American-Born Lama Will Hold Talk for Students at UC Irvine

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Students seeking to overcome stress and improve
their overall academic and personal well-being
have an opportunity to learn about meditation,
yoga and other contemplative methods during an
on-campus talk by Western Buddhist meditation
teacher and author Lama Surya Das scheduled on
Jan. 29.

• American-Born Lama Will Hold Talk for Students at
  UC Irvine

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We know that university students are hungry and
thirsty as they seek to discover more about the
inner meaning and purpose of their lives, their
studies, the current relational experiences in
their lives and to their future careers, said
Manuel Gomez, Vice Chancellor-Emeritus of Student
Affairs. Lama Das will be speaking to the campus
community about improving ones relational
awareness, or the association between the
awareness of oneself and others, through
relationship yoga, Pilates and meditation. UCI
Professor of Psychiatry Roger Walsh, also one of
Lama Dass students, invited Lama Das, who
currently resides in Massachusetts, to campus
during UC Irvines Peace Week, a campus-wide
initiative for peace building and nonviolent
practice which will held during the last week of
January.
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For me Lama Das has been a repository and
transmitter of deep, hard won wisdom and I have
learned a great deal about meditation, the mind,
how to train and heal it, its (and our)
potentials, and the possibility of growing beyond
conventional levels to awaken to our deeper,
truer nature, said Walsh. Although Im a
trained psychiatrist, Ive still learned much
from Lama Surya about the mind and psychological
well-being, which is not yet part of western
mental health knowledge. For Lama Das,
meditation is a great tool which helps a person
attend to his mind, body, soul and spirit. It
helps individuals develop self-knowledge and
self-awareness through contemplation and inquiry,
instead of blindly accepting beliefs inherited
from parents or through a religious leader. Born
Jeffrey Miller, Lama Das became interested in
Buddhism during college in the late 1960s as he
searched for truth and peace.
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After completing college, he went to India to
further pursue his search. Lama Das attended
meditation retreats, practiced yoga and studied
the writings of Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus and the
Dalai Lama. He embraced Tibetan Buddhism in the
1970s. A vital component of Buddhism is to be
mindful, compassionate, wise and loving, rather
than being unhappy, depressed, anxious and
alienated, which many people are falling into in
these violent, volatile and insecure times, said
Lama Das during a telephone interview on Jan. 9.
We can learn not to just blindly react but
respond mindfully as needed, and to use
mindfulness and anger management to find inner
peace, harmonious relations and unconditional
love by treating others from the
heart. According to Lama Das, because Buddhism
is new to the western world, there are many
misconceptions about Buddhism and meditation
perpetuated today.
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Many people assume Buddhism is simply about world
denial or introspection, but Lama Das stressed
that very important components of the faith
include altruism, compassion, volunteering and
community service. Moreover, Lama Surya Das
insisted that meditation is not about stopping
thoughts as many tend to believe, but rather
about thought awareness. The meditator should be
relaxed and breathing, but also aware of his
immediate thoughts and sensations. Lama Das also
discussed other practical benefits of meditation,
including lowered blood pressure, increased
creativity, sharpened focus and an enhanced
attention span. When I become clearer,
everything becomes clearer. Thats the secret of
meditation, said Lama Surya Das. Whether the
world changes or not its hard to say
everything is changing anyway.
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Getting clear truth, being unselfish, objective,
discerning, patient, compassionate and
empathizing with others goes a long way in
transforming all our relationships and the
world. Lama Das mentioned that the families and
friends of students who began meditation have
described the students as becoming more patient,
peaceful, focused and less reactive. Lama Das
emphasized that, although students may struggle
with meditation at first, they should keep
practicing it until it becomes habitual, as one
of his first teachers in India taught him
continuity is the secret of success. Lama Das
has held several workshops for UC Irvine and the
surrounding community in the past, transforming
many UCI students and members of the community.
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The best research, much of it here at UCI, is
re-confirming the ancient understanding of the
body and the mind, and Lama Surya Das is an
important teacher who has helped many individuals
to become more aware of materials and methods to
achieve inner peace, said Gomez. Lama Surya Das
will speak and hold a book signing at the UCI
Student Center on Jan. 29 from 630 to 830 p.m.
A full day workshop of meditation techniques will
be held on Jan. 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the
Neighborhood Congregational Church in Laguna
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