Auxiliary afflictions
24 Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 3 Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature 
Jun 18, 2021 Part of an ongoing series of teachings (retreat and Friday) based on the book Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature, the third volume in The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron.
- Eradicating wrong views and innate afflictions
- Afflictions based on anger
- Wrath, resentment, spite, jealousy, cruelty
- Recognizing afflictions in our mind and applying the antidotes
- Afflictions derived from attachment
- Miserliness, haughtiness, restlessness
- Afflictions related to ignorance
- Concealment, lethargy, laziness
- Concealing negative actions and purification
- Laziness leading to engaging in meaningless activities or discouragement
Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature 24: Auxiliary Afflictions (download)
Contemplation points
- We have many auxiliary afflictions – those derived from anger, attachment and ignorance. Consider each of them. Which of the auxiliary afflictions do you see in yourself the most?
- Make an example for each auxiliary affliction from your own experience and think about an antidote that can be applied to counteract it. Make a chart of the results. You can make your practice even richer and add more antidotes, if you wish.
- What prevents you from learning and applying the antidotes? Note this in your chart as a guide for times when you are struggling.
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.
