A recognized worldwide authority on religion and spirituality, Asian history, philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, and Tibetan history, Robert Thurman is an eloquent advocate of the relevance of Eastern ideas to our daily lives. In 1997, he was named one of Time magazine's 25 most influential Americans and has been profiled by The New York Times and People Magazine. He has appeared on Larry King, Oprah, and numerous other venues on radio and television. He has testified for the US Congress and lectured at numerous universities in America, Europe and Asia.
His own search began while he was a student at Harvard. After an accident in which he lost the use of an eye, Thurman left on a spiritual quest throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia . He found his way to India, where he first met the Tibetans. After learning Tibetan and studying Buddhism he decided to become a Tibetan Buddhist priest and was the first Westerner to earn that distinction. Some years later, he returned to Harvard to finish his PhD., subsequently teaching at Amherst College, Harvard University, and now, Columbia University, where he holds the Jey Tsong Khapa Chair in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies.
Among his popular books, Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Real Happiness, Anger, Circling the Sacred Mountain, Infinite Life, The Jewel Tree of Tibet, and The Tibetan Book of Tibet, have received numerous nominations and awards and are translated into eleven languages. His translations from Tibetan and Sanskrit include The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti, Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature, Essential Tibetan Buddhism. His scholarly studies include The Central Philosophy of Tibet; Wisdom and Compassion, The Sacred Art of Tibet; Mandala, The Architecture of Enlightenment; Worlds of Transformation.
Presently, Thurman is the chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Columbia University, in which capacity he is involved in the development of an Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion and Humanism (final name to be determined).