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 & dialog with retreat participants. This recording is an excerpt from the “Wisdom of Love & Devotion” Retreat with Krishna Das + Robert AF Thurman at Menla Mountain Retreat, November 2016. For more teachings from this & other past programs at Menla Retreat visit the Tibet House US Member Archive.

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” Retreat with Krishna Das at Menla Retreat in Phoenicia, New York, November 2016.

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 development of Buddhism through the centuries, about its three vehicles. He calls them “different styles of education/teaching of Buddhism” and coins new translation terms for Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. This episode is an excerpt from the lecture given at Tibet House US in New York City, September 4, 2013, as part of a Tibetan Buddhism Series.  

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 nurturing, love and concern. This episode is an excerpt from the lecture given at Tibet House US in New York City, September 4, 2013, as part of a Tibetan Buddhism Series.

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 April 5, 2016.    

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 why some types of actions may be called skillful and realistic, while others may not. This episode was recorded on June 8, 2016 at Menla Mountain Retreat.

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 recorded on June 8, 2016 at Menla Mountain Retreat.

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 October 20, 2015 in a class taught by Professor Thurman.