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 [...]
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 [...]
What Is Suffering? 10 Buddhist Teachers Weigh In
The Pali word dukkha is most commonly translated to English as "suffering." Dukkha presents in an array of emotions — from happiness to despair. While counterintuitive, it is a central concept in the Buddha's teachings. In these passages, adapted from longer teachings on Lion's Roar, 10 teachers explain what suffering is, how we feel it, and why it isn't a condemnation — it's a [...]
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
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 douse her flames. It’s impossible. So too is it to salute her for her bravery, for her faith in love, for her determination, and her belief [...]
Profile: Tibet House U.S.
In 1979, the Dalai Lama suggested to Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and a couple of others that a Tibetan cultural center be founded on American soil. It wasn’t until 1986, however, that his idea got off the ground. That’s when actor Richard Gere showed up at Thurman’s house in the Catskills and said, “I know you haven’t been able to get too much done, but now you’re in [...]
Bob Thurman’s Cool Revolution
Maybe forty years ago as a Buddhist monk, or maybe earlier in another life, Robert Thurman lived a quiet, orderly existence. Today, relentlessly poking, prodding, weaving his Cool Revolution into the fabric of America, today try these words for Bob Thurman: passionate, hectic, unrestrained. Here he is, six-foot-four with a footballer’s shoulders and tousled hair, coming [...]
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 [...]
Panel: Full-Time Practice
Joseph Goldstein, Judy Lief, and Robert Thurman discuss the role of full-time practice in the West Buddhadharma: What role have long-term, full-time practitioners—whether monastics, priests, mountain yogis or forest yogis—played in the development of Buddhism? Are their activities essential to the continuation of an authentic Buddhist tradition? Robert Thurman: It is [...]
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 [...]