Robert A.F. Thurman

Tantric Ngagpa Lama Doctor, Yuthok Yonten Gonpo the Younger (1126-1202 CE), transmitted the Buddha’s medical knowledge and teaching developed over 17 centuries by learned and enlightened mendicant and lay physicians in various kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent, revealed outside Vaishali city by Shākyamuni Buddha and transformed for the occasion into the dark blue sapphire-colored radiant Eighth Medicine Guru Buddha (Bhaiṣhajyaguru Buddha). In fact, the Younger Yuthok was himself considered an emanation of the Medicine Buddha, resurrecting the Indian Four Medicine Tantras codified by Vāgbhaṭṭa, the vast literature of Indian Buddhist medicine that burned with the destruction of the Library of…

Andrew Harvey and Robert Thurman are great old friends who have been sharing their insights and passions for over 30 years and who taught a very galvanizing course on the Shift Network on the Buddha and the Christ. Both of them are aware that humanity has come to its defining evolutionary ordeal manifesting through its narcissism and hubris a ferocious global dark night which threatens its extinction. Both are also aware that this terrible situation, unprecedented in its intensity and scope, offers extraordinary possibilities for radical spiritual growth and for a creative re-visioning of all human structures through the next…

Join us for the closing term of our Vajrayoga school. Spring term we will study Vajrayana Tantra and the Vajra body in depth and expand our study of comparative Hatha yoga and non-dual traditions. Kalachakra, Yamantaka, Guhyasamaja-Esoteric Community Tantra, Chakrasamvara, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead will be explored along with the Hatha yoga Pradipika & Yoga Taravali. In-Person Retreat: May 30-June 5, 2023 at Menla Online livestreams from April 14-May 27, 2023. Weekly live lectures with Robert Thurman Fridays 11-1pm EST & Yoga practices with Michele Loew Saturdays 11-1:30pm EST. Curated pre-recorded materials on Buddhist Tantra, Vajrayoga, and…

Revitalize your life through immersing yourself in the rich wisdom, poetry and practices of the ancient yogis and sages. This is a weekend of renewing and reprioritizing your happiness, health, and sense of purpose. Using healing yoga practices, breathwork, and dharma teachings, we will tap our inner reservoir of life-force and re-emerge into our life with a newfound vitality. Around 500 CE Shakyamuni Buddha hid his Mahāyāna Sutra and Tantra teachings, entrusting them for safe keeping to the Nagas, divine lords of the watery underworld. Then, when Indian culture was ready to receive them, around 50 BCE the saintly Nāgārjuna…

In the early part of his career, Dr. Epstein kept his beliefs as a Buddhist separate from his work as a psychiatrist. But as he became more forthcoming with his patients about his personal spiritual leanings, he was surprised how many of them were eager to learn more. The divisions between the psychological, emotional, and spiritual, he soon realized, were not as distinct as one might think. In his recent book, The Zen of Therapy, Dr. Epstein reflected on a year’s worth of selected sessions with his patients and observed how, in a given hour, his Buddhist background subtly influenced…

This advanced retreat explores the nature of mind and reality from the perspective of the nondual traditions. A host of ancient and modern methods for touching into the nature of mind will be explored, including analytic meditation, the practice of open awareness, devotion (via guru yoga), mantra, breathwork, nature dharma, cutting-through practices, and the nocturnal meditations. It is a no-nonsense deep dive into the heart of nonduality, and the philosophical, psychological, and even scientific disciplines (of quantum theory) that support this highest view. While held within the context of Tibetan Buddhism, this retreat is open to anyone interested in exploring…

September 22, 2023 to April 19th, 2024 Course kick off online September 22nd, weekly livestreams and online. In-Person Fall Practice Immersion at Menla:  November 6-13th. Use this link to register for the in person event! Schedule for In-Person Retreat Monday, November 6 3 – 6 pm Arrival & Check-in 6 – 7 pm Dinner 7:30 – 9 pm Orientation with Bob and Michele Tuesday, November 7 – Sunday, November 12 7 – 8 am Meditation & Nejang Practice with Michele Loew 8 – 9 am Breakfast 10 am – 12:30 pm Asana Training, Technique/ Teaching Methodology with Michele 12:30 –…

Don’t miss your chance to join an all-star team of teachers and practitioners of Indic yogic sciences for a weeklong Vajrayoga study and practice intensive, “A Mahasiddha Reunion: Devotion, Wisdom, and Taras’ Magic” December 11 – 17 at Menla or online. Space is very limited for the in-person option, so sign up now for this amazing opportunity to study and practice with some of the best minds and hearts in the field! This stand-alone hybrid Vajrayoga intensive explores the so-far little-known common origins and philosophical and practical relationships between Tantric Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Hathayoga. You will leave this retreat physically…