Thurman, Robert

The Tibetan Book of the Dead (The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between)

Imagine that as you leave your body at death, you hear the voice of a loved one whispering in your ear explanations of everything you see in the world beyond. Unlike other translations of Bar do thos grol (or The Tibetan Book of the Dead), Robert Thurman's takes literally the entire gamut of metaphysical assumptions. Thurman translates Bar do thos grol as The Great Book of Natural Liberation through Understanding in the Between. It is one of many mortuary texts of the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism and is commonly recited to or by a person facing imminent death. Thurman reproduces it for this purpose, explaining in some depth the Tibetan conception of postmortem existence. Over as many as 12 days, the deceased person is given explanations of what he or she sees and experiences and is guided through innumerable visions of the realms beyond to reach eventual liberation, or, failing that, a safe rebirth. Like a backpacker's guide to a foreign land, Thurman's version is clear, detailed, and sympathetic to the inexperienced voyager. It includes background and supplementary information, and even illustrations (sorry, no maps). Don't wait until the journey has begun. Every page should be read and memorized well ahead of time. --Brian Bruya

The most prominent expert on Tibetan Buddhism in the West offers a translation of this essential book of Tibetan philosophy that captures the true spirit and poetry of the original work--a profound book that reveals the nature of the mind and its manifestations and offers pure enlightenment.

Infinite Life: Awakening to Bliss Within

Robert Thurman--father of Uma, outspoken critic of George Bush's administration and one of the first Westerners to bring popularize Buddhism in America--has written what is arguably his finest book. In Infinite Life he invites readers into a fascinating new way of thinking, living, and meditating that might do more to save the world than any political act known to humans. In recognizing that our lives and even our moment-to-moment choices have eternal ramifications, we are at once free from the burden of petty pursuits yet suddenly saddled with the weight of infinite responsibility. Thurman helps students understand that carrying this weight is the only way we can free ourselves and the rest of the world form suffering. Buddhists recognize this as the path of "the bodhisattva," dedicated to the well-being of all beings. In order to help readers make this quantum shift in awareness, Thurman structures his chapters around the paramitas, or transcendent virtues: wisdom, generosity, patience, contemplation, justice (usually called "discipline"), and creativity ("diligence"). He adds a seventh virtue: art—as in the "art of infinite living." Each chapter includes a lesson on a virtue as well as meditations and life choices that support personal and global transformation.

He delivers his promise with political and spiritual punch. Some criticize Thurman for his outspokenness against the current Bush administration. But for those who want to use their spirituality to create political change—this book is filled with excellent meditations and lifestyle suggestions for bringing about global compassion and humanity. --Gail Hudson

Blinking Red Light was the debut of an explosive natural-born talent who set it off on the first page and never let up. Now, Mister Mann Frisby drives the urban thriller in a graphic new direction as three players cross tracks on the night streets of North Philly.

It goes like this: Sticks is a struggling single dad doing everything he can to dodge any slip-up that could give his ex-wife custody of their daughter. He needs money to keep that from happening. Then Sticks stumbles on a bootleg video of a rap star with a solid rep, caught on tape doing something that could ruin his career and send him to jail. Sticks's friend Kheli convinces him that it's the get-rich scam he needs. Blackmail the punk. But Kheli's got an agenda of her own, the rapper isn't in the mood to play, and the word on the street is Sticks is a dead man.

A nightmare of stunning reversals and violent twists of fate, Wifebeater is a thriller all right. Now there's no turning back.

The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti

This book presents the major teachings of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism in a precise, dramatic, and even humorous form. For two millennia this Sutra, called the "jewel of the Maha¯ya¯na Sutras," has enjoyed immense popularity among Mahayana Buddhists in India, central and southeast Asia, Japan, and especially China, where its incidents were the basis for a style in art and literature prevalent during several centuries. Robert Thurman's translation makes available in relatively nontechnical English the Tibetan version of this key Buddhist scripture, previously known to the English-speaking world only through translations from Chinese texts. The Tibetan version is generally conceded to be more faithful to the original Sanskrit than are the Chinese texts. The Tibetan version also is clearer, richer, and more precise in its philosophical and psychological expression. The twelve books of the Sutra are accompanied by an introduction and an epilogue by Dr. Thurman and by three glossaries: Sanskrit terms, numerical categories, and technical terms.

