Awakening to the Sacred

by Surya Das

A beautifully written, simple guide to creating a spiritual life from scratch and connecting with the sacred in everyday life.

All of us long to connect with something greater than ourselves, to experience the sacred in our daily lives, and to enhance our sense of spiritual enlightenment--yet often we don't know where to begin. Awakening to the Sacred is an extraordinary new book that provides seekers of all faiths with the tools and practices they need to build a spiritual life from the ground up and to cultivate a divine presence in everyday life.

In this elegant, inspiring book, Lama Surya Das--the most highly trained American lama in the Tibetan tradition and author of the bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within --integrates essential Buddhist practices with a variety of other spiritual philosophies and wisdom traditions to show you how to create a personalized spiritual practice based on your own individual beliefs, aspirations, and needs. Through reflections on his own life quest, thoughtful essays, and entertaining stories, Surya Das examines the common themes at the heart of any spiritual path, including faith, doubt, love, compassion, creativity, self-inquiry, and transformation. He then explores prayer, yoga, chanting, guided meditations, breathing exercises, and myriad other rituals, providing practical examples of each that we can use day-to-day to nurture our inner spirit.

Surya Das's unique and accessible approach emphasizes that we are all, by nature, spiritual beings and that our lives are naturally filled with sacred moments.   Awakening to the Sacred illuminates the natural meditations already present in daily life and shows how we can use them to awaken our hearts and minds and progress toward inner peace, happiness, and enlightenment.

Genres: Buddhism, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Self Help

400 pages, Hardcover

Published May 4, 1999

About the author

Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost Western Buddhist meditation teachers and scholars, one of the main interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, and a leading spokesperson for the emerging American Buddhism. The Dalai Lama affectionately calls him “The Western Lama.”

His most recent book is Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from the Illusion of Separation. He is well known for his internationally bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World and the sequels in the “Awakening” trilogy, Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Spiritual Life from Scratch and Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning and Connection into Every Part of Your Life. His other books include:

Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of Now
The Mind Is Mightier Than the Sword: Enlightening the Mind, Opening the Heart
Natural Radiance: Awakening to Your Great Perfection
Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Transformative Practices of Enlightened Living
The Big Questions: How to Find Your Own Answers to Life’s Essential Mysteries
Letting Go of the Person You Used to Be
Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning,
Natural Great Perfection: Dzogchen Teachings and Vajra Songs, with Nyoshul Khenpo
The Snow Lion’s Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales from Tibet

Lama Surya Das has spent over forty years studying Zen, Vipassana, yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism with the great masters of Asia, including the Dalai Lama’s own teachers. He is an authorized lama and lineage holder in the Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism, and a personal disciple of the leading grand lamas of that tradition. He is the founder of the Dzogchen Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts and its branch centers around the United States. Surya has brought many Tibetan lamas to this country to teach and start centers and retreats over the years. As founder of the Western Buddhist Teachers Network with the Dalai Lama, he regularly helps organize its international Buddhist Teachers Conferences. He is also active in interfaith dialogue and charitable projects in the Third World, and has recently turned his efforts towards youth and contemplative education initiatives, what he calls “True higher education and wisdom for life training.”

As a sought after speaker, Lama Surya Das teaches and lectures around the world, conducting meditation retreats and workshops. He is also a published poet, translator, and chant master. His blog, “Ask the Lama,” can be found at www.askthelama.com and his lecture and retreat schedule are listed on his website www.surya.org. Follow him on Facebook--Lama Surya Das--and Twitter--@LamaSuryaDas.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that you have to read once, then go back with a hi-lighter and read it again. Then when you finish that, go back and pick out the pieces that resonate with you and see how you might change your spiritual life.

[Mary Bulbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially love what Surya has to say about love

Opening the Heart: Learning to Love p 132 - 153
The Dala Lama told his followers, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

"Learning how to love is the goal and the purpose of spiritual life - not learning how to develop psychic powers, not learning not how bow, chant, do yoga, or even meditate, but learning to love. Love is the truth. Love is the light.

