Dr Thurman blew my mind.

Did you ever go somewhere and leave so utterly surprised your mind is swimming?  How can I even get it down on paper and blog?  I know libraries are not usually the place for personal transformation but you got your fun and I got mine.

My close friend got tickets to hear Dr. Robert Thurman at the Newport Public Library.  His topic was "The Spirituality of True Capitalism (Generosity = Prosperity).  Just in case you don't know much about Robert Thurman ~ An international authority on world religions and spirituality, Asian history, philosophy and Tibetan Buddhism, Robert Thurman is an eloquent teacher of the relevance of Eastern knowledge and ideas to our daily lives. The first Westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk, he is a leading voice of reason, peace and compassion for these turbulent times.  In fact, I have all of his books and had a hard time deciding which one to bring to be signed.

His talk was smart, academic, funny and oddly specific.  As you can guess he was talking to some of the wealthiest people on his lecture circuit.  He explained that wealth brings with it a karmic duty.  The wealthy are called to a life of generosity.  A rich birth and incarnation is an invitation to care for the poor and giving it away responsibly sets in motion a new birth of prosperity. 

He explained that Buddhism is a system of knowledge and science.  Of course, he talked about the brilliant mind of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  He told stories about the Buddha and his relationship with the merchant class.  He talked about Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and philanthropy.  And he was very forthcoming (in the middle of the OC!) about the country and the leadership being out of balance. 

Finally he accepted questions.  One man asked about his life as a monk in Tibet.  Thurman told us how his teacher knew he would not always be a monk. Eventually he left the monastery and re-entered the life of a layman.  He married, has 5 children and 5 grandchildren.  The next question was about his children.  Thurman shared stories about how they keep him humble and centered. 

And then a man in the front row asked him, "What do you think is the state of Enlightenment in the world?"  Dr. Thurman walked over to him and said it is not very good.  "You can see it in the fact that the ERA failed."  He continued, "The advancement of the country and the world depends on women."  He mentioned how interesting it is that the highest divorce rate in the US is among Christian Fundamentalists where "women are reaching up to break out of the patriarchy."  He went on to say that men will not lead the world forward; it will be women and the question is will women stand up and take it on.   

I must have been dreaming. 

Comments

[Dave Pilon]

Sounds like a wonderful presentation! Isn't it wonderful when the people we admire and respect validate who we are? You weren't dreaming, just evidence of your connection with him, I think...

[Tim]

Yo say "My close friend got tickets to hear Dr. Robert Thurman at the Newport Public Library. His topic was "The Spirituality of True Capitalism (Generosity = Prosperity)." - which blew your mind.

It sounds like the sort of boring lecture that would send you to sleep - your friend should get out more and live a little.