Robert A. F. Thurman is the Je Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, the first endowed chair in this field of study in the United States. He is also the President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, a non-profit affiliated with the Center for Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and dedicated to the publication of translations of important texts from the Tibetan Tanjur, and the co-founder and president of Tibet House U.S., a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan civilization. Dr. Thurman is highly-regarded for his lucid, dynamic translations and explanations of Buddhist religious and philosophical material, particularly that pertaining to the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism and its founder, Je Tsong Khapa, including The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1994), Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness (1999), and Infinite Life: Seven Virtues for Living Well (2004). In 1997, Time chose Professor Thurman as one of its 25 most influential Americans, describing him as a "larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the dharma, the precious teachings of Siddhartha, from Asia to America." At the age of 24, he became the first American monk of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. A close friend of Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama, he has served as occasional translator to the 14th Dalai Lama. He is married to Nena von Schlebrugge, and is the father of five children, Taya, Ganden, Uma, Dechen, and Mipam, and the grandfather of five.

Ideas recorded on: 6/1/2007