Arlington, MA (WFN) -- Buddhist meditation isn't always peaceful: Some advanced techniques are downright scary.

For instance, how would you like to spend a night in an Indian graveyard filled with piles of bones imagining your body being chopped up and boiled in a cauldron made from your skull?

That was one task that American-born Tibetan Lama Surya Das had to perform on his spiritual journey, and he says it was the scariest night of his life.

He says the meditation -- known as Chod -- helps a person let go of their fears by confronting them instead of recoiling away.

Surya doesn't recommend Chod for beginners or the "lily-livered" and he also warns Americans not to try it in a graveyard.

He says U.S. cemeteries, with their park-like designs, are too pleasant a setting for confronting fear, so Americans should pick more appropriate places -- like cancer wards in hospitals.

Surya shares his story in the new book, "Letting Go of the Person You Used to Be" (Broadway Books).

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