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Meeting Manjushri

Awakening the wisdom mind

A talk given at the Manjusri Library in Singapore.

  • Manjushri represents the wisdom aspect of buddha
  • Different ways to see the buddha figures
  • Believing other sentient beings can become Manjushri (have the potential to become awakened) causes us to have respect for them
  • Meaning of the prayer
    • Importance of reliable teachers on the path
    • The buddhas protect us by showing us the antidotes to our afflictions, teaching us the Dharma
    • Importance of seeing that we are wanderers caught in the prison of samsara, pushed by the force of craving (for a body) and karma into a rebirth
    • The three kinds of suffering (unsatisfactoriness)
    • Stopping and assessing our lives, considering the purpose of our lives and our potential
    • Setting our priorities wisely
    • Five paths of a bodhisattva
    • Transmitted and realized Dharma
  • Prayer often said before teachings, to prepare the mind

The text of the Homage to Manjushri can be found here.

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.

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