There are three separate and distinct kinds of love:
1. Instinctive love, 2. Emotional love 3. Conscious love.

Walking the spiritual path means that we are trying to learn to love consciously....
Mary Jo

[Woetoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een prima (verdere) introductie tot het boeddhisme. ‘Verdere’, omdat ik het idee heb dat de schrijver er van uit gaat dat je wel al enige voorkennis hebt wat betreft de leer, maar toch een introductie omdat er veel van de basis behandeld word. Het boek dwaalt wel vele kanten op moet ik zeggen; van autobiografische passages tot historie, vervolgens worden er anecdotes over kennisen van de auteur gedeeld en eindigen we met een praktische meditatie oefening. Aan de ene kant zorgt dit ervoor dat de leeservaring gevarieerd (en dus dynamisch is), maar aan de andere kant worden er bijvoorbeeld dingen aangekaart waarvan je dan graag meer zou willen weten.

Het boek nodigt uit om te kijken naar je leven kijken zoals het is en er word dan vervolgens gebruik gemaakt van de boeddhistische leer door of legendarische Rōshi’s/Rinpoche’s te quoten/behandelen of de pure principes van het boeddhisme aan te kaarten. Vervolgens vertaald hij deze principes dan naar een tekst die hapklaar is voor de Westerse geest:
“𝘡𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘱𝘨𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘫𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘬𝘵, 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘧𝘵 — 𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘭𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭.” Er staan tientallen van dit soort lessen in alle hoofdstukken, die overigens wel een goede indeling hebben moet ik zeggen.

Vanwege de Joodse achtergrond van de auteur heeft het boek een interessante kijk, aangezien de auteur het boeddhisme ook dusdanig vergelijkt met andere religies. Wat ook wel echt een mooie eigenschap is van het boeddhisme an sich; er is geen angst voor dialoog met andere geloofsovertuigingen.

Ondanks ik al bekend was met veel feiten en ideeën van het boek, heb ik aardig wat nieuwe informatie tot mij kunnen nemen. Als je het van hot naar her aspect van het boek loslaat is het een prima lees. Ik ben vooral geïnspireerd door de meditaties (die je zelf kunt toepassen) die in het boek voorkomen en de beschrijvingen van meditatie überhaupt. Zo heb ik de stap gezet om een meditatie te volgen bij een (ja, ja.. een echte!) Tibetaanse Lama, die een meditatiecentrum leid bij mij in de buurt.

Kort samengevat: Een crash course voor mensen die al enige interesse en kennis hebben over het boeddhisme. Voor degene die zich verder willen verdiepen in deze levenswijze en het ook echt willen beoefenen.

Tot slot zijn hier drie van passages die mij aan hebben gesproken:

1: “𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘬𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥 — 𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘻𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘻𝘦 𝘻𝘪𝘫𝘯.”

2: “𝘋𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘻𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦, 𝘻𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘻𝘰𝘦𝘬, 𝘸𝘪𝘫𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥, 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘬𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘬𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘸𝘥.”

3: “𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘬𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘳, 𝘻𝘪𝘫𝘯 𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯 ‘𝘣𝘰𝘦𝘪𝘦𝘯’ 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘵-𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘬𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘢𝘵. 𝘏𝘦𝘵 𝘻𝘪𝘫𝘯:

𝘡𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘫𝘧𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴
𝘎𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯
𝘓𝘶𝘴𝘵
𝘒𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥
𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘫𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘢𝘯
𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯
𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘴
𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥
𝘖𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥

Wat een moeite wel zeg, het schrijven van die reviews…

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Surya Das explores many different religious traditions beyond his practice of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, explaining simply and engagingly about fasting, chanting, mindfulness, noble silence, and other practices, and how to incorporate them into a daily spiritual life. I'm certain to come back to this book for inspiration and guidance.

[The Overflowing Inkwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF about halfway through. I'm just not a fan of Buddhism. I expected something different based on the title/subtitle ("creating a spiritual life from scratch") - but there's nothing about creating anything from scratch. The book is just a mix of the author's personal journey in Buddhism and the parts of Buddhism that they want to share with the reader. After the travesty of the Law of Attraction books by the Hicks horrors, anything spiritual right now isn't sitting well with me, so on top of not caring for the faith presented, this is an all-around flop for me. Might come back to it after several years after I've moved on a little, or give it away so someone who wants to read it can.

