The Foundation of Buddhist Practice: The source of happiness and pain
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Books 
Aug 30, 2018 A talk based on The Foundation of Buddhist Practice given at the Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharamsala, India.
- Happiness and suffering come from your own mind, not from outside
- It’s about transforming our minds, not arranging the external world
- Training the mind to see others and the world with a different attitude
- Questions
- Is there a scale on the severity of karma?
- Do we start off seeing the world objectively and then start projecting on it?
- Is there a place for art from the the Buddhist viewpoint?
- Is it possible to have a mind free of afflictions and live a normal western life?
- Why do we forget our past lives?
- Are the qualities of good and bad objective or subjective?
- How do we shut down the opinion factory?
- Can you harmonize emptiness with a permanent self?
- Why all the external rituals and images if it’s about inner transformation?
- How can we speak without spouting an opinion?
The Foundation of Buddhist Practice (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.
