Bob Thurman Podcast: Buddhas Have More Fun!

This podcast begins with an introduction to the Buddhist wisdom nagas by Professor Thurman through recounting a story from HH Dalai Lama ‘s visit to Menla Mountain & concludes with a reading from the AIBS Publication ‘Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature’. Includes dialog with co-presenter Mark Epstein Ph. D & retreat participants. To listen to more recordings from this...

The historical Buddha taught that human life is precious and in this podcast Professor Thurman defines & elaborates this theme as taught by the Buddhists of Tibet. This podcast is apart of the ‘Buddhism 101’ Series using classic teachings from Robert Thurman to elucidate basic concepts of the tradition. This recording is an excerpt from the ‘Pathways to the Spirit’ Series Talk give...

A short guided meditation on the 2017 US Presidential Inauguration, the Women’s Marches held world wide & the historical context of the current global situation by Professor Robert A.F. Thurman. Includes a short overview of the destructive power of anger & fear from a Buddhist perspective. This podcast was recorded on Jan 17, 2017 in Upstate New York.

The discovery of the historical Buddha not only posited the nature of reality but put forth a systematic method for individuals & society to transform themselves through enlightenment. In this podcast Professor Thurman introduces & elaborates the idea of enlightenment using Tibetan History as a lens. This podcast is apart of the ‘Buddhism 101’ Series using classic teachings fro...

Professor Thurman guides a close reading of the ‘Six Session Guru Yoga’ it’s commitments for initiates of the Yoga and Highest Yoga tantras, explaining the bodhisattva and tantric vows taken when practicing the Kalachakra and concludes with an overview of the teachings for those with a general interest in Mahayana and esoteric practice. Recorded in Ladakh during Robert Thurman’s 2014 Kalachakra Tr...

The Kalachakra Tantra or “The Wheel of Time” teachings as preserved within the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana tradition are considered some of the most esoteric & significant series of initiations transmitted by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. In this podcast Professor Thurman gives an introduction to the twelve days of the Kalachakra initiation providing the historical & symboli...

Sharon Salzberg & Robert Thurman lead a dialog on the concept of skillful means & answer questions about Buddhist reincarnation through story telling & explanation of current empirical evidence found in modern scientific journals. Recorded at the 2009 Tibet House US Retreat “Working With Your Enemies” at Menla Retreat · Resort · Spa in Phoenicia, New York.

In this podcast Professor Thurman & Sharon Salzberg discuss the practice of lovingkindness meditation and it’s power to change one’s relationship with difficult people, emotions & situations. Includes a brief introduction to lovingkindness practice & dialog with retreat participants. Recorded at the 2009 Tibet House US Retreat “Working With Your Enemies” at Menl...

In this podcast Professor Thurman leads a recitation from his translation of “The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between” of the final section for those journeying through the final stages of the Bardo. Recorded at Menla Retreat in Phoenicia, New York, 2009. To watch + listen to more recordings of past events with Robert AF T...

In this podcast Professor Thurman explores the concept of fierce protector deities used in Buddhist practices found in the traditional “Tibetan Book of The Dead” teachings and end of life meditations. Using his translation of “The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between” Professor Thurman provides a detailed explan...

In this episode Professor Thurman examines the twelve verse summary of the Buddhist path as found the 12th Century “Essence of Eloquence” transcribed to Jey Tsongkapa by Manjushri in 1396-1397. Using personal stories & tales from the life of the Buddha Professor Thurman elucidates the liberty & opportunity afforded during one’s life.  Includes a short guided meditation &a...

In this podcast Professor Thurman examines the historical Buddha’s exploration of the nature of reality & dispels the common misunderstanding of his core discovery. Includes a detailed explanation of the Buddhist & Hindu concepts of causality & how they relate to everyday life. This episode is an excerpt from the lecture given during the “Wisdom of Devotion & Love&#8221...

In this podcast Professor Thurman discusses how to use the practice for the post-election result. This podcast was recorded on November 11, 2016 by Professor Thurman at his residence in Catskills, Woodstock, NY.

Conventional terms for different types of Buddhism (Japanese, Chinese, American, etc) seem to imply that Buddhism was made in these countries, and that it is a product of Japan or other places. But even “Indian Buddhism” — Professor Thurman explains — is a wrong term, because in Buddha’s time there was no India. . . In this podcast Professor Thurman talks about origination and de...

According to a Buddhist belief, we all have lived not just one, but many lives, an infinite amount of them. This means that every being has had a chance to be our mother in one of those infinite lives. In this podcast Professor Thurman teaches that realizing the infinity of our past lives enables us to find a loving face of our mother in every being, Every being has this loving look of total nurtu...

In this podcast Professor Thurman explains that Buddhism is not only a religion, but it is even more a science and a philosophy. He uses as an example the Buddhist concept of “emptiness” and draws parallels with discoveries of quantum physics. He then explains that emptiness should not be confused with the nihilistic concept of “nothingness.” This episode was recorded on Ap...

Different actions bring about different results. Depending on these results, actions may be called skillful or unskillful, right or wrong, realistic or unrealistic. Positive types of actions (physical, verbal or mental) may be called realistic because they improve the quality of one’s life. They also happen to improve the quality of lives of others. In this podcast Professor Thurman explains...

In this podcast Professor Thurman explains why karma is a biological theory. Karma doesn’t mean a fate, karma means causality. You shape how you are. You shape how you are not only by what you do, but also by what you say and, most importantly, by what you think. According to the Buddhist belief, a human could have been an animal or any other life form in the previous lives. This episode was...

This episode is a continuation of last week’s episode on Shantideva’s  Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life . In this episode, Professor Thurman reads from Shantideva’s verses, dedicated to anger and patience (or tolerance), and explains the meaning as he goes along. This episode was recorded on October 20, 2015 in a class taught by Professor Thurman.

Shantideva is the author of one of the most studied texts in the Buddhist canon —  A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life . In this episode, Professor Thurman reads from this text the verses dedicated to anger and patience or tolerance, and explains the meaning as he goes along. This is the first of a two-part episode on the  Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. This episode was recorded on Oc...

In this episode Professor Thurman explains that a Buddhist concept of “emptiness” or “voidness” doesn’t mean a “no state” apart from everything, or “nothingness”. Emptiness means that everything is empty of any non-relational isolated component. Emptiness is relativity, and we are totally interconnected (mentally and physically) beings. This po...

In this podcast Professor Thurman discusses a famous Buddhist concept of the “four transcendences,” or the “four thoughts that change the mind”: 1. The preciousness of the human life of liberty and opportunity; 2. Realization of immediacy of death, empowering one to live one’s best in the moment; 3. The inexorability of the effects of one’s actions; and 4. The s...

In this podcast Professor Thurman explains how we can apply the tenfold path of positive/skillful evolutionary actions to shape our lives in a positive direction and improve our evolutionary conditions. This tenfold path is comprised of three physical skills, four verbal skills and three mental skills. In Dalai Lama’s book Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World they are referred to as sec...

In this podcast Professor Thurman discusses the importance of right understanding of faith, the ability to apply doubt and skepticism on the Buddhist path without taking it to the extreme of materialism, and developing tolerance of cognitive dissonance. Professor Thurman then engages into a very interesting discussion about what intuition is and how to differentiate it from the subtle conceptual m...

In this podcast Professor Thurman explains how freedom in our choices depends on whether we are living consciously or unconsciously. There is no such thing as “meant to be”, however, each action brings about a particular result. For example, being a victim of circumstances — Professor Thurman continues — can be seen as a result of an action performed in the past and can be empowering w...