Opening this week's podcast with a discussion of mindfulness of the breath as it relates to the practice to reciting mantras Professor Thurman gives instructions from the Zen Buddhist tradition before introducing the root text from the 2017 Force For Good Class Series: Dr. Bo Jiang’s translation of Bodhisattva Maitreya’s "The Sublime Continuum Super-Commentary with the Sublime Continuum Treatise Commentary" published by AIBS, Tibet House US and Columbia University Press.

In this two part podcast Robert A.F. Thurman provides a quick fire summary of the historical Buddha's core teaching of The Four Noble Truths, an introduction to Buddhism's messianic figure of Maitreya, the future Buddha before going on a deep dive into the history of the 4th Century Indian Author Asanga and his brother Vasubandhu, co-founders of the Yogacara school of philosophy and a humorous perspective of the film "Death Becomes Her".

Podcast concludes a re-telling of the story of Asanga and the Dog, an in depth discussion of the Three Jewels of Buddhism (The Buddha, His Teachings and the Community of practitioners of his philosophy known formally as The Sangha) their relationship to mindful bliss, clear light, the subtle body and the death process.

Buddha's Mindful Bliss + The Sublime Continuum - Episode #168 of the Bob Thurman Podcast Photo of Hotei Buddha with Asanga and Vasubandhu by Ryan via www.flickr.com.

This talk was recorded during the "The Buddha Soul, Nature, Essence, Element, or Womb" Force For Good Class at Tibet House US in New York City, October 2017 with Robert A.F. Thurman & is apart of the THUS Member Archive.

"The Dharma doesn't Belong To Buddhism." H.H. Dalai Lama

To watch the full recordings from this + other past events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. Learn about joining the Tibet House US Membership Community with a monthly tax-deductible donation by visiting: www.tibethouse.us.

‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (