Bob Thurman Podcast: Buddhas Have More Fun!

In this episode Robert A.F. Thurman discusses the meditation practices of the mindful revolution from a Buddhist perspective. He discusses its influence on the mind and some different ways it can be practiced: you can count your breath or you can say your mantra. When your mind wanders, you bring it back to the main focus and you disassociate yourself from distracting thoughts. In this way, you ga...

“We must make miraculous change, and the planet will be better than ever,” – Professor Thurman greets us with this positive message in this special podcast, recorded for the occasion of the Tibetan New Year, Losar. The planet, political systems/structures, society and we personally may experience difficulties and lack of optimism. Nevertheless, he proposes, we should be open to o...

According to Professor Thurman, the only effective institutional opposition to militarism in the history of humanity has been monasticism. He argues that monastic institutions enable the inversion of warriors. The militancy of the warrior is introverted, so that the monk or nun battles with his or her own inner demons of selfishness, anger, greed, and so on. In this podcast Professor Thurman sugge...

In this podcast Professor Thurman talks about the history and meaning of the Pureland Sutra and the Lotus Sutra . Sutras are canonical scriptures, regarded as records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Pureland Sutra is the main sutra of one of the most widely practiced traditions of Buddhism in East Asia, the Pureland tradition. The Lotus Sutra  is one of the most popular and influentia...

In this podcast Professor Robert A.F. Thurman shares his knowledge of the history of non-violence & Buddhism and their influence on the social and ethical development in the countries where The Buddha's Teachings have taken root. He talks about mainstream Buddhist societies and counter-cultural Buddhist societies, both of which become devoted to non-violence. This episode was recorded on Decem...

In this episode Professor Thurman explains the concept of emptiness. Sometimes people think if they have an experience where things seem to melt into empty space, that it is a realization of emptiness. It is a valuable experience — as long as it’s not misinterpreted — however, it’s not a realization of emptiness. It can be called a threshold of realization of emptiness: the things that seem to be...

In this episode Professor Thurman discusses how to deepen our mental realism about what we are, what our inner world & processes are by applying the famous Buddhist Eightfold Path. There is a great difference between Buddhist psychology and Western psychology (not a religious difference, but a scientific one). Buddhist psychology does not accept that you have to be unconscious, and that you ar...

In this podcast Professor Thurman shares the stories of great sinners transforming into great saints, of work-ability of the human mind and preciousness of human life. The miracle stories will go well with your celebratory New Year dinner! Opening this podcast with an introduction to the Buddhist perspective human nature and on the individual's ability to transform themselves ethically through und...

Celebrate tonight the welcoming of the Infinite Divine in the form of an innocent child, reaching out not only to humans, but also to non-humans by being born in a manger, and not just to one tribe, but to all of the world, represented by the three wise men. Professor Thurman wishes a Merry Christmas to all of us. This podcast was recorded on December 24, 2015 by Professor Thurman specially for th...

In this podcast Professor Thurman explains the meaning of the cornerstone Buddhist concept of Bodhichitta, which is of two kinds: love & compassion and wisdom of emptiness. Enlightenment is a complete manifestation of it . . . This episode was recorded on December 5, 2015 at the "Shamans and Siddhas: Meeting at the Crossroads of Shamanism & Tantrism" retreat at Menla Mountain Retreat, taug...

Prince Siddhartha was asserting his human right to seek his own flourishing and fulfillment as a human individual rather than serve the community as a king at the wish of his father and of his society. He didn't consider that he was able to really help people who he was supposed to be helping as their ruler. In this episode Professor Thurman discusses the topic of human rights and buddhism, as wel...

In this episode Professor Thurman talks about the Seventeen Great Scholars of Nalanda. They taught at Nalanda, which was a renowned Buddhist University, which traditionally is said to have grown out of a monastery established during the Buddha's time. His Holiness the Dalai Lama often says that he is not necessarily a follower of this or that particular school of Tibetan Buddhism. Rather he traces...

What does it mean to become a Buddha? Does it mean to disappear into space separate from everything? To feel superior? To become a servant of others? In this episode Professor Thurman discusses what it means to be a Buddha, talks about extreme views of absolutism and nihilism and about the necessity of critical and analytical thinking when listening to the teachings. Buddhism 101 : What does Buddh...

