The eight worldly concerns
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Parting from the Four Clingings 
Apr 17, 2020 Venerable Chodron is offering a series of nine online teachings on the text “Parting from the Four Attachments” by Nubpa Rigzin Drak at the request of the Friends of Sravasti Russia. This classic text from the Sakya tradition gets straight to the heart of the obstacles to our Dharma practice and how to overcome them.
- What abandoning attachment to this life really means
- Eight worldly concerns: definitions and examples
- Working with attachment to approval and good reputation
- Reflection on the disadvantages of the eight worldly concerns
- What defines a Dharma practitioner?
- Benefits of ethical conduct and faults of ethical conduct motivated by the eight worldly concerns
- Q&A session:
- Is low self-esteem actually self-centeredness?
- Role of competition and comparing ourselves with others in building low self-esteem
- Healthy self-esteem and our Buddha nature
- Helping someone with low self-esteem
- Is renunciation necessary for lay people?
The root text for this teaching can be found here.
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.
