Robert ThurmanRobert 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., and President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. He is a talentd and riveting speaker on the Buddha's teachings, voted by Time magazine as one of its 25 most influential Americans in 1997 calling him a "larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Siddhartha, from Asia to America." popularizer of the Buddha's teachings. He is authored many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture, including Circling the Sacred Mountain, Essential Tibetan Buddhism, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, and, most recently, Why The Dalai Lama Matters. Read More Read Less