Introduction to the asceticism as created by the historical Buddha in the original mendicant community of male & female followers of his teachings. Robert A.F. Thurman discusses the difference between Theravada and Universal Vehicle (Mahayana) Buddhism, comparing the Nirvana aspiring mendicants and Enlightenment aspiring Bodhisattvas — the variances in their ways of thinking and the impacts they have on the societies they live among.
Includes a discussion of the revolutionary & cultural disruptive nature of structures supporting a class of life long dedicated practitioners of mind transformation, wisdom studies and material renunciation.
Professor Thurman concludes this podcast by framing the mendicant's asceticism to be a logical declaration of the interconnected, inter-relational nature of reality, "The Invention of the Americas: Eclipse of "the Other" and the Myth of Modernity" by Enrique Dussel & The Stamford Prison Experiment & with a "Mad Scientist" meditation.
Freedom of Asceticism: Buddha's Free Lunch Podcast Thumbnail by Andrea Kirkby via www.flickr.com.
In this episode Professor Thurman, Richard Freeman, and John Campbell compare and contrast the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Brilliant Illumination of the Lamp...
Examining cultural norms through the lens of compassion, when grounded in the Centrist mind training perspectives of India + Tibet can transform one’s relationship...
In this two part podcast Professor Thurman discusses the value of studying Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana by anyone interested in improving their mind, relationships and...
