Having a steady mind

Having a steady mind

A series of talks based on Don’t Believe Everything You Think given at Sravasti Abbey’s monthly Sharing the Dharma Day starting in March 2013. The book is a commentary on The 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas.

To Bodhisattvas who want a wealth of virtue
Those who harm are like a precious treasure.
Therefore, towards all cultivate fortitude
Without hostility—
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

  • Fortitude is a mind of inner strength that can bear difficulties and hardships and deal with them
  • Our usual response to those we don’t like is to harm them physically or verbally
    • The verse advises us to see them differently and take an opposite approach
    • Those who harm us give us the opportunity to develop fortitude
    • Changing our perspective on the situation so there is no anger to start with
  • If we can calm our mind, we can look at the situation and see what is a useful reaction that will benefit ourselves and others

SDD 27: Having a steady mind (download)

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.