The ritual for adopting bodhicitta
55 Middle-Length Lamrim
Venerable Sangye Khadro 
Stages of the Path 
Feb 13, 2025 Part of a series of weekly teachings on Lama Tsongkhapa's Middle-Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment.
- Guided tonglen (taking and giving) meditation
- Combining the two methods of cultivating bodhicitta
- The difference between the equanimity step and the equalizing self and others step
- The two types of bodhicitta—aspiring and engaging
- Aspiring bodhicitta with and without commitments
- The way to adopt aspiring bodhicitta by means of a ritual
- The person who gives and the person who takes the vow
- The preparation for the ritual
- Decorating and setting up the place
- Making a request and going for refuge
- Stating the trainings
- The actual ritual
- Why do some teachers give the vow so easily?
- The recitation for adopting aspiring bodhicitta
- Questions and comments
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.