Essential Tibetan Buddhism

In this highly readable collection, Robert Thurman brings together the jewels of Tibetan literature that have made their own distinctive contribution to "the great river of Buddhism." He introduces the selection with an overview of essential Buddhist thought, orienting the reader with a history of Buddhism's development, from its origins in India, expansion across Asia, and flowering on Tibetan soil. Explaining the distinctive attainment of Tibetan Buddhist civilization as "the vivid sense of Buddhas in ordinary, daily reality," Thurman guides readers through selections that speak to the possibility of liberation for all beings. Stressing also the importance of the teacher or mentor figure in Tibetan Buddhist practice, he presents key texts from teachers whose words serve as inspiration to those seeking the path toward enlightenment. Excerpts culled from the vastness of the Tibetan canon include the hymns to the liberator goddess Tara, pieces from The Tibetan Book of the Dead, writings on mentor worship from the first Panchen Lama, and selections from esoteric tantric practice texts. The volume ends with the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize lecture by Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, illustrating the enduring relevance of this ancient wisdom for modern life. --Uma Kukathas

Despite its burgeoning influence, few people truly understand the core beliefs, traditions, and movements of this popular Eastern religion. Robert Thurman, professor of Indo-Tibetan studies at Columbia University, has assembled the first guide to Tibetan Buddhism that introduces the distinctive Tibetan practice through its own rich literature. He includes excerpts from The Book of the Dead as well as lesser known but comparable scriptures.Essential Tibetan Buddhism is a part of The Essential Series, beautifully packaged works that feature the core texts of major religious traditions in definitive translations, edited by leading authorities.

Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture : An Investigation of the Nine Best-Known Groups of Symbols

Symbolism is the language of the human spirit, and this book is the most systematic study of its Tibetan idiom that has yet appeared. --Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions

Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

Anger: The Seven Deadly Sins

Heated words, cool malice, deadly feuds, the furious rush of adrenaline-anger is clearly the most destructive of the seven deadly sins. It can ruin families, wreck one's health, destroy peace of mind and, at its worst, lead to murder, genocide, and war.
In Anger, Robert A. F. Thurman, best-selling author and one of America's leading authorities on Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, offers an illuminating look at this deadliest of sins. In the West, Thurman points out, anger is seen as an inevitable part of life, an evil to be borne, not overcome. There is the tradition of the wrathful God, of Jesus driving the money-changers from the temple. If God can be angry, how can men rid themselves of this destructive emotion? Thurman shows that Eastern philosophy sees anger differently. Certainly, it is a dreadful evil, one of the "three poisons" that underlie all human suffering. But Buddhism teaches that anger can be overcome. Indeed, the defeat of anger is not only possible, but also the only thing worth doing in a lifetime. Thurman shows how to recognize the destructiveness of anger and understand its workings, and how we can go from being a slave to anger to becoming "a knight of patience." We discover finally that when this deadliest emotion is transmuted by wisdom, it can become the most powerful force in freeing us from human suffering.
Drawing on the time-tested wisdom of Buddhism, Robert A. F. Thurman ranges from the individual struggle with anger to global crises spurred by dogmatic ideologies, religious fanaticism, and racial prejudice. He offers a path of calm understanding in a time of terrorism and war.

