 On
October 8, 2008, the Foundation of
the Sacred Stream hosted Robert A. F. Thurman in a benefit for Tibet
House, a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and
promotion of Tibetan culture. The evening began with Dr. Thurman
signing copies of his new book, Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of
Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World, for the 50
people who had gathered to hear him speak about "The Buddhist Cosmos:
Death, Life, and History as Evolution.”
Dr. Thurman
is a scholar of
international renown and we were very fortunate to be able to invite
him to speak. His unique take on the relevance of Buddhism to American
culture and politics, and his wit and creativity in weaving ancient
Buddhist wisdom and popular Western ideals made his talk as
entertaining as it was informative. As the evening progressed, Dr.
Thurman demonstrated his deep engagement with the group by addressing
specific aspects of his talk to the interests of certain individuals,
addressing them by name. (At one point, he even broke into
French--demonstrating a very decent accent!--to address Marion
Lovinger, a native French speaker, on a point of interest she had
mentioned during their brief conversation during the reception. )
Dr. Thurman’s
reflections on the
future of Buddhism in the West and the emergence of meditational
therapies were of special interest to the Depth Hypnosis Practitioners
who were present. Some of his remarks on this subject follow.
Before we can
guess where Buddhism is headed in the West, we have to state what we
think Buddhism is. Arnold Toynbee, in 1971, said that the most
important event to happen in the West in the 20th Century would be seen
in retrospect by historians as the West's encounter with Buddhism. He
was not speaking of Buddhism as primarily a religion. He saw Buddhism
as movement of the axial age. The axial age is an era which began about
2500 years ago where you have the pre-Socratics, Confucius, Buddha, Lao
Tzu, Zoroaster, and the Upanishad seekers in the East. Through their
discoveries, they were participating in the turning of the world, which
is why this was called the 'axial age.'
Buddha was a major player during this time. Toynbee saw Buddhism as a
major movement of the axial age, consisting of ethical protest against
the tyranny of kings – a protest that is still going on today. Because
Buddhism encompasses social reform, philosophical and scientific
innovation, he saw Buddhism as the most complete axial age philosophy.
It was the most complete because India was the most advanced culture of
the age. This is why Buddha went there. He was teaching individualism,
the going beyond of routinized social roles, developing the
individual's true potential, the liberation of the mind.
So when Buddhism encounters the global culture of today, it is capable
of reinforcing the incomplete Greco-Roman movements of the axial age in
the West. We look at Athens and talk about democracy – it was
democratic for about 15 years. The rest of the time, it was dominated
by tyrants. The Iliad, for instance, is really just a Rambo or Chuck
Norris film. There is a lot of bullying going on there. So,
Toynbee sees Buddhism not as a religious movement in the West, but as a
different social, philosophical or ethical movement that can complete
the western movements toward innovation today.
My view of the future of Buddhism in America in the next 30 years is
very germane to your work. Buddhism is realism, it is being realistic.
And I think the future of Buddhism lies in this realism, in
meditational therapies which help reveal this realism.
One attendee
reacted to the lecture: "I knew that Robert Thurman was a major force
in the world today, but I really was not prepared for the breadth and
width of his mind. His ability to weave together seemingly disparate
events and demonstrate their connectivity is really breathtaking."
Another attendee said, "His humanness is what impressed me most. This
is a man who is very, very famous. Yet, he was able to interact with us
in such a personal way. I felt he was truly interested in me and my
interests. " Someone new to Robert Thurman's work said, " I feel like a
whole new world was opened to me tonight. I cannot wait to read this
book – and every other book Dr. Thurman has written."
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