Conducive conditions to develop serenity
47 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 4 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps 
Mar 21, 2025 Part of an ongoing series of teachings based on the book Following in the Buddha's Footsteps, the fourth volume in The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron.
- Favorable place
- Understanding the instructions to cultivate serenity
- Freedom from coarse desires
- Contentment
- Three approaches to clothing and three approaches to food
- Minima involvement in worldly activities
- Pure ethical conduct
- Three kinds of conduct
- Observed objects for cultivating serenity
- Mental consciousness and mental image
- Four types of extensive objects
47 Conducive Conditions to Develop Serenity (download)
Contemplation points
- Review the meaning of each conducive condition for cultivating serenity: favorable place, correct understanding of the instructions for cultivating serenity, freedom from coarse desires, contentment, minimal involvement in worldly activities, and pure ethical conduct.
- Contemplate why each condition is important.
- Consider how you can begin to develop these conditions now.
- What are the different types of objects of meditation that we can use in our practice of serenity? What are the benefits of each? Is the object of serenity meditation an object of the senses or a conceptual image, and why?
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.
