangyur Rinpoche.[12] In 1973 and 1974, he lived inKyoto, Japan, where he taught English and studiedZen Buddhism[14] withUchiyama Roshi.[15]
In 1977, Surya Das helped establish Gyalwa Karmapa'sKarma Triyana Dharmachakra monastery on a mountaintop overlookingWoodstock, New York.[16] He resided at the monastery from 1977 to 1980. He attended the first Nyingmapa retreat center inDordogne,France in 1980. At the center he completed two Dzogchen three-and-a-half-year retreats under the guidance ofDudjom Rinpoche andDilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.[12]
In 1991 Surya Das returned from his two decades at Tibetan monasteries and retreats, and with Nyoshul Khenpo established the Dzogchen Foundation and Center to help further the spread ofTibetan Buddhism in the West.[17] He received Nyoshul Khenpo's authorization to teach in 1993.[2] The Foundation has brought many Tibetan lamas to teach and reside in the United States and continues to do so.
Surya Das travels, teaches, and leads meditation retreats throughout the world. He is often called upon as a Buddhist spokesman by the media and has appeared on TV and radio. One episode of the sitcomDharma and Greg, "Leonard's Return", was loosely based on his life and return to America.[1] He has appeared as a special guest on theComedy Central television showThe Colbert Report.[18]
In 2020, Surya Das told a reporter that he had slept with "probably one or two"[4] of his students. Later, in a statement released by a spokesperson, he said that he had had intimate relationships with "a few" of his former students before 2010.[4] New ethical guidelines were established as a result.[19]
These admissions came after five women, working through a lawyer, brought allegations of sexual misconduct by Surya Das to Dzogchen Foundation's board of directors in 2019. Three of them said Surya Das suggested that meditating while naked in his lap (based on theyab-yum image) would help their spiritual practice. Two others recounted sexual encounters with Surya Das, including one who said that he told her sleeping with him would complete her Buddhist training.[4]
Officials, teachers, and board members of the Dzogchen Center resigned following the allegations. Surya Das has disputed some details of these allegations.[4]
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