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Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis features:

Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change your Life, by Robert Thurman.

Waylon and Elephant reconnected with Robert Thurman, Professor Emeritus of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and co-founder and President of Tibet House US in service of HH Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet, about his newest book which unpacks Buddhism in a cheerful, reader-friendly way.

In their conversation, they talk about how we can shift our perspective to see bliss in our reality, the role of democracy along the Path, and so much more.

Learn more about the book here or purchase it here.

An excerpt from Wisdom is Bliss:⁠⁠

This book is about getting real…while having fun along the way. Maybe you’re surprised to hear that things like “buddhas,” “enlightened persons,” “enlightenment,” “spirituality,” or “wisdom” have anything to do with “reality,” and even more astonishing, with “joy” or even “fun.” You might think reality is dreadful, joy is all too rare, and fun is childish, while the spiritual life is supposed to be terribly serious!⁠⁠

Let me start right off, since my life has had a lot to do with “Buddhism,” which seems highly religious, by saying that what I am going to share with you is not the religion of “Buddhism” but the experience of “buddhasm,” the full release into joy that happens when we come face-to-face with the real reality. Our goal here is not to “believe in Buddhism,” not to “be religious,” not to join a cult or subscribe to a theory. Our goal is to gain the clarity of mindful awareness and the joy of real freedom—no matter what our religion, belief system, or cultural membership.⁠⁠

I call that deep experience a “buddhasm.” And yes, I purposefully associate it with an orgasm, the blissful transport that every animal approaches with fear and trembling yet craves as a peak experience of life. ~ Robert Thurman

Excerpted with permission from Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life by Robert Thurman (Hay House, Inc.). The book is available everywhere books are sold.

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For more mindful chats, go to elephantjournal.com/talkshow.

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