In this illuminating conversation, Hameed Ali Almaas and Robert Thurman will discuss the subject of being and nonbeing, emptiness and presence and how this is a foray into the unknown depths of being. What is meant by emptiness? What is its direct experience? Is there is only one emptiness or different kinds or degrees? And how does this combine with being or presence in manifestation? Learn whether there are differences between the Buddhist perspective and The Diamond Approach.
Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in the Middle East, but at age 18 he moved to the USA to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics, where he was studying Einstein’s theory of general relativity and nuclear physics, when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him more and more into inquiring into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature. Hameed is the founder of the Diamond Approach® – a spiritual teaching that utilizes a unique kind of inquiry into realization, where the practice is the expression of realization. This inquiry opens up the infinite creativity of our Being, transforming our lives into a runaway realization, moving from realization to further realization. Almaas’ books include: The Inner Journey Home, Essence, The Pearl Beyond Price, Luminous Night’s Journey, and The Unfolding Now.
Robert A.F. Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University, President of the Tibet House U.S., a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan civilization, and 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 artistic and scientific treatises from the Tibetan Tengyur. Time chose Professor Thurman as one of its 25 most influential Americans in 1997, describing him as a “larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, from Asia to America.” The New York Times recently said Thurman “is considered the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism.” Thurman is known as a talented popularizer of the Buddha’s teachings.
