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Attachment to body, friends, and family

101 Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds

Part of an ongoing series of teachings based on Shantideva’s classic text, Bodhisattvacharyavatara, often translated as Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds. Venerable Thubten Chodron also refers to the outline of the commentary by Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen and the commentary by the Abbot Dragpa Gyaltsen.

  • Remembering what’s important in life
  • Accumulating merit creates the causes for future realizations
  • Review of previous verses
  • Verses 29 and 30: Decreasing attachment to the body
  • Verses 31 and 32: Decreasing attachment to friends and relatives
  • Verse 33: Thinking of oneself as a guest staying in a guesthouse
  • Questions and Answers
    • How can we have healthy relationships with others without attachment?
    • Is it important to cultivate bodhicitta before becoming a monastic?
    • Can we truly practice the Dharma if we haven’t studied enough?
    • How can you work at a career without attachment to reputation?

101 Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds: Attachment to body, friends, and family (download)

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.

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