Buddha’s life and Mahayana
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Bodhisattva Path 
May 31, 2007 A talk given on Vesak Day at Dharma Friendship Foundation, Seattle, Washington.
Buddha’s life story
- Vesak Day: commemoration of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and his passing
- The story of Buddha: samsara, samadhi, rebirth and karma
- What to do now to die peacefully
- Teaching the Dharma
- Words of encouragement to practice
Buddha’s life and Mahayana 01 (download)
Mahayana path
- Four signs of a Mahayana practitioner
- Compassion
- Aspiration
- Patience
- Joyous Effort
- Four obstacles to the Bodhisattva path
- Addicted to self-centeredness and self-grasping ignorance
- Unduly influenced by negative friends
- Lacking favorable internal and external conditions
- Being totally under the control of somebody else, e.g., being a slave, prisoner
Buddha’s life and Mahayana 02 (download)
Questions and answers
- Explanation of “Mahayana-ist”
- Patience and equanimity
- What is emptiness?
- Wrestling with afflictions
- Buddha’s life and our practice
- What is meant by the middle way
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.
