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Mother sentient beings

03 Awakening the Kind Heart with Venerable Sangye Khadro

Part of a series of talks by Venerable Sangye Khadro based on her book Awakening the Kind Heart given during a retreat at Sravasti Abbey in April 2022.

  • Five verses from Nagarjuna’s Tale of a Wish-Fulfilling Dream
  • All sentient beings have been our mothers
  • The kindness of mother sentient beings
  • The wish to repay that kindness
  • The endlessly changing ties between sentient beings in samsara
  • Harming sentient beings will cause suffering
  • Helping (or at least not harming) sentient beings will cause happiness
  • Questions & answers
  • Review of the Four Immeasurables

Venerable Sangye Khadro

California-born, Venerable Sangye Khadro ordained as a Buddhist nun at Kopan Monastery in 1974 and is a longtime friend and colleague of Abbey founder Venerable Thubten Chodron. She took bhikshuni (full) ordination in 1988. While studying at Nalanda Monastery in France in the 1980s, she helped to start the Dorje Pamo Nunnery, along with Venerable Chodron. Venerable Sangye Khadro has studied with many Buddhist masters including Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, and Khensur Jampa Tegchok. At her teachers’ request, she began teaching in 1980 and has since taught in countries around the world, occasionally taking time off for personal retreats. She served as resident teacher in Buddha House, Australia, Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore, and the FPMT centre in Denmark. From 2008-2015, she followed the Masters Program at the Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Italy. Venerable has authored a number books found here, including the best-selling How to Meditate. She has taught at Sravasti Abbey since 2017 and is now a full-time resident.

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