Bob Thurman Podcast: Buddhas Have More Fun!

In this episode Robert Thurman gives an impassioned and direct call to action for Americans to immediately address the decades of school shootings and senseless gun violence happening across the country, highlighting the forces behind the political deadlock preventing sensible legislation as well as simple direct democratic ways of creating a safer and better future for those on both side of the debate. Opening with a discussion of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Thurman uses the statistics and background provided in Heather Cox Richardson’s Substack.com newsletter as a jumping off point to detail the history behind the dark money and organizations preventing sensible gun law reform in America. This episode includes discussions of: the lack of loyal opposition in America’s two party system, the history behind Grover Norquist’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge and the Americans for Tax Reform political lobbying organization, the Buddhist perspective on fierce compassion and non-violence, an eye-opening explanation of the rise of fascism in modern America, and a recommendation of “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right” by investigative journalist Jane Mayer. The episode concludes with a heartfelt cheerful and vigorous plea for mass media consumers to see through the persuasive propaganda delivered via right wing and conservative news channels like Fox News and ways to counter the “big lie” technique originally developed by Joseph Goebbels and leveraged by the Nazi party in Germany. “Gun Violence in America: A Buddhist Perspective” Podcast Thumbnail by Andrii Koval, via www.shutterstock.com, All Rights Reserved.

In this episode Robert A.F. Thurman gives a historical introduction to Buddhism, it’s creation, development and refinement in Tibet using the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment teachings and the text “Guru Puja,” or “The Devotion to the Mentor” by the Fourth Panchen Lama. Opening with a discussion of the nature of spiritual retreats, Thurman in this episode presents an all levels overview of the Buddhist path, enlightenment and a short presentation of the life story of the Buddha. “Tibetans call their cherished tradition of Buddhism a wish-fulfilling jewel tree for its power to generate bliss and enlightenment within all who absorb its teachings. This path to enlightenment, it is taught, requires more than a sitting meditation practice alone. With “The Jewel Tree of Tibet”, honored scholar and teacher Robert Thurman brings these insights to you as they were meant to be transmitted through the spoken word.” – Text from “The Jewel Tree of Tibet” This episode is an excerpt from “The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism” 12-Part audio retreat by Robert Thurman, available from www.soundstrue.com. The Jeweled Treasure of Tibet: An Introduction & Overview of Buddhism – Ep. 293 of the Bob Thurman Podcast Image of Lobzang Chokyi Gyaltsen, The Fourth Panchen Lama via www.himalayanart.org.

In this episode Robert Thurman leads a close line reading of the sixth chapter of “The Holy Teachings of Vimalakirti”, giving an all-levels teaching on the inconceivable nature of the Buddha’s enlightenment, Buddhist emptiness and the nature of love as taught throughout Buddhism. Using personal stories from his time teaching in academia and studying with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Thurman reflects on the way that emptiness creates a space for love and compassion to flourish. This episode also includes an examination of the the term “womb of compassion” as found in Nāgārjuna’s “Jewel Rosary” connecting Buddha’s revolutionary physical discovery of emptiness/relativity with the wisdom that empowers the positive emotions of selfless love and compassion. The Vimalakirti Sutra’s Inconceivable Liberation chapter (#6) is said to be a drop from the ocean of this multilevel set of presentations by the Buddha and many bodhisattvas, in which he demonstrates his permeation of the enlightened cosmos and the glory of the bodhisattva realms. For any Buddhist practitioner, particularly those of Vajrayana Buddhism and Zen, this Vimalakīrti-nirdesha Sūtra. is of the utmost importance. Unlike most sutras, its central figure is not a buddha, or even a monk, but an ordinary man, who, in his mastery of the teaching and spiritual practice, personifies the ideal human being, assuring regular people that they can reach levels of spiritual attainment comparable to those accessible to monks. The sutra opens the door to the meaning of non-duality. Thurman discusses the background of the sutra, its place in the development of Buddhist thought, and the profundities of its principal teaching: emptiness the womb of compassion. “To any Buddhist practitioner, particularly those of Vajrayana Buddhism and Zen, this sutra is of the utmost importance. Unlike most sutras, its central figure is not a Buddha, but an ordinary man, who, in his mastery of the teaching and spiritual practice, personifies the ideal lay believer, assuring commoners that they can reach levels of spiritual attainment comparable to those accessible to monks. The sutra teaches, among other subjects, the meaning of non-duality. Thurman discusses the background of the sutra, its place in the development of Buddhist thought, and the profundities of its principal teaching: emptiness.” -Text from “The Yoga of Ordinary Living” Inconceivable Liberation and The Womb of Compassion – Ep. 292 is excerpted from “The Yoga of Ordinary Living” by Robert A.F. Thurman, Available via www.betterlisten.com. “We are empty of any isolated essence, of any non-connected essence.We are free of such non-connected, isolated, alienated essence. That is what it means. Enlightenment is realizing that freedom at the deepest level. And therefore, enlightenment is realizing our inexorable interconnectedness. The vast space of reality is nothing but the surface of the interrelations of all things. All of the interconnected things are the reality of emptiness. Therefore emptiness, voidness, freedom are the womb of compassion, the sensitivity and will that refuses to accept anyone’s suffering, that automatically wills everyone’s happiness. Emptiness is the womb of compassion, means that in realizing emptiness we are free of the illusion that we have carried from the beginning of time that I am the one.” -Robert Thurman Womb Realm Mandala, Shingon Tantric Buddhist school, Heian period (794-1185), Tō-ji, Kyōto, Japan, via www.wikipedia.org.