We all know what anger is. When a situation is going wrong for us — when something we wanted to see happening doesn't, or when something we don't want to see happening is happening — we get frustrated. That frustration is a fuel of anger. Some people may advise: "Just swallow your anger," but if you still are feeling angry and are merely not expressing it, your anger can become internalized and ma...

"Since I and other beings, both, in wanting happiness are equal and alike, what difference is there to distinguish us, that I should strive to have my happiness alone?" In this podcast Professor Thurman discusses the ideas, advanced by Buddhist teachers, in this case skillfully expressed by saint and scholar Shantideva: it's by abandoning self-preoccupation and by cultivating concern for others, t...

When we look at mother-beings and see how they really are—quite unhappy, having a lot of problems, growing old—we naturally wish to relieve their unbearable feelings, and this wish takes a form of unbearable compassion. We are afraid that this will be an unpleasant experience for us, but there is a difference, Professor Thurman explains, between compassion and empathy. Once we feel the suffering o...

In this podcast Professor Thurman shares insights on the concepts of virtue, beauty and skillfulness in Tibetan Buddhism. We think of virtue as beautiful and associate the good with light and brightness. By drawing from the etymology of the Tibetan word "virtuous", Professor Thurman shows how virtue also includes aspects of beauty and skillfulness. He goes on to analyze the evolutionary cause of b...

This episode is a continuation of last week's episode on the fifth chapter of the famous Vimalakirti Sutra. An object of love and inspiration for many lay practitioners, as well as monastics, the Sutra is known for giving an in-depth explanation & analysis of key buddhist concepts, such as emptiness, non-duality, self & non-self, and so on. The 5th chapter relates to Prajnaparamita or Tran...

In this episode Professor Thurman expounds the profound teaching, contained in the fifth chapter of the famous Vimalakirti Sutra, which he translated and has been teaching for nearly forty years. An object of love and inspiration for many lay practitioners, as well as monastics, the Sutra is known for giving an in-depth explanation & analysis of key buddhist concepts, such as emptiness, non-du...

Death is just like going to sleep.. And then we are going to wake up. The way, in which we wake up, has to do with how we have lived today. In this podcast Professor Thurman offers a discourse on the topic of death and dying: what is happening, when we die, what follows it? Can we take rebirth where we like, and what is the difference between conscious and unconscious dying? The episode was record...

In this episode Professor Thurman explains, why we may call Buddhism Realism. He presents Buddha's teachings on the Four Noble Truths (or Four Noble Realities) and the Eightfold Path (or 8 Steps of Evolutionary Path) in a manner that is fresh and accessible, as it is profound. Recognition of the symptom, diagnosis of the cause, prognosis of the outcome and therapy or education - are four facts tha...

What do we experience when we look inside? Where do we place our confidence? Do we believe that we have mind? In this episode Professor Thurman discusses the power of questioning, the necessity of digging deeper in order to understand mind and its power. The episode is an excerpt from the the "Buddha and Yogis" retreat at Menla Mountain Retreat, taught by David Swenson, John Campbell & Robert...

Tantric Buddhism is known as the fast path, meaning that it is possible to become enlightened in one or a few lives, instead of millions. In this podcast, Professor Thurman discusses how we can use our dreams to compress the virtue of many lives into one dream. He also speaks about the role of compassion, ethics and wisdom on the path. This episode was recorded on June 8, 2011 at the "Buddha and Y...

In this episode, Professor Thurman discusses visualization practice and meditation. He explains how the context which you assume will determine how much progress you can make. When you create an imagined enlightened universe, you are making vivid to yourself a preferable image, as well as loosen your own sense of yourself as being limited and incapable of change. This episode was recorded on July...

This episode is a continuation of last week's episode on The Heart Sutra. In this episode, Professor Thurman discusses the questions: How does free will work? What does it mean that we are all effected by causes and conditions? He also discusses how shunyata, or voidness, is a scientific discovery, not just a mystic philosophy. This episode was recorded on July 27, 2015 at the "Buddha and the Yogi...