The imagery of Tibetan tantric symbolism is potent and often shocking to those unfamiliar with the meanings of Buddhist art. In this podcast Professor Thurman explores how art is used in Buddhist Cultures as a way to stimulate the mind to develop the imagination needed to conceive of enlightenment & Buddhahood.
Using selections from the Tibet House US Repatriation + MET Collections Professor Thurman details the rituals, rites, and texts involved in the quest for spiritual detachment from the corporal body.
This recording is an excerpt from the Annual Lecture on South and Southeast Asian Art talk “Ritual in Contemplation: Text and Tools in Tantric Buddhism” given at The Metropolitan Museum in 2012.
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Thangka from ‘Tangkas Today: Masterpieces from the Dharmapala Thangka Center of Kathmandu‘ by Karsang Lama on display at Tibet House US March 10-May 11, 2017.
The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.
Teaching from the pilgrimage sites in Bodhgaya Professor Thurman opens this podcast with a discussion of how the Buddha redefined the concept of truth...
This podcast begins with an introduction to the Buddhist wisdom nagas by Professor Thurman through recounting a story from HH Dalai Lama‘s visit to...
In this two part podcast Professor Thurman discusses the Galenic, Chinese, and Ayurvedic methodologies found in Traditional Himalayan Medicine or Sowa Rigpa’s “Science of...
