If Slavoj Zizek is the Elvis Presley of cultural theory, then Robert Thurman is the Keith Richards of Buddhist theology. Seriously: The guy rocks incredibly hard, has serious staying power, and glamour just sticks to him. At Buddhist Daily Practice Within the Vision of Tantra, Thurman's subject is nearly indecipherable to the layperson, described by organizers as "one of the Dalai Lama's favorite meditational visions and disciplines as the matrix of a down-to-earth, daily practice of living the evolutionary life." But Thurman, father of a certain famous, lithe someone with the same last name, clears it all up in that cosmo-hilarious-peaceable way of serious Buddhist scholars and leaves you glad to be alive.
Wed., Feb. 11, 7 p.m., 2009