[Kandice · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was OK, and perhaps if I'd read it first I would have liked it more. However, I read Awakening the Buddha Within a long time ago, and this just seemed like the same book revisited. Probably a good book for new readers but lacking quite a bit for those who have studied anything else on Buddhism.

[Daniel Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third eye-opening.

[Craig Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's difficult to give a fair review to books like this because I'm already familiar with a lot of the concepts in the book, so to me it feels mildly redundant. However, as well versed as I may be in Eastern philosophy (which is to say, probably not as well versed as I'd like to think), it never hurts to re-familiarize myself with it. Lama Surya Das has always appealed to me because he does a good job of distilling the more esoteric stuff into terms the Western mind can better understand. While I would recommend this book to newcomers, I would also warn them that it is laid out in a rather scattershot fashion. I would recommend Surya Das' previous book, Awakening the Buddha Within first, as I remember it being a little more focused.

[Michelle Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, accessible book about bringing more spirituality into one's life. This is not the first of Lama Surya Das's books I've read. His work is consistently accessible, welcoming and well written. Regardless of one's religious affiliation (or lack thereof), he makes the practices of Buddhism into something compatible, something that will enhance your life no matter where you're at.

"Why pretend to be unhappy, harried and miserable? Since we all pretend anyway, why not pretend to be happy for a change? See how that feels."

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Try to let go of any knee-jerk responses of antagonism toward spiritual practices that seem different, alien or foreign. The thing to remember as you create your own daily practice is that compassion is compassion, a blessing is a blessing, and a good heart is a good heart.

Why not learn from everyone as much as you can, wherever you can?

One of the wonderful things about Buddhism is that you don't have to believe in anything in order to progress on the path to awakened enlightenment.

[David Rohwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for both people who are new to spirituality and more experienced seekers. For new people, it breaks down and explains some major concepts and philosophies of spirituality in general, with examples from all kinds of religions (even though Surya das is first and foremost a buddhist), which I personally love, as it shows that all religions and beliefs have the same values and principles at its core. For me, as a little bit more experienced seeker, it provided me with some great reminders and a few new concepts. In general, it’s simply an easy and fun read, which I would recommend to anyone, interested in spirituality.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a spiritual book that started off well and then drifted into a mess of ideas. While Lama Surya Das has a beautiful voice in bringing ideas to life, so often I found myself perplexed by the ridiculous amount of information and topics that are explored in just too basic ways.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great practical advice - surely there’s at least one that works for each person!

[C.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book two of the Awakening trilogy - easy read, and very good knowledge!

[Kristie Bittleston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful read, and a book I’ll be reading again. Lama Surya Das has always been one of my favorites and this did not disappoint. Looking forward to making notes in the margins!

[Maggie Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surya Das's writing style really resonates with me.

[Jahanvi Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rating for this book is 5/5

This book feels very sacred to me already, I felt relinquished and fresh over my thoughts slowly after reading this book throughout. There's a perfect balance maintained between the hidden meaning of life and the afterlife, Whether believe it or not!

Very soulful commandments by the Author sending positive vibes to the soul to free the mind and present ourselves to the reality of the world, to be vigil with our minds and vision, be free, and heal. This book taught me the greatest important of goodness,kindness,and silence which are doable in our nature for our betterment. I loved to refer to authors personal spiritual journey and experience while telling us about it completely. This book has taught me to be patient and calm in certain situations which took me a while to stop overthinking *to all the over-thinkers out there*.

I’m being honest, I immediately thought of peace the moment I saw this book in the store and couldn’t resist trying a new kind of reading experience and I look forward to read more about spirituality. The reading experience has been amazing though it took me a long time to complete the book. I would recommend this book to everyone as we need such thoughtful words in our busy lives to giveaway some time to each one of us.

Pros: The writing style is very beautiful and each word is delicate, there’s no way to read this book quickly like we do generally. I read each and every word slowly to understand the deep meaning each lines and chapters as well as to know their meaning prevailing to our own lives.

