RICHARD: MANY COUNTRIES, BUT WE
WORKED IN FOUR:
THAILAND, NEPAL, INDIA, AND
BANGLADESH.
WOLFSIE: YOUR LOVELY WIFE IS
SITTING OVER HERE, AND WE
WON'T HAVE A CHANCE TO INTERVIEW
HER, BUT IN A WAY, I TEASED THIS
IN THE LAST SEGMENT, YOU HAD TO
MARRY
HER. AND THE REASON I WANT YOU
TO TELL THAT STORY, IT SHOWS
SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT IT'S LIKE
TO GO AND
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN ANOTHER
CULTURE. SO COULD YOU TELL ME
BRIEFLY WHY YOU HAD TO MARRY
HER?
RICHARD: OK, SO THAILAND IS
VERY, YOU KNOW, VERY
STRONG CONSERVATIVE, TRADITIONAL
CULTURE. AND THERE ARE CERTAIN
RULES. THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT
THAN
WESTERN ATTITUDES. AND SO
REALLY, THE WHOLE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE SEXES IS COMPLETELY
CHAPERONED AND ORCHESTRATED, ALL
RIGHT. SO WE MAYBE FELL OUT OF
THE TRADITIONAL CHAPERONING
SITUATION, A LITTLE BIT OF THE
MIXING OF THE WESTERN AND THE
EASTERN MENTALITY. BUT I
REALIZED THAT I HAD GOTTEN
INVOLVED TO A LEVEL THAT...
WOLFSIE: IT WAS APPROPRIATE,
YEAH.
RICHARD: IN ORDER TO RESPECT AND
TO HONOR HER
AND HER FAMILY AND HER
TRADITION, THAT INDEED WE WOULD
GET MARRIED.
WOLFSIE: BUT HONESTLY, REAL
QUICKLY, AT THAT POINT YOU
WEREN'T SURE YOU'D BE MARRIED
STILL TODAY, IS THAT FAIR TO
SAY?
RICHARD: WELL, YEAH, ONE OF THE,
YES IT IS FAIR, AND ONE OF
THE THINGS I THINK ABOUT IS IF
SHE HAD, IF I MAY SAY, PUSHED IT
TO THAT LEVEL AND THE INFLUENCE
OF THE CULTURE
AND HER FAMILY, I SHOULD SAY AS
WELL, LIKE HER BROTHER, THE, AH,
MAYBE I WOULD HAVE STAYED A
BACHELOR, NOT HAD
CHILDREN, WHICH TO ME ARE A
GREAT GLORY.
WOLFSIE: IT'S A GREAT STORY. OK,
SO LET ME SHIFT A LITTLE
BIT ON THIS. OBVIOUSLY YOU
BROUGHT TO THESE PEOPLE, YOU
KNOW, YOU PROVIDED MEDICAL
SERVICES THAT WERE
UNAVAILABLE. TELL ME, FOR YOU,
AS A JEW ALSO, HOW HINDUISM,
BUDDHISM, WHAT DID YOU LEARN
FROM THAT THAT
WOULD HELP YOU WITH MEDICINE?
RICHARD: WELL, I THINK BOTH OF
THESE RELIGIONS ARE
VERY...
WOLFSIE: AND MUSLIM, YEAH.
RICHARD: YEAH, WELL, THAT'S A
SORT OF DIFFERENT, THAT'S
MORE IN OUR TRADITION, THE
WESTERN TRADITION.
WOLFSIE: RIGHT.
RICHARD: BUT LET'S SAY THE
HINDUISM, BUDDHIST ASPECTS,
WHICH ARE VERY APPEALING HERE IN
THE WEST AS WELL, BUT, YOU KNOW,
IT'S VERY REFLECTIVE,
MEDITATIVE,
CONTEMPLATIVE PHILOSOPHIES, AND
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S JUST
USEFUL AS A WAY TO CREATE A
CERTAIN EQUANIMITY
AND PEACE WITHIN ONESELF, AND TO
STRIVE FOR, YOU KNOW, HIGHER
LEVELS OF AWARENESS AND
CONSCIOUSNESS. YOU
KNOW, ALL OF THAT TO ME IS FINE,
I RESPECT THAT. AND SO TO ME TO
SOMEHOW INTEGRATE THAT INTO MY
LIFE, IS...
WOLFSIE: RIGHT, NOT TO THE
EXCLUSION OF MODERN
MEDICINE, BUT AS A COMBINATION.
RICHARD: RIGHT, YEAH, MORE,
YEAH, THE SPIRITUAL, MENTAL,
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT OF IT.
WOLFSIE: RIGHT.
RICHARD: YOU KNOW, SO IT HAS ITS
PLACE IN ANYONE'S LIFE. IT
DOESN'T MEAN YOU NECESSARILY
HAVE TO BECOME A BUDDHIST OR A
HINDU. I DID, AS WE TALKED, THAT
I BECAME
A, I ORDAINED AS A BUDDHIST
WITHIN A BUDDHIST TEMPLE, AND I
REALLY PRACTICED WITH A GREAT
BUDDHIST TEACHER, A
THAI BUDDHIST TEACHER. AND I MET
A JEW THAT WAS A BUDDHIST MONK
IN A, BASICALLY THE JUNGLE FOR
ABOUT THIRTY
YEARS, AND HE AND I HAD
WONDERFUL CONVERSATIONS, AND HE
PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE BOOK
AS WELL. SO MY
IMMERSION INTO BUDDHISM WAS
QUITE PROFOUND.
WOLFSIE: OK, BUT YOU TAKE THIS
BACK NOW, YOU'RE IN
PRIVATE PRACTICE BACK IN THE
STATES, AND THERE'S A PART OF
THAT THAT STILL TOUCHES YOU AS A
PHYSICIAN. RICHARD: OH,
ABSOLUTELY.
WOLFSIE: YEAH.
RICHARD: IT JUST, THE EMPHASIS
IS ON AWARENESS
AND THE MOMENT, AND, YOU KNOW,
HOW COULD YOU GO WRONG WITH
THAT? YOU KNOW, TO BE FLOATING
AROUND AND,
YOU KNOW, ENGAGE IN ALL SORTS OF
CHATTER WITH, MENTAL CHATTER AS
OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY
BEING
FOCUSED ON THE MOMENT. IF I HAD
TO DROP IT DOWN TO A NUTSHELL,
THAT WOULD BE BUDDHISM IN A
NUTSHELL.
WOLFSIE: WE HAVE ONE SEGMENT
LEFT WITH DR. MOSS,
WHO WILL BE JOINING US IN THE
FINAL SEGMENT. WE'LL BE BACK,
THANK YOU.
(BRENNA)
--TOSS TO MARCUS--