Chasing rainbows
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Don't Believe Everything You Think 
May 17, 2015 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.
When you encounter attractive objects,
Though they seem beautiful
Like a rainbow in summer, don’t regard them as real
And give up attachment—
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.
- We co-create our reality by how we label things, interpret them and the details we attend to
- We usually think that beautiful things are beautiful in their own right but that is a misconception
- Beautiful things are like rainbows, ephemeral, elusive and unfindable
- What actually is chocolate? When we analyze it we can’t find what we are attached to
- Words of praise and criticism are just sound waves that we give meaning to
SDD 23: Chasing rainbows (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.
