Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman was born on August 3,1941 and is an American Buddhist author and academic who has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism.
18 Facts About Robert Thurman
2.
Robert Thurman was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, before retiring in June 2019.
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Robert Thurman was the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West.
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Robert Thurman is the co-founder and president of the Tibet House US New York.
5.
Robert Thurman translated the Vimalakirti Sutra from the Tibetan Kanjur into English.
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Robert Thurman is of English, German, Scottish, and Irish descent.
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Robert Thurman's brother, John Thurman, is a professional concert cellist who performs with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
8.
In 1961 Robert Thurman lost his left eye in an accident while he was using a jack to lift an automobile, and the eye was replaced with an ocular prosthetic.
9.
Robert Thurman became a Buddhist and went back to India where, due to Wangyal's introduction, Robert Thurman studied with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.
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Robert Thurman was ordained by the Dalai Lama in 1965, the first American Buddhist monk of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and the two became close friends.
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In 1967, Robert Thurman returned to the United States and renounced his monk status to marry his second wife, German-Swedish model and psychotherapist Nena von Schlebrugge, who was divorced from Timothy Leary.
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Robert Thurman was professor of religion at Amherst College from 1973 to 1988, when he accepted a position at Columbia University as professor of religion and Sanskrit.
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In 1986, Robert Thurman created Tibet House US with Nena von Schlebrugge, Richard Gere and Philip Glass at the request of the Dalai Lama.
14.
In 2009, Robert Thurman starred in Rosa von Praunheim's film History of Hell - Rosas Hollenfahrt.
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Robert Thurman is known for translations and explanations of Buddhist religious and philosophical material, particularly that pertaining to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism and its founder, Je Tsongkhapa.
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Robert Thurman is considered a pioneering, creative and talented translator of Buddhist literature by many of his English-speaking peers.
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Twice married, Robert Thurman is the father of five children and grandfather to eight grandchildren.
18.
Robert and Nena Thurman have four children, including Ganden, who is executive director of Tibet House US, actress Uma Thurman, Dechen, and Mipam.