Bob Thurman’s talk at Sages & Scientists Symposium about Buddhist contributions to physics, biology, and psychology. His main points are : “… Buddha’s enlightenment is a scientific thing … Buddha was a scientist … and the gist of Buddha’s scientific discovery.” He also discusses the key issue : “is consciousness primary or matter is primary?” Of course, current scientific orthodoxy is that matter is primary however the quantum scientists are questioning that … Bob asserts that according to Buddhist science (which is borne out of Buddha’s enlightenment) “… no theory of reality is ultimate … so you can’t say reality is fundamentally consciousness or fundamentally material (non-conscious) …” … so lots to reflect upon and contemplate. Enjoy Bob’s engaging 33+ minute talk.
Robert (Bob) Thurman, is recognized worldwide as an authority on religion, spirituality, Asian history, world philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, and the history of the Dalai Lamas. He is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. Upon H.H. Dalai Lama’s request, he co-founded the American Institute of Buddhist Studies in order to translate the Tibetan Tengyur collection which is currently being published volume by volume with Columbia University Press; The Treasury of The Buddhist Sciences.
This paragraph is a short BIO for Bob, and is in lieu of our Bob Thurman’s Teacher page, which will be added shortly … and as is typical of our Teacher pages, it will provide a much more comprehensive view about Bob’s background, teachings, and wisdom.
This video is sourced from TheChopraFoundation’s YouTube channel.
