Robert Thurman’s video complements “The Illusion of Self” discourse, in unpacking the concept of “self” as a relational idea as opposed to a separate, absolute reality.
Together, the video and the discourse shed light on the similarities and differences between Buddhist and Sufi views of self and selflessness.
A prolific author and translator of ancient Buddhist manuscripts, Tenzin Robert Thurman is the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. In 1987, at the Dalai Lama’s request Thurman, with actor Richard Gere and composer Philip Glass, founded Tibet House in New York, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Tibetan culture in exile.
To watch the entire Big Think Robert Thurman video on Selflessness go to: YouTube