Buddhist Monastic Experience
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Ethics in the Modern World 
Mar 27, 2025 A talk for students in the "Buddhist Monastic Experience" course at Yale University
- The importance of having a positive motivation
- Venerable Chodron’s journey to Tibetan Buddhism
- The value of ethical conduct and thinking for one’s self
- How precepts provide structure to one’s life
- Questions and answers:
- How can lay people live simply and peacefully in a complex world?
- How have modern politics affected the modern Tibetan community?
- What should our focus be when planning for our futures?
- How can modern audiences learn from ancient teachings?
- What are some of the most fulfilling experiences you’ve had as a monastic?
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.
