How to see the spiritual mentor

06 Middle-Length Lamrim

Part of a series of weekly teachings from Lama Tsongkhapa's Middle-Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment.

  • Whey we need a spiritual teacher
  • Reviewing the three qualities of a student
  • Respect for the dharma and teacher and having an attentive mind
  • Additional qualities a student need to have
  • How a teacher becomes your spiritual teacher
  • Developing faith and respect in the teacher through investigating and reasoning
  • Discriminating between the good qualities and bad conduct
  • Three ways of viewing the teacher based on the type of practice

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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