Lama Marut (a.k.a. Brian K. Smith) is extensively trained in the spiritual traditions of India and Tibetan Buddhism. He holds a PhD in comparative religion and taught for over two decades in the academic world, first at Columbia University and later at the University of California, where he retired as professor emeritus in 2004. He has served for the past fifteen years as a spiritual teacher to students around the world, and is currently the spiritual director for eight "Middle Way Centers" located in North America, Australia, and Singapore.

In addition to several scholarly studies and translations based on Sanskrit materials, he is the author of the popular and award-winning book A Spiritual Renegade’s Guide to the Good Life. With his unique mixture of erudition and earthiness, intensity and humor, conviction and openness, Lama Marut’s message is easily accessible and life-changing.