Bob Thurman Podcast: Buddhas Have More Fun!

Lucid Dying: Buddhist Inner Sciences 101 – Ep. 9

4 snips

Mar 27, 2015

In this enlightening conversation, Professor Thurman, a renowned scholar in Tibetan Buddhism, unveils the fascinating parallels between sleep and death. He delves into the practice of sleep and death yoga as pathways to enlightenment. Listeners learn about the Eight Stages of Death and how consciousness evolves during the 'bardo' states. Thurman emphasizes death as a transformative experience rather than an end, discussing how understanding our true nature can alleviate fear in this transition. A rich exploration of consciousness awaits!

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Intro

00:00 • 5min

Navigating the Eight Stages of Death and Dissolution

04:30 • 4min

Exploring Consciousness and the Subtle Body

08:48 • 11min

Death as Transformation

19:38 • 11min

Exploring the Quantum Leap of Dying

30:43 • 4min

Professor Thurman discusses the experiential and physical parallels between the process of sleep and the process of dying. He explains also the similarity between this experience and enlightenment, and how sleep yoga and death yoga can be used therefore on the path to enlightenment.

This episode is an excerpt from recordings of a weekend retreat that Professor Thurman led at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in February 2015, titled “Living the Evolutionary Life: Through Death and Beyond.” It is a continuation from last week’s episode, titled “Rebirth Stories“.

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to empowering people and communities to realize their full potential through the transformative wisdom and practice of yoga.

To learn more about Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health + about upcoming events with Robert AF Thurman please visit: www.kripalu.org.

“Inner science focuses on the soul, spirit, and mind as embodied in the physical body in its environment. It is not simply a name for religious mind control through belief and ritual. It develops various theories but is primarily an experimental science, proceeding by contemplative observation of the mind, senses, emotions, and intellectual faculties. Its laboratory is the mind-body complex itself, as well as the whole range of mental states experienced in waking, dreaming, sleep, meditative trance, and even out-of-body, virtual reality situations. Its technology is yoga, the yoking of conscious attention to empirical exploration, transformative discovery, and healing modification.”

Robert A.F. Thurman

This podcast is apart of the Buddhist Inner Sciences 101 Podcast Series taken from the Bob Thurman & Tibet House US archives which are intended to provide an introduction to the yogic, meditative & theoretical practices of the tradition. These recordings are intended to be general overviews & one should be studying with a qualified teacher before attempting or engaging in the practices.

Photo by Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE on Unsplash