Don't be fooled by the title or the pink cover; Robert Thurman's book, "Infinite Life: Seven Virtues for Living Well," is a thoughtful philosophical look at how we view our lives and our deaths.
Thurman, who will be signing copies of the book at the UofA Bookstore at 4 p.m. Tuesday and speaking in Room 101 of the Social Sciences building at 7:30 p.m. the same day, is a professor at Columbia University, a close personal friend of the Dalai Lama and the father of actress Uma Thurman.
In this book, he has presented the principles of Buddhism in a way that seeks to enlighten and educate, rather than convert.
"I'm just presenting the ancient enlightening education system that I consider Buddhism to be, not the religion," Thurman said. "I'm not trying to convert anybody to Buddhism."
The basic tenet of Buddhism that Thurman works with is the idea of reincarnation ÷ an infinite life that does not end at death, but recycles throughout eternity. In the book, Thurman argues, "When you realize the boundless nature of your self, you know your immorality and so take responsibility for its good quality."
At first glance, the book looks like it's going to be a lot of cymbal-chiming, tea-drinking, New Age nonsense, but Thurman is better than that. All of his claims are supported with very intelligent philosophical reasoning, anything from Nietzsche to "The Matrix." He also provides a number of good contemporary and historical examples to illustrate his argument.
Though there is a lot of religious talk, he is very careful not to ignore the skeptical scientists out there.
"I think that scientists get a little bit dogmatic," he said. "They have picked this idea of materialism and they decide that there is no future life, but they dismiss a lot of evidence for it."
Thurman argues that those who believe in the "terminal life" that ends at death feel meaningless, and therefore are not responsible for their actions.
"A psychologist who has someone who believes they have no responsibility for what they do would say that person was sociopathic or psychopathic," he said.
The infinite life, on the other hand, holds you accountable for your actions. The seven virtues that Thurman discusses ÷ wisdom, generosity, justice, patience, creativity, contemplation and the art of infinite living ÷ are supposed to guide you through the best possible life.
Reincarnation is supposed to be something like the movie "Groundhog Day," said Thurman. "By living according to the seven virtues and these principles of Buddhism, eventually we should be able to get it right. This is the art of infinite living that Bill Murray finally masters at the end of the movie.
"We're going to keep repeating it until we get it right," he said. "Bill Murray, he's the Buddha."
The book also examines modern American culture, which Thurman feels is bound to the "terminal lifestyle."
"We inherited imperialism," he said. "We inherited the idea that the universe is our horizon to conquer and to extract whatever we want without being responsible to rebuild it, and without being caught in the depleted situation afterwards."
You can take this book as seriously or as lightly as you want. As an introduction to Buddhism, this text can be very interesting and engaging. If you want to completely overhaul your worldview, and way of living, this book can bring you that, too. There is no reason why you have to stop everything you've been doing and follow this book word for word.
Quoting another Bill Murray movie, "What About Bob," Thurman said, "With infinite life, you can do everything in baby steps."