Why We Suffer And How Not To with Robert Thurman

Before I became a doctor, I actually studied Buddhism. I wanted to understand the root of human suffering, and through that understand the way to creating happiness. I realized that by becoming a doctor, I could help people alleviate suffering in multiple ways. Better yet, through Functional Medicine, I could get to the root cause of why the body is struggling and correct it from the ground up. My interest in Buddhism was sparked when my sister took me, at just 15 years old, to a lecture by Professor Robert Thurman, the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism. My life has never been the same, and I was thrilled to sit down and tell him that on this episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy. Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University; President of the Tibet House U.S., a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan civilization; and President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, a non-profit affiliated with the Center for Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and dedicated to the publication of translations of important artistic and scientific treatises from the Tibetan Tengyur. Time chose Professor Thurman as one of its 25 most influential Americans in 1997, describing him as a “larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, from Asia to America.” *For context this interview was recorded in April 2020 Here are more of the details from our interview: Robert’s description of “Buddhism in a nutshell” (11:04) The first Noble Truth (or fact) of Buddhism: Recognizing that we suffer (15:30) The second Noble Truth (or fact) of Buddhism: Misunderstanding that our reality causes suffering (20:13) The third Noble Truth (or fact) of Buddhism: Freedom from suffering (22:44) The fourth Noble Truth (or fact) of Buddhism: The 8-fold path of education, or training (26:24) Using Buddhism as a lens for dealing with COVID-19 and all the resulting suffering (31:02) Changing our relationship to fear through empathy (37:37) Robert’s experience as a young man, traveling to India, and meeting the Dalai Lama (42:16) Robert’s psychedelic experience and how psychedelics be used to treat and educate (45:21) Book recommendations to go inward, and learn more about Buddhist thought and the environmental movement (59:02) Learn more about Robert Thurman at https://bobthurman.com/ Follow Robert on Facebook @Robert.A.F.Thurman and on Twitter @bobthurman Listen to Robert’s podcast at https://bobthurman.com/bob-thurman-podcast/