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The Thurman family is mourning a loss.
Uma Thurman's dad, Robert Thurman—one of the most prominent Tibetan Buddhist experts in the United States—died June 16 at age 84, his nonprofit Tibet House US confirmed.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Robert A.F. Thurman," the organization wrote in a June 16 statement on Instagram, "prominent American Buddhist scholar, co-founder of Tibet House US, author, and translator whose teachings shaped countless lives, died."
Tibet House US, which Thurman co-founded in 1987 at the Dalai Lama's request, has urged online users to respect the family's request for privacy during this phase.
Thurman, the father of Kill Bill actress Gandem Thurman, 56; Dechen Thurman, 58; Mipam Thurman, 53; and Taya Thurman, 66, with ex-wife Christophe de Menil, grew interested in Tibetan Buddhism while attending Harvard University, according to his website.
After flying to Asia in 1962 and meeting the Dalai Lama, he became a monk and the first Westerner to be ordained by him. However, he gave up his monastic position, which required celibacy, five years later to marry Nena.
After returning to Harvard to earn his PhD in Sanskrit Indian Studies, he joined Columbia University as a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, where he taught for three decades.
While Thurman realized his passion for study, he was also eager to support his children in whatever path they chose, including Uma's successful acting career.
"Though I do have different sides and am still a highly imperfect individual," he previously told Spirituality and Practice. "I don't see any dichotomy between aspiring to practice Buddhist virtues, studying and teaching about the nature of the mind, reality, and history, and having good friends, whether famous or not."
""Having a wonderful daughter like Uma is a special piece of good karma," he emphasized, "and we are very proud of her."
Uma, who has children Maya Hawke, 27, and Levon Hawke, 24, with ex-husband Ethan Hawke, as well as Luna Thurman-Busson, 13, with ex Arpad Busson, expressed gratitude for her childhood, despite her parents' opposing opinions.
"There's been a lot written about my upbringing, making it sound as if it were some hippie-dippy childhood, but that's totally absurd," she told the Irish Examiner in April 2005. "There's an assumption that because someone is a Buddhist, they are a leftie loose cannon and unusually weird, and that's complete baloney!"
"I grew up in academic housing," Uma explained. "I went to school, and my father was a professor. It was everything really natural.