Inner Revolution

Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman (yes, he is the father of Uma) was named one of Time magazine's 25 most influential people in 1997. Here's why: Thurman has a knack for helping laymen understand the teachings and history of Buddhism while also explaining why it has taken root in the West. Thurman was the first Westerner to be ordained as a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition after studying under the Dalai Lama in 1964. In this highly polished memoir he tells the story of his pupilage under His Holiness, which was a frolic in Sunday school compared to the task of integrating Buddhism into cold war America. This is an optimistic and highly satisfying discussion of how Buddhism has shaped the life of one fascinating scholar as well as the course of Western spirituality. --Gail Hudson

The New York Times calls him "America's number one Buddhist." He is the co-founder of Tibet House New York, was the first American Tibetan Buddhist monk, and has shared a thirty-five-year friendship with the Dalai Lama. Now, Robert Thurman presents his first completely original book, "an inspiring guide to incorporating Buddhist wisdom into daily life" (USA Today). Written with insight, enthusiasm, and impeccable scholarship, this is not only a practical primer on one of the world's most fascinating traditions but a wide-ranging look at the course of our civilization--and how we can alter it for the better. "Part spiritual memoir, part philosophical treatise and part religious history, Thurman's book is a passionate declaration of the possibilities of renewing the world." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Circling the Sacred Mountain: A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas

In the harsh, forsaken landscape of Western Tibet, a holy mountain rises up, the legendary center of the world. Sacred to Hindus and Buddhists alike, Mount Kailash had been in professor and popular writer Robert Thurman's mind for some time when he finally decided to organize a group and go--across the Chinese border, where he has always been persona non grata. Writer Tad Wise decides to tag along and put the adventures on paper. While recording Thurman's dharma lectures, Wise comes face to face with the magic of the mountain, its myths and its people, and haltingly transforms from cynical skeptic to tear-streaked pilgrim. Wise's writing leans toward the quirky, pushing ordinary sentences to their lapidary limits, and Thurman, as usual, tosses off tantalizing Buddhisms like "mind-body bubble" and "supreme orgasm of bliss-void-indivisible." For a book that's effectively about walking 32 miles over rubble around a remote peak, Circling the Sacred Mountain succeeds in drawing you into a mandala of swirling ideas and experiences, nudging you toward your own realizations. --Brian Bruya

In the tradition of The Snow Leopard, Circling the Sacred Mountain is a remarkable account of spiritual adventure through the magical and forbidding landscape of remote western Tibet. A promise of spiritual transformation inspired Robert Thurman-renowned Buddhist scholar, teacher, and close friend of the Dalai Lama-to take a group of trekkers to Mount Kailash, the holiest of Himalayan mountains, and teach them an accelerated path of Tibetan Buddhism. Among the group was a former student and longtime friend, Tad Wise, who struggles with Thurman's teachings as much as with the rigors of high altitude. Together, they take us through an ominous border crossing to sites few Westerners have seen: sacred graveyards, majestic monasteries, and the meditation caves of ancient masters. Chronicling the inner as well as the outer journey, confrontations both physical and metaphysical, Circling the Sacred Mountain is an exciting account of a challenging journey towards enlightenment.

The Path to Tranquility: Daily Meditations

Wouldn't it be nice to have a handy collection of highlights from the Dalai Lama's writings and teachings? Renuka Singh, a student and friend of the Dalai Lama, brings together a sampling of his words for each day of the year in The Path to Tranquility. In her selections you can sense the intimate encouragement of the student-teacher relationship. The Dalai Lama's words are not distant platitudes or profound proclamations but rather small insights and patient exhortations to keep trying. "We can deny everything except that we have the possibility of being better." "As a spiritual trainee, you must be prepared to endure the hardships of being involved in a genuine spiritual pursuit." "Nothing is more important than guarding the mind." These thoughts are germane to practical cultivation, and pondering a daily passage is a great way to keep the mind coming back to its center. Take a page from the Dalai Lama, and set yourself on the path to tranquility. --Brian Bruya

The Dalai Lama, a living symbol of holiness and selfless triumph over tribulation, has shared his philosophy of peace with today's turbulent world. Yet rarely do we hear him speak with such directness as in this collection of quotations drawn from his own writings, teachings, and interviews.

The Path To Tranquility, a fresh and accessible introduction to his inspirational wisdom, offers words of guidance, compassion, and peace that are as down to earth as they are rich in spirit. It covers almost every aspect of human life, secular and religious -- happiness, intimacy, loneliness, suffering, anger, and everyday insecurities -- with endearing informality, warmth, and practicality.