In this episode Robert Thurman opens with a recitation from Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” to set the stage for an impassioned discussion of the global climate crisis, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the recent horrendous direct action protest by Wynn Bruce in front of the the U.S. Supreme Court. Bob discusses the historical and philosophical context of the use of offering one’s body via fire to raise awareness, a positive reading of the symbolism of the yellow and blue of the Ukrainian national flag, the color use in Buddhist meditation practices and artistic iconography, and gets into the deep topic of nihilistic ideologies and their support of the way scientific materialist thought fuels the rapid industrial destruction of our planet’s life-sustaining environment. He also shares a humorous reevaluation of the MAGA acronym. This podcast concludes with an extended discussion of the under-reported and mostly ignored-by-the-mainstream-media body-immolation by climate activist Wynn Bruce, providing simple tools and teachings to remain positive during the many challenges individuals, communities and entire countries are facing all around them.

In this episode Tibet House US | Menla President & Co-Founder Robert A.F. Thurman sits down for a heart-centered talk about Buddhist perspectives on the environment, Earth Day and the importance of rallying the modern environmental movement’s understanding of the too often overlooked crisis on the Tibetan plateau, the Hindu Kush, and the Himalayas, known as “the Third Pole,” due to its containing the world’s largest collection of glacial ice after the Arctic and Antarctic poles. The Third Pole crisis comes from the ice melting four to six times faster than other global overheating sites, due to widespread mismanagement and exploitation, threatening the water resources flowing down the Yellow, Yangtse, Mekong, Irawaddy, Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Indus rivers, among others, the lifelines of over a billion people during long dry seasons between annual monsoons Using personal anecdotes, statistics from Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, as well as insights from the historical Buddha’s teachings and life story, Thurman weaves an inspiring call to action for intelligent beings of all faiths, backgrounds, political beliefs and stances. This podcast includes: an extended re-telling of the Buddha’s enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, introductions to the histories of Earth Day, The Climate Reality Project and Tibet House US | Menla, as well as simple ways anyone, anywhere can employ to shift their perspective to begin making a difference both in their own lives and in their communities. The episode concludes with an invitation to the Third Pole Hybrid Online & In-Person Conference, happening in the Fall of 2022 at Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa as well as a frank discussion on the importance of direct engagement and democratic participation in saving the planet for this and all future generations. About Earth Day: Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. In the decades leading up to the first Earth Day, Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Until this point, mainstream America remained largely oblivious to environmental concerns and how a polluted environment threatens human health. However, the stage was set for change with the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries as it raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and the inextricable links between pollution and public health. Senator Gaylord Nelson, the junior senator from Wisconsin, had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States. Then in January 1969, he and many others witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media, and persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. They recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins and they chose April 22, a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, to maximize the greatest student participation. Text via the official Earth Day website: www.earthday.org. To learn more about The Climate Reality Project, please visit:

