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.

View Posts

Tangkha image of Chandrakirti.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Profound view

How wisdom and compassion support each other. Ten ways to practice mindfulness of emptiness. When…

View Post
Monk walking toward a transparent Buddha figure.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

The self as a merely labeled phenomenon

Why understanding dependent arising precedes the realization of emptiness. The meaning of being merely labeled.…

View Post
Statue of Je Tsongkhapa
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Ways in which we apprehend phenomena

What does it mean when we say that things, including the self, exist in dependence…

View Post
Statue of a Buddha.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Progressing from wrong conceptions to correct view

How to use your meditation to move through the various stages of realizing emptiness, the…

View Post
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Negating inherent existence

The three levels of selflessness. Conventional and ultimate truths. The three levels of dependent arising.

View Post
Statue of Lama Tsongkhapa and altar.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Cultivating the correct view

The importance of meditating on emptiness. How ignorance leads to suffering and wisdom eliminates suffering.…

View Post
Venerable Tarpa getting her head shaved by Venerable and other monastics.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Renunciation and bodhicitta

We can end our grasping at the illusory happiness of our lives and learn to…

View Post
A yellow statute of prince siddhartha cutting of his hair, as a symbol of his renunciation.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Advantages of renunciation

Explains the opening verses, and explains the importance and advantages of renunciation. Clarifies what renunciation…

View Post
Stupas at Kopan Monastery, Nepal
Making Offerings

Explanation of the extensive offering practice

An explanation of the symbolism of the extensive offerings practice; imagining vast offerings in order…

View Post