Compassion and Generosity are Fun

I found this talk by Robert Thurman at Ted: Ideas Worth Spreading. Thurman came to the Minnesota in the late 70’s and early 80’s several times, once to talk about his translation of the Vimalakirti Sutra and then as a translator for his teacher Tara Tulku’s teachings on wisdom and compassion. I listened to the tapes from these talks many times as I drove to work at a local juvenile center.

I once picked Katagiri-roshi up from the airport after he had co-led a teaching on karma at Green Gulch with Thurman translating for Tara Tulku. “Tibetan very different than Zen,” said Roshi.

“How so?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” said Roshi rubbing his shaved head, “Bob Thurman talked so fast and so loud all week that I didn’t understand anything and just got headache instead.”

That left me scratching my head.

I always really like Thurman’s talks. Here I found his high energy style delightful and his talk a refreshing reminder about turning our lives around for the fun of it. Enjoy.