1. Surya Das is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist, author of many popular works on Buddhism, meditation teacher and spokesperson for Buddhism in the West.
16 Facts About Surya Das
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Surya Das has long been involved in charitable relief projects in the developing world and in interfaith dialogue.
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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.
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Surya Das received Nyoshul Khenpo's authorization to teach in 1993.
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Surya Das was born Jeffrey Miller and raised in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York.
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Surya Das attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, graduating with honors in 1971, with a degree in creative education.
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In 1977, Surya Das helped establish Gyalwa Karmapa's Karma Triyana Dharmachakra monastery on a mountaintop overlooking Woodstock, New York.
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Surya Das resided at the monastery from 1977 to 1980.
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Surya Das attended the first Nyingmapa retreat center in Dordogne, France in 1980.
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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 of Tibetan Buddhism in the West.
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Surya Das received Nyoshul Khenpo's authorization to teach in 1993.
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Surya Das travels, teaches, and leads meditation retreats throughout the world.
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Surya Das is often called upon as a Buddhist spokesman by the media and has appeared on TV and radio.
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Surya Das has appeared as a special guest on the Comedy Central television show The Colbert Report.
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In 2020, Surya Das told a reporter that he had slept with "probably one or two" of his students.
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Three of them said Surya Das suggested that meditating while naked in his lap would help their spiritual practice.