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View all posts in Venerable Thubten Chodron's teaching archive.

Medicine Buddha thangka surrounded by light and flower offerings.
Medicine Buddha Winter Retreat 2007-08

Clarifying the practice

Learning to work with anxiety. Questions from retreatants on visualization in the sadhana and about…

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Hand gesture symbolizing the universe that you are offering to the Buddhas.
Essence of Refined Gold

Conditions for developing serenity

Six conditions for developing meditative stabilization, meditation posture. Physical pain during meditation and the mental…

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Hand gesture symbolizing the universe that you are offering to the Buddhas.
Essence of Refined Gold

Five hindrances to concentration

A teaching on the five hindrances to concentration according to the Pali canon.

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Medicine Buddha thangka surrounded by light and flower offerings.
Medicine Buddha Winter Retreat 2007-08

Working through cause and effect

Defining physical and mental causes with examples. Tools to work with negative states of mind.

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Hand gesture symbolizing the universe that you are offering to the Buddhas.
Essence of Refined Gold

Joyous effort and concentration

Qualities for counteracting laziness and developing joyous effort, and techniques to counteract tiredness and distraction…

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Medicine Buddha thangka surrounded by light and flower offerings.
Medicine Buddha Winter Retreat 2007-08

Mid-retreat discussion

Addressing questions on different aspects of the meditation: the body, emptiness, visualization and deity meditation.

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A meditator sitting in lotus posture.
On Taking Illness Onto the Path

An incentive to engage in virtue

A sudden illness gives a student greater incentive and renewed urgency to practice the Dharma.

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Closeup of Wat Pho's Reclining Buddha.
Essence of Refined Gold

Taking joy in our Dharma practice

Having an appreciation for joyous effort and showing interest in overcoming laziness.

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Medicine Buddha thangka surrounded by light and flower offerings.
Medicine Buddha Winter Retreat 2007-08

Understanding Buddhist concepts

Clarifying concepts surrounding arhats and bodhisattvas. Questions on motivation to listen and the meditation on…

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His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Tibetan Tradition

Women—part of the basis

HHDL about the importance of full ordination for women, the study of scriptures by women…

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On Overcoming Anger

My tiger

Old tiger, new face. It is the mind, not the environment, that makes the difference.

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Closeup of Wat Pho's Reclining Buddha.
Essence of Refined Gold

Laziness that interferes with practice

How laziness interferes with Dharma practice. What it means to be kind to ourselves and…

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