So much of our suffering—as individuals and as a society—is caused by fear. In fact, according to Buddhism, fear is at the very root of ego and samsara. Four outstanding Buddhist teachers discuss the vital practice of working with our fears. Starting on the Path of Fear and Fearlessness By Judith Lief It helps to explore how we can work with fear from the point of view of [...]
About Robert Thurman
Know Your Enemy
We call people who harm us enemies, but is that who they really are? When we see the person behind the label, say Buddhist teachers Sharon Salzberg and Robert Thurman, everyone benefits. Crushing the Competition Sharon Salzberg Competition today is tantamount to a blood sport—and not just on the playing field or in the ring. The psychoanalytic theorist Karen Horney [...]
Book Review: Tibet on Fire
Robert Thurman reviews Tsering Woeser's book "Tibet on Fire," which explores immolations in Tibet and includes cover art by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The first recent self-immolation I know of occurred in 1997 in New Delhi—the elderly Tibetan ex-monk Thupten Ngodrup immolated his body in protest after the Indian police broke up his hunger strike by dragging him and [...]
Circling the Sacred Mountain
Haunted by the famed mountain since he was a young monk, Robert Thurman leads a small group of pilgrims overland to Tibet's Mt. Kailash, the sacred axis mundi of central Asian cosmology. In this excerpt from Circling the Sacred Mountain: A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas, the party arrives at its destination. The narrator is Tad Wise. We break camp by eight-thirty in [...]
A Cry for Freedom
Robert Thurman's commentary on the Tibetan plight and the horrifying phenomenon of Tibetans self-immolating in protest of Chinese rule. Oh my heart! Oh, my life! How can this happen! What can I do? I’m overwhelmed as I watch a video of the brave and passionate Tibetan Buddhist nun Palden Choetso standing in the street, burning herself as a human torch. I want to respond, to [...]
The Cool Heroes of Zuccotti Park
Determined, insightful, nonviolent—Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman tells the protesters of Occupy Wall Street that they’re just the kind of people the country needs. Everyone here is an example of something I’ve been wishing for for many years. You are what I call “cool heroes.” By cool I mean nonviolent. Cool heroes are people who are forceful, intelligent, just, and [...]
Crisis and Opportunity in Tibet
The crisis in Tibet offers Chinese authorities the opportunity to give Tibetans their human rights, and at the same time set China itself on a new and better course. As Robert Thurman explains, the key is a simple monk and his Middle Way. In Tibet today, the Chinese empire has forfeited any claim to legitimacy by harshly beating, shooting to kill, and imprisoning the almost [...]
The Meaning of the Dalai Lama for Today
Robert Thurman sees the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of the Buddha of universal compassion. Amidst the chaos of today's world, he says, the "simple monk" remains undaunted, and even cheerful. When I have attended His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving Buddhist teachings to large assemblies, I have had an odd sensation lately: it feels as if I have entered a time warp, and am [...]
The Dalai Lama and Realpolitik of Spirituality
Robert Thurman interviews the Dalai Lama on the subject of Tibetan independence, and what the West can do to help. Professor Robert A. F. Thurman: Your Holiness, this is a two-part question. Is independence a realistic goal for Tibet? And if so, could the leaders of the other world religions do more than they already have to help Tibet realize that goal? His Holiness the [...]