Empathy & Women in Buddhism: Embracing the Sacred Feminine with Robert Thurman & Isa Gucciardi Ph.D. at Menla
Using the Avatamsaka Sutra ‘Flower Ornament Sutra’ as a jumping off point Professor Thurman discusses the importance of women & the feminine in the Buddhist mind training tradition.
“Some people have criticized me, calling me a ‘male chauvinist’, because I am not exercising my alleged authority. But I cannot decide this on my own. However, what I can do is to encourage nuns to study the classic texts. Biologically there is no difference between the brains of men and women and the Buddha clearly gave equal rights to men and women. In tantra women are accorded special respect and yet when it comes to Vinaya we have to follow tradition.
The Dharma is at a critical juncture. You might think that it would be good to spend the rest of your life as a hermit, but we also need qualified people to teach others. Once you complete your studies we need some of you nuns to teach. In the future it will be very important that there are also nuns to teach. More than that, we also need nuns to teach in our secular schools. In the past, because they had not studied themselves, parents were unable to teach their children the Dharma.”
An excerpt from the second afternoon of Isa Gucciardi & Robert AF Thurman’s Tibet House US Retreat “Embracing the Sacred Feminine” recorded March 2016 at Menla in Phoenicia, New York.
To watch more recordings from this program please visit: www.tibethouse.us.
To learn about upcoming programs with Isa Gucciardi Ph.D. + Robert AF Thurman at Menla in Phoencia, New York please visit: www.menla.us.
About Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., holds degrees and certificates in trans-personal psychology, cultural and linguistic anthropology, comparative religion, hypnotherapy, and transformational healing. She has spent over 30 years studying spiritual, therapeutic, and meditative techniques from around the world.
Isa is the creator of the ground-breaking therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis, and the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream.
In addition to training hundreds of people to be spiritual counselors in Depth Hypnosis, she has taught thousands of students seeking personal growth in the Foundation of the Sacred Stream’s academic programs of Applied Shamanism, Applied Buddhist Psychology, Integrated Energy Medicine, and Empowered Living.
She teaches nationally and internationally and has an active counseling practice in San Francisco, CA.. Her clients include corporate executives, ministers and religious officials from all faiths, supervisors of social agencies, business coaches, psychotherapists, midwives, medical doctors, parents and everyday people seeking deeper understanding about themselves.
Suggested Books by Isa Gucciardi Ph.D.
Coming to Peace: Resolving Conflict Within Ourselves And With Others | Return to the Great Mother
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