Venerable Thubten Chodron
Pioneering American Buddhist teacher and founder of Sravasti Abbey, currently assisting His Holiness the Dalai Lama with The Library of Wisdom and Compassion book series.
Buddha Potential: Our Pets, Other Beings, and Ours
Our well-loved pets give us an opportunity to better understand buddha nature—how it is the basis for the duhkha of samsara (the unpurified mind) and what is needed to attain nirvana (the purified mind).
Watch here as Venerable Chodron uses the death of a pet to guide us in seeing buddha nature more clearly. To delve more deeply into buddha nature—how to purify our minds and cultivate awakened qualities— browse here for other teachings on the topic.
Featured Teachings
Check out highlights from Venerable Thubten Chodron's extensive teaching archive.
Emptiness and buddha nature
The eight qualities of the Buddha listed in Maitreya's Treatise…
View postAre sentient beings already Buddhas?
Explaining whether sentient beings are already buddhas and covering the…
View postIs euthanizing pets advisable?
Watching a beloved pet's decline is painful. What course is…
View postVerse 10-2: Counteracting the defilements
The different ways of counteracting the defilements, particularly the afflictions.…
View postThe four purities and four classes of tantra
Ordinary view and ordinary grasping are obstacles to tantric practice.
View postReview of Buddha nature
Explaining Buddha Nature according to different tenet systems, reviewing the…
View postLatest Posts
Keep up with recent teachings by Venerable Thubten Chodron and other Sravasti Abbey monastics.
Creating our world: dependent arising
An explanation of rebirth through dependent arising, based on commentaries…
View PostSexual misconduct, lying, and divisive speech
The four aspects of sexual misconduct, lying and divisive speech.
View PostCultivating the wasteland
At this year’s Triple Platform Ordination at Taiping Foen Temple…
View PostFinal and provisional refuges
Describing the difference between the Three Jewels and the objects…
View PostThe four aspects of killing and stealing
What comprises a complete path of action of killing and…
View PostEight excellent qualities of sangha jewel
Explaining the eight qualities of sangha jewel found in Maitreya’s…
View PostThe general characteristics of karma
Explanation of the four general characteristics of karma.
View PostCultivation of Compassion
How compassion gets us going in the right direction in…
View PostEight excellent qualities of the dharma jewel
Explaining the eight excellent qualities of the dharma jewel found…
View PostUpcoming Live Teachings
Follow Venerable Thubten Chodron's teachings at Sravasti Abbey, online, and worldwide.
Books
Learn more about Buddhist books written and edited by Venerable Thubten Chodron.
Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions
This unique text maps out the convergence and divergence of the two major Buddhist movements—the ...
View DetailsCourageous Compassion
The 6th book in the multi-volume collection and the 2nd devoted to compassion. Courageous Compass...
View DetailsAppearing and Empty
In this third and final volume on emptiness, the authors impart the Prasangika view of the ultima...
View DetailsAwaken Every Day
An instant dose of everyday wisdom, these insightful reflections help us understand our minds, ou...
View DetailsWorking with Anger
A variety of Buddhist methods for subduing anger, not by changing what is happening, but by worki...
View DetailsBuddhism for Beginners
An accessible and engaging introduction to some of the most commonly asked questions about the es...
View DetailsGavin Discovers the Secret to Happiness
A book enjoyable and beneficial for all ages, Gavin Discovers the Secret to Happiness has much to...
View DetailsRefuge Resource Book
A collection of articles compiled by Venerable Thubten Chodron as a resource for preparing to tak...
View DetailsPearl of Wisdom, Book I
A compilation of prayers and practices commonly taught to people beginning to study and practice ...
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