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Tantra and Buddhist canons

Tantra and Buddhist canons

Part of an ongoing series of teachings based on Approaching the Buddhist Path, the first book in “The Library of Wisdom and Compassion” series by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron.

  • Buddhist teachings and monastic regulations exist in relation to societal views
  • How tantra developed and changed over time in different cultures
  • The foundational practices of Buddhist tantra is what makes the practice Buddhist
  • The difficulty of establishing and complexity of verifying the authenticity of a Buddhist canon
  • The contents and development of the three Buddhist canons

25 Approaching the Buddhist Path: Tantra and Buddhist Canons (download)

Contemplation points

  1. Why does Buddha cherish all sentient beings?
  2. Why is it contradictory to compete, be angry, be jealous, look with pride upon other sentient beings, etc, while knowing that these are the same sentient beings that the Buddha cherishes so much?
  3. To identify which basket a scripture in the Tibetan tradition belongs to, a convention of homages has been established. Which homage belongs to which basket? Give examples of texts for each basket.
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.