The Four Noble Truths An Introduction with Robert A.F. Thurman & Mark Epstein M.D. from the Annual Tibet House US Buddhism and Psychotherapy Program, Recorded at Menla in Phoenicia, New York August 2016
In this short video Professor Thurman gives an introduction to the ‘Four Noble Truths’ as taught in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition exploring the background of the teaching & a historical deconstruction of the concept of ‘Noble’.
“In the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, he suggested that our lives are colored by a pervasive feeling of un-satisfactoriness. He used the words dukka to describe this feeling and said that it was one of the fundamental characteristics of psychological experience. We want what we can’t have and don’t want what we do have, we want more of what we like and less of what we don’t like. We are always a little bit hungry, or a little bit defensive, anticipating the slipping away of what we have worked so hard to achieve.
Behind every suffering, Buddhist teachers say, is the desire for things to be different. This attempt to control or manage what cannot be changed interferes with our going on being.”
Mark Epstein from Going on Being
This “Four Noble Truths” Video is an excerpt from the second session archive recording of the Tibet House US retreat “Addiction, Depression & Recovery: Buddhist Psychological Insights for Mental & Spiritual Health in the Modern World” with Robert AF Thurman & Mark Epstein M.D. recorded at Menla’s Nalanda Conference Center in Phoenicia, New York, August 2016.
To learn more about upcoming programs in the heart of the Catskills with Mark Epstein M.D. please visit: www.menla.us.
“Four Noble Truths: An Introduction to Buddha’s Teaching” Photo, Created with love by Ryan McGuire. via www.gratisography.com.
To watch the full recording & more teachings from Menla please consider becoming a THUS member.
An expanded audio version of the session “Buddhism 101: Four Noble Truths – Episode #124 of the Bob Thurman Podcast” can be downloaded via iTunes or your favorite podcasting platform.
You Tube Thumbnail Photo by Nina Stössinger via www.Flickr.com + “Passion Led Us Here” Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash.
About Mark Epstein, M.D
Mark Epstein, M.D. is a psychiatrist in New York City and the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism & psychotherapy, including Thoughts without a Thinker, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart, Going on Being, Open to Desire, Psychotherapy without the Self & The Trauma of Everyday Life. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and is currently Clinical Assistant Professor in the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at New York University.
Connect with Mark Epstein M.D.
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About Robert A.F. Thurman
Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University as well as co-founder and President of Tibet House US and it’s Menla Retreat & Dewa Spa in service of HH Dalai Lama & the people of Tibet. To listen to his free weekly podcasts please visit: www.bobthurman.com.
Suggested Books & Audio by Robert A.F. Thurman:
Man of Peace: Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama (Book), Infinite Life: Awakening to Bliss Within (Book), Anger: The Seven Deadly Sins (Book), Inner Revolution (Book), Circling the Sacred Mountain : A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas (Book), Essential Tibetan Buddhism (Book), The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between (Book) The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Book), The Central Philosophy of Tibet (Book), The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: A Mahayana Scripture (Book), Life & Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Book), Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World (Book) & Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between: Living with the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Audio).
Connect with Robert A.F. Thurman
