Customer Reviews

God and Buddha - A Dialogue

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The DVD "God and Buddha: a dialog" is a 90-minute long co-production of Mystic Fire Video and Tibet House. Mystic Fire Video is a publisher of works on a wide range of topics in the life of the mind, including experimental video art, documentaries on ancient cultures, portraits of accomplished spiritual leaders and interesting works on the holistic sciences. Tibet House, of New York City, is dedicated to the proposition that the wisdom and art of all human civilizations will vitally enrich the emerging global culture. Within this, they focus on a special concern for Tibet.

This dialog is a document of a live presentation between Columbia University professor Robert Thurman and Deepak Chopra MD, a student of Indian Philosophy and author of instructional books. Mr. Chopra presents views from Vedanta, one of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy. The term Vedanta refers both to the wisdom of the Upanishads, which makes up the last section of the Veda, and to the realization of its ultimate significance. Mr. Thurman presents views from Buddhism, which is a kind of reform movement within Hindu thought that has become an independent pluralistic tradition of it's own.

Within the first 20 minutes of the program, Mr. Chopra sums up the core teaching of Vedanta. He describes some of the causes of human suffering and also describes some of the suggested paths to discovering the true nature of reality. Most of the rest of the program is a kind of free-flowing meditation on the implications of these teachings.

Mr. Chopra, with a background in the field of medicine, conveys his insight and knowledge through a kind of systematic, formal approach to verbal communication. Mr. Thurman, with his years of experience in engaging skeptical college students, takes a more anecdotal approach. He works to win the attention, and ultimately the heart, of his audience.

"God and Buddha: a dialog" , presented against a backdrop of beautiful tapestry art at Tibet House, will provide many interesting insights to those who already have some background in Eastern philosophy. For a better introduction to these two traditions, however, this reviewer recommends the "Religions of the World" tape set, narrated by Ben Kingsley for Schlessinger Media.

Video production quality is really not an issue here. Content Rules. Even with a few weak camera shots, it gets the job done.
I have several audiotapes & CD's of Deepak Chopra, but I rate this DVD very highly for anyone who has a true appreciation for Deepak's work. Shot in 2000, this 90 minute discussion at the Tibet House in NY is worth its weight in gold. The issues discussed by Buddhist scholar Bob Thurman & Chopra foreshadow 9-11, and Deepak's recent book on Peace. I found the parallels between Buddhism and Vedanta very very interesting indeed. It has expanded my own interest. I really wish that this video could be seen on public television, because it could really help humans use religion as a common tool instead of a divisive weapon. I highly recommend this DVD, God & Buddha. Very rare, precious, and stimulating. I intend to screen it for some of my friends. I think even someone who never heard a Chopra tape would appreciate the deep insights into the nature of consciousness and personal growth.
I am currently listening to Chopra's more recent audio CD's "The Book of Secrets" and I believe I am enjoying them even more because I saw this older DVD. I found this DVD by accident, and I'm so glad I purchased it.

Two experts compliment each other in a free form discussion. We are immediately introduced to Vedanta by Deepak Chopra. And it is quite surprising because you are expecting some sort of new age concepts to come from him; instead you get ageless concepts that tell you what you knew before you ever heard of Vedanta. Then Bob Thurman ties this to Buddha and explains that the only difference is semantics.

The balance of the presentation is going into more detail and describing experiences that relate to the original insights.

Deepak is spellbinding from the beginning as he describes reality as a magical projection of divine consciousness. Robert Thurman takes a tad getting used to because at first you are thinking he is either "Mad Eye Moody" or Uma's father; then you settle down and replay what he is saying.

You may need to play this in small snippets so you can contemplate the thoughts placed forward. This is also an excellent place to do some supplemental reading of the Upanishads.

You will find your self repeating this presentation to pick up ideas that you want to expand on after testing them out.

How to Know God

Does it really matter that this isn't a big budget DVD? The fact is you have the opportunity to listen to 2 of (in my opinion) the most knowledgable human beings on earth at our present time. More people should listen and learn what they are trying to teach us instead of being self absorbed in their surroundings and judgements. I very much enjoyed this and I believe anyone interested in learning more about life would also. Plus, I really don't believe the quality was that bad, I've seen worse. I felt good after watching it and isn't that what it is all about..... feeling good and improving our relationship with ourself, others, and creation. Peace.

