Beyond not being thrown on the street by his wife and raising children, Thurman is proud of his translation called Central Philosophy of Tibet.

Question: What is your proudest achievement?

Robert Thurman: Well I think my proudest achievement I think is a, managing not to be thrown out of the house by my wife for forty years and also having brought up four children who I admire. And a fifth who I wasn’t able to help that much because of a divorce situation but who is also a wonderful person and trying to help her a little bit, and those are my proudest achievements. Now intellectually, I think my translation called “Central Philosophy of Tibet” and my study of the, what is called the Central Wave Philosophy of Buddhism, of India but then Buddhism, and presenting it in the current of contemporary philosophy and helping, leading, I think, different philosophers towards a more critical understanding of the world.

Very related to people like Vidka Sided Deradon, people like that, but not nihilistic like they tend to get maintaining a more positive view of relativity that they all could achieve. I think intellectually that’s my achievement. But, but before that the sort of a phillighten I would consider, and raise a family that’s a great achievement.

Recorded on: June 1, 2007