Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living – A Practical Guide to Buddhist Wisdom with Exercises and Timeless Advice

Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living – A Practical Guide to Buddhist Wisdom with Exercises and Timeless Advice

In the book you now hold, national bestselling author Lama Surya Das offers a thorough map to the richest treasure a human being can find—the Buddha's advice for living to your true potential. Appropriate for new seekers as well as experienced practitioners, and accompanied by lively anecdotes and practical exercises, this is one of the most accessible books to date on the ancient and timeless wisdom of the Buddha. Buddha Is as Buddha Does is for everyone who seeks to become a better person and share in the bounty of true Buddha nature. “A book that will truly make a difference in your life.” - Cheryl Richardson, author of Take Time for Your Life and The Unmistakable Touch of Grace “An easy-to-read guide for anyone looking to reach new heights of compassion and understanding.” - Sulak Sivaraksa, author of Conflict, Culture, Change: Engaged Buddhism in a Globalized World “People of any faith will appreciate this contemporary reflection on ancient wisdom.” - Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep “Enough wit and wisdom to keep you entertained for a lifetime. Read it. Enjoy it. Practice it.” - Sam Keen, author of Fire in the Belly “This book will guide and help readers to ease their suffering.” - Gehlek Rimpoche, author of Good Life, Good Death “Surya Das puts on display an amazing array of teaching stories, personal anecdotes, thoughtful quotations, and engaging lists.. a solid and substantive work on the compassionate way. ” - Spirituality and Health magazine “a solid and substantive work on the compassionate way. ” - Spirituality and Health magazine “The immense potential of a life rooted in wisdom and compassion is made beautifully clear in this new offering.” - Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness “A joy to read. Rich, nuanced, and above all, practical, as it illuminates the path of enlightend living.” - Joseph Goldstein, author of One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism “Anybody interested in Buddhism has much to learn here. Das is wise, intelligent, clear, humorous and an excellent teacher.” - Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now “A wonderful book for the soul.” - Caroline Myss, author of Entering the Castle and Anatomy of the Spirit In the book you now hold, national bestselling author Lama Surya Das offers a thorough map to the richest treasure a human being can find—the Buddha's advice for living to your true potential. Appropriate for new seekers as well as experienced practitioners, and accompanied by lively anecdotes and practical exercises, this is one of the most accessible books to date on the ancient and timeless wisdom of the Buddha. Buddha Is as Buddha Does is for everyone who seeks to become a better person and share in the bounty of true Buddha nature. Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost American Buddhist teachers and scholars and is known affectionately to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the "American Lama." Surya Das is the author of the bestselling books Awakening the Buddha Within and Buddha Is as Buddha Does , founder and spiritual director of the Dzogchen Center, and founder of the Western Buddhist Teachers Network. A sought-after speaker who teaches, lectures, and conducts retreats around the world, he lives in Concord, Massachusetts. Buddha Is as Buddha Does The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living By Surya Das HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2008 Surya Das All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060859534 Chapter One The Transcendental Gift of Generosity May I perfect the sublime virtue of generosity, which liberates and releases craving, grasping, and attachment, and brings joyous contentment. Dana , the ancient Sanskrit word for the first paramita, or transformative practice, is most often translated into English as "generosity," but the full meaning of dana is much richer and more far-reaching, as we will see in this chapter. It refers not only to giving away our time, money, resources, or labor to help others, but also to having a liberality of spirit that doesn't erect barriers between self and others. True generosity is giving everything you have to every moment, and is the way of nonattachment. In many respects, dana is similar to the Christian concept of caritas (Latin for "charity"). Being charitable in this sense means selflessly bestowing compassion and benefits on others without expecting any sort of return. Instead, the charitable person comes to experience the act itself as its own natural reward precisely because it's the best thing to do for everyone involved. An act of charity is, in essence, the purest way to apply the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Being generous according to the Buddhist concept of dana calls for the same kind of dynamic shift in consciousness. It means breaking through the self-oriented attitude that we're making a sacrifice or that we're martyring ourselves when we put t