I find it fascinating to see things from any perspective other than the Catholic ways I was brought up with. I knew there was more and I find Deepak Chopra's interpretation easy to understand and more sensible than any other teachings I have heard. Highly recommend!

I found it pretty odd that Thurman repeatedly stated and/or agreed that the only difference between Buddhism and Vedanta was "semantic."
Even Dzogchen, which was once considered "heretical" among Buddhists because it _seemed_ to be Vedanta is not the same thing as Vedanta. Now that we have many more Dzogchen texts freely available, this is more evident than ever. The differences are more than semantic. Furthermore, no Buddhist sect agrees with this.

However, you will see the reverse: Vedantists claim Buddha as one of their own, as an avatar of Vishnu. This effectively downplays the Buddha and everything he taught, when in fact his teaching was a direct response to Vedanta.

Vedantists don't really follow what the Buddha taught since they still hold Vedantic views on Karma (which are significantly different from Buddhist views on Karma) and Brahman and Atman, so for them to claim Buddha is really teaching the same thing as Vedanta is a claim that just doesn't hold up. Buddha came from India and, if he meant the same thing, surely he would have said so. He didn't just use different words to say the same thing, either; just explore the differences between Buddhist Karma and Vedantic Karma on Wikipedia for a quick proof.

The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said it is good to see the similarities in various philosophies and religious traditions, but it is equally important to note the differences. There are thousands of pages of texts out there detailing the specific yanas of Buddhist thought and Vedanta thought and why they are different.

In the beginning of the video, Deepak relates a story of when he met the Dalai Lama. He mentions how the Dalai Lama stopped him cold in the middle of his thoughts, as he was trying to relate his ideas about God and asked him, "If I believed what you say, what benefit is there?" Deepak says that experience showed him that regardless of the vast expanses of mental voyaging and enlightenment the Dalai Lama surely must experience that he is at heart a very practical man. Robert Thurman smiled and nodded as if to say, "Yep! That's my Dalai Lama alright!" but he seems to have missed the point. The Dalai Lama knows enough through personal experience that he does not believe in God or a soul, just as the Buddha did not believe in God or a soul. Yet, Thurman repeatedly agreed with Deepak that they're talking about the same thing. That's a pretty bad mistake and one that has lowered my opinion of his opinions considerably.

Anyone who wants to give my review the "thumbs down," please leave a comment stating which Buddhist sect believes Buddhism and Vedanta are the same and provide link to evidence. Thanks.

One could go one forever into abstractions and into the infinite and unbounded, as Deepak says here, but how can what we do now make a difference and make the world a better place? Ponder that and buy the DVD, I suspect most questioning people will find much. I have watched it many times over and still never got to its end, bothe literally and figuratively............

Anything done by Chopra deserves to be appreciated. This is another jewel that shines with wisdom and spiritual awareness.

Listened to this first from Netflix and had to have a copy. It is so clear. Deepak Chopra is unsurpassed in his explanations. This is the real goods. If all this is new to you, listen several times and then listen to the CD of The Secret. This is not some new age bull. This is the actual defining of reality.

God and Buddha are where Robert Thurman, a man who knows about India, and Deepak Chopra who is from India but western educated, and approaches with more of a logical foresight. Technically, the DVD itself is low budget, and the camera work is poor at best. There are some previews on the DVD of other shows by Mystic Fire Video, along the same lines. It lasted one hour twenty five minutes, and I watched it all. This was the first time I had ever seen or heard of these two speakers. Though Robert Thurman is very knowledgeable, but I did not really care for his style of speaking. He had a few moments that made me think, but over all found him hard to follow with his thoughts all over. And his words did not flow out very well, sometimes even forgetting all together what he was talking about. However, I found Deepak Chopra very good at speaking, a man who thinks on his feet and has a very logical approach. Though I don't agree with all he says, but I do agree with the way he thinks things out. I will be looking for more on Deepak Chopra in the future.