In this extended episode, recorded at Menla during the online conference “The Art of Dying and Living: An Exploration of Life, Death, and the Afterlife”, Robert Thurman shares insights and lessons from his study of Buddhism and translation of the mis-titled “Tibetan Book of the Dead”. Joined by Eben Alexander, Sierra Campbell, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Deepak Chopra, Terri Daniel, Joan Halifax, Andrew Holecek, Lucy Kalanithi, Jussara Korngold, Simcha Raphael, Richard Martini, Gabor Maté, Frank Ostaseski, Mingyur Rinpoche, Therese Schroeder-Sheker, Alberto Villoldo, Henry Fersko-Weiss, and Jessica Zitter, this online event explores ancient and modern understandings of the art of dying and living through the lenses of different traditions, including Tibetan and Zen Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Judaic, and Shamanic. To learn more about this historic event and to enjoy the study at your own pace archive course, please visit: www.thusmenla.org.

In this episode Robert Thurman discusses the world premiere of the film “Never Forget Tibet: The Dalai Lama’s Untold Story”, happening worldwide March 31st, as well as the historical connections to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. The feature-length documentary from Compassionate Films will celebrate its world premiere in partnership with Fathom Events on March 31 at 800 participating theaters across the US. The date of the world premiere is very significant, as March 31 is the 63rd anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s escape from occupied Tibet in 1959. The World Peace Prayer starts at 6.30pm for the special opening ceremony, prayers and short films, which will set the scene for what promises to be a powerful cinematic event unlike any seen before. Never Forget Tibet will premiere at 7pm. To learn more about “Never Forget Tibet: The Dalai Lama’s Untold Story”, please visit: www.neverforgettibet.com

In this extended podcast Robert A.F. Thurman discusses the significance of March 10th in Tibetan history, it’s connections to the Ukraine and gives a teaching on the historical Buddha’s perspective on conflict and engaging in defensive wars. Opening with a deep dive into the historical context of the invasion of Tibet, Thurman details the mouse trap laid out by China in 1959 which led directly to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and the Tibetans fleeing into exile in India. This episode concludes with an in-depth exploration of the qualities of ethical enlightened beings and Bodhisattvas and a call to action for solidarity for Tibet, Ukraine, Russia, China and the world’s democracies for dealing with the rise of petrol-based oligarchies fueling climate change. Bodhisattvas & The Buddha On Defensive Wars: Remembering Tibet & The Ukraine – Ep. 287 of the Bob Thurman “Stand with Ukraine” Podcast image by Students for a Free Tibet.

In this special episode, Robert Thurman pays tribute to the heroic citizens of Ukraine and their president Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the invasion and attempted occupation by Russia. Celebrating President Zelenskyy’s former career as a comedian, Robert Thurman makes a call to action for a world with more leaders with humor – and joy- based artistic and creative backgrounds, interconnecting recent world history, modern politics, climate science and the common sense compassion-based teachings of Buddha and all spiritual traditions. This episode includes a recommendation of Bill Mckibben’s recent article in The Guardian, an introduction to Buddhist history, cosmology, meditation practice and the concept of enlightenment, a discussion of mother earth as Bodhisattva, and a deep dive into the absolute and the relative. It concludes with a teaching on the Buddhist and philosophical perspectives on: joy, love, bliss, and the infinite possibility of creating compassionate communities worldwide through developing inner and outer peace. Ukraine, Russia & The Buddha’s Wisdom – Ep. 286 of the Bob Thurman podcast photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash.

Recounting his early days studying with Geshe Ngawang Wangyal, Robert Thurman in this episode gives a teaching on practicing meditation and the Buddhist perspective on mindfulness through a close line reading of the The Mahāsatipatthāna Sutta. The four focuses of mindfulness in the sutta are the body, the sensations, the mind, and the mental objects, among which the last is the longest and most elaborated. In addition to meditating as directed, many of the elements used by the Buddha to aim and structure the meditations, such as the five aggregates, the eighteen elements, and the twelve sense-mediums, need to be explained and incorporated in mind, in order to be able to meditatively follow the guidance effectively. “My Early Years: Exploring The Mahāsatipatthāna Sutta – Episode 285 of the Bob Thurman Podcast was recorded during Tibet House US | Menla’s “Mindfulness & the Mahayana: An In-Depth Exploration of the Mahasatipatthana Sutta” online course with Sharon Salzberg and Robert A.F. Thurman, available via www.thusmenla.org.