BUDDHA HERE NOW: Global Healing Means Awakening the Mind & Opening the Heart, Transmuting Energy and Illumining Spirit- Lama Surya Das

“If we’re not here now, we won’t be there then,” says Lama Surya Das. “Let’s occupy the #Dharma, occupy the space of Spirit in our time, and in our daily lives—healing and transforming ourselves, while also healing and transforming our world.”

In a series of experiential (practical) as well as teaching sessions, the American Lama will share with us his insights and guidance in meditation practice, chanting and prayer, Self-inquiry, and what he calls “The Art and Practice of Presencing and Radiant Nowness-awareness” as part of his Dharma teaching (Dharma=insightful wisdom, truth, spirituality, and that which heals.) and “turning the spotlight, the searchlight, inwards.”

“God is found in the last place most of us look, which is within our own heart and soul.”

As Tibetan Dzogchen texts, say:  “Nowness-awareness is the true, un-fabricated Buddha within. One moment of total awareness is one moment of freedom and enlightenment. We are all Buddhas in essence; we only have to recognize our true nature.”  Why then do we often feel stressed, strung out and strapped for time in daily pursuit of a better life; powered by time-saving technology, yet spinning on the worry-go-round, driven to distraction, staggering forward on the treadmill of conditioning as if life is one long to-do list while feeling time-starved, pressured and even over-whelmed?  It’s mainly because we’re unawake to who and what we truly are and can be, subject to feelings of fear and anxiety undergirded by feelings of alienation and separateness.

For thousands of years, spiritual and religious practices have recognized the powerful, multidimensional aspects of the Heart & Mind and the need to cultivate a peaceful, calm and clear spiritual core, realize oneness with God and higher/inner power, and live in harmony and even nirvanic peace and freedom. With insights from the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and others, in a universalist sense; Lama Surya Das will guide our journey, helping the Heart expand to its fullest potential and fulfill its life’s purpose, and find answers to our own Big Questions. Learn how chanting and meditation can help reduce stress and calm the busy mind in modern society as you join him in a powerful chanting, breath-energy & meditation experience. The direct-access Dzogchen heart-essence wisdom tradition of Tibet teaches us to awaken just as we are, where we are—direct access to our inner divinity, clear light-- and enjoy the infinite possibilities of every moment, the holy Now. At the very heart of this tradition is direct introduction to the nature of mind – our true Buddha-nature, the big Self– that transcends all circumstances and difficulties, and yet is accessible and available in every moment.  Lama Surya teaches with liveliness and humor, combining guided meditation and teachings, dialogue, and ample opportunity for questions and dialogue. This workshop is appropriate for those new to spiritual exploration as well as seasoned practitioners. As Buddha himself often said: “Come and see.”

For more details on Pre-Conference Workshop, visit www.spiritualcongress.org