The Donkey and the Thief : A Force For Good Jataka Tale Told by Robert AF Thurman
In this short video Tibet House US President Robert AF Thurman discusses the place of near-death experience and memories of past lives in Buddhist literature and their understanding of consciousness using the story of the Jataka Tale “Donkey + The Thief” .
“Today, when the moon is full, we remember the occasion on which the Buddha displayed miracles and defeated rivals. There is a tradition of reading one of the Jataka Tales, the stories of the Buddha’s previous lives as a Bodhisattva, on this day. It’s a tradition that began with Je Tsongkhapa, who in 1409 founded the Great Prayer Festival, the Mönlam Chenmo. The festival was celebrated for 550 years in Lhasa and we have maintained the tradition since coming into exile in 1959. It was also revived to some extent in Tibet due to the influence of late Panchen Rinpoche.
In the sixties the Chinese dismissed Buddhism as a form of blind faith, predicting that with the growth of understanding of science it would wither away. This hasn’t happened. In fact, many reputed scientists today have great admiration for Buddhism as we saw in the recent Mind & Life conference in Drepung Monastery in South India.”
Dalai Lama via www.dalailama.com
“The Donkey and the Thief : A Force For Good Jataka Tale” was recorded at the 2016 Lam Rim: Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Sources Class Twelve of the Force for Good Series with Robert AF Thurman at Tibet House US.
This video is an excerpt from the Tibet House US Member video “Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Sources : Madhyamaka Lam Rim” (1:56:24) and is apart of the Force For Good Class Series.
A continuation of our course to further H. H. the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind and Life science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility).
To join the on-going #ForceForGood series please visit: www.tibethouse.us.
To listen to audio selections from the Bob Thurman Podcast about past lives please visit: www.bobthurman.com.
To watch more videos from past ‘Force for Good’ programs please visit the Tibet House US Member Archive, available to monthly supporters.
Full access starts at $2 a month.
? Music by Tenzin Choegyal, Used with Permission www.tenzinchoegyal.com
About Robert AF Thurman
Suggested Books & Audio by Robert AF 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).