Cons: there were few words which were difficult for me to understand and had to refer to dictionary from time to time but, it was all worth it!

[Brian B Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a few books by Lama Das and this book was geared more to someone that was looking for a spiritual path, not necessarily in Buddhism but something that would hold them together in trying times. I liked the way the book was set up and I was surprised to see the section on prayer, something I wasn't expecting. I knew Lama Das was raised Jewish but it never occurred to me that he might still use some of those prayers or others in his daily life.

Among the things I'm taking away from this book are a daily prayer book. I don't pray, because as a Buddhist I never really understood who I should pray to. Lama Das helps with that on his section on prayer.

Learning meditation the Dzogchen way is something I will have to read more on and may have re-read the section.

Thanks again Lama Surya Das for giving me the tools to practice.

[Kreeti Shakya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find it hard to comprehend or summarize this book in a few words because it had many elements, many ideas in it. What I can say is that this book is for the ones interested in or already in the spiritual path. It contains snippets of inspiration and motivation written in a very matter-of-fact manner for the seekers of the spirit. There are two things I've taken from this book: 1. I started a prayer notebook. 2. I composed a haiku. This is not a book you complete in one sitting but something you can revisit over and over again one chapter at a time, one idea at a time over years whenever you need inspiration to continue in your path of dharma.

[Svetlana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I completely fell in love of this book, partly because I'm a seeker, as the introduction of this book says. This book is awesome guide for anyone who is a seeker. Lama Surya Das explains it all in chunks that are understandable and most of the information can be taken away and used in your seeker pathway.

ETA: Even though it was written in the late 1990's, it still reads as a year 2000 and on book. I was able to connect with what he said about the Internet from the late 90's in the 2013 world.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I underlined and made notes in the margins of 1/4 of this book. A wonderful read, meant to be read more than once (this was my second time reading it). His wisdom on mindfulness, meditation, prayer, karma and what it means to be enlightened are invaluable. I believe that Buddhism philosophy and psychology actually marries well with other religions, and lama surya Das seems to think that's not a problem either. I enjoyed this book immensely and can't wait to read more from him...and maybe even this one again!

[Linus Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, particularly the end which gives concrete advice on how to do a spiritual path. One of the most telling things is that from Lama Surya Das' point of view, a Buddhist or spiritual path can be done anywhere and pretty much with anyone (not necessarily hardcore Buddhist). This opens the door and keeps it open for all, something that I've always like about his philosophy.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned to look at life with more detail and be grateful for what my eyes get to see and what my heart gets to feel every day. This book is a great read for someone that is looking to open their heart and their mind. It is a good into into Buddhist philosophy without being overwhelming at all. Read it about 7 years ago and it still sticks with me.

[Cassandra Kay Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the author would share more of his personal life. I think it would add flavor to this book as he seems to have had many encounters with the spiritual, but glosses over these experiences. Especially given the number of mentors and locations he has lived. Perhaps he is a bit more personal in his other books?

[Craig Bergland · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding look at developing what I and others would call an Interspiritual perspective that brings out the best of our pluralistic spiritual world. Providing great insight into his own journey, Lama Surya Das is humble, not the least bit coercive, and encourages seekers to develop practices and perspectives that work for them. Great book!

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot more about Buddhism and a clear explanation of the difference betw. Buddhism and Hinduism. Many wonderful anecdotes and quotes, from Thich Nat Han & the Dalai Lama to Ben Franklin & Virginia Woolf.

[Erin and Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an amazing book that I would recommend to anyone who is yearning for a bit of spiritual exploration. Lama Surya Das has written a practical, compassionate, and accessible guide to understanding and expanding one's spritual realm. -EL

[Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is kindof a beginner's guide to Buddhism, but Surya Das is also open-minded to other spiritual traditions and gives them token time. I found this book to be very thought-provoking, but clearly not for everyone.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also read in December of 2004. This is a great book to help you regain your balance in life.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

read nearly 4 years ago. Back onto all my buddhist books and back to meditation.