Lama Surya Das | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | Lama Surya Das |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Jeffrey Miller 1950 (age 74–75) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Religious educator |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Nyingma |
| Website | surya |
Surya Das (born Jeffrey Miller in 1950) is an American lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.[1] He is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist, author of many popular works on Buddhism, meditation teacher and spokesperson for Buddhism in the West.[1] He has long been involved in charitable relief projects in the developing world and in interfaith dialogue.
Surya Das is a Dharma heir of Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, a Nyingma master of the non-sectarian Rime 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 of Sanskrit (sūrya) and Hindi (das, from the Sanskrit dāsa), was given to him in 1972 by the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba.[3] Surya Das is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[4]