Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Willingness to undergo hardship

Willingness to undergo hardship

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.

  • Monitoring our mental factors and reflecting on the effect our actions would have on others
  • Enduring hardships and willing to give up attachment to comforts to progress on the path
  • Importance of developing inner fortitude and courage
  • Detrimental effects of revealing one’s spiritual realizations publicly
  • Learning from life experiences

59 Approaching the Buddhist Path: Willingness to Undergo Hardship (download)

Contemplation points

Willingness to Undergo Hardship

  1. Ask yourself: what is more important, your present comfort or your spiritual aspiration?

What I have learned in Life

  1. What practice helps to reduce feelings of barriers between humans?
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.