[close] Lama Surya Das is a trained and authorized American-born lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist and author of many popular works on Buddhism; and a respected teacher and spokesperson for Buddhism in the West. He has long been involved in charitable relief projects in the Third World and in interfaith dialogue.

Born Jeffrey Miller in 1950, and raised on Long Island, an honors graduate of the University at Buffalo, New York, Lama Surya Das spent many years in India and Tibet studying with the grand old lamas including H.H. the Dalai Lama, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, and H.H. 16th Karmapa. He is a well-known dharma heir of Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, a renowned Nyingma master of the non-sectarian Rime movement. His name, which means "Servant of the Sun," was given to him by the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba.

In 1991 Lama Surya Das returned from his two decades in Tibetan monasteries and retreats to establish the Dzogchen Foundation and Centers to help further the spread of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. He brought many Tibetan lamas to teach and reside in the United States and continues to do so. At the request of the late Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, Surya Das founded Dzogchen Osel Ling Retreat Center as a nature sanctuary, group hermitage and lineage seat outside Austin, Texas, where he conducts annually an intensive, cloistered 100-day autumn retreat for experienced students as well as other shorter retreats during the year. [close]