My birthday gift
Venerable Thubten Konchog 
Dharma Poetry 
Mar 23, 2025 Venerable Thubten Konchog of Sravasti Abbey wrote four poems to mark his 40th birthday.
I am turning 40 years old in a few days and with my birthday approaching, I thought that this was a good moment to reflect on how I’ve lived my life and on what I have contributed to the world so far. This is from this reflection that came the idea of making myself a meaningful birthday gift and the reason I’m writing these words right now.
During my little “life review” I had to face the fact that I have contributed to a lot of confusion and pain both for myself and the people around me. It’s not that I was looking only for the bad stuff, it was just a fact.
I decided that I wanted to write a direct answer to those areas of my life that I wasn’t so proud of. In a way this is almost like a conversation between “me of today” writing to “me of the past” trying to inspire him about all the things he isn’t aware of. It is also a way for me to make amends and send a wave of “wholesomeness” to counteract the negative waves I’ve created previously.
So here’s a handful of short texts on themes that are dear to my heart. Each of these four texts was written on its respective theme, namely: abandoning hatred, the hidden joy of living an ethical life, bodhicitta, and living a meaningful life.
These texts might not be very stylized or refined, do not look for rhymes and alliterations, but know that they came from the right place and this is why I wanted to share them anyway.
Read the poems here:
Venerable Thubten Konchog
Ven. Thubten Konchog moved to Sravasti Abbey in June 2022. In August, at the end of Exploring Monastic Life, he was ordained as an Anagarika (under the name of Donyo). By the end of 2022 he followed and assisted Venerable Chodron for 6 weeks during her teaching tour in Singapore and was very moved to see the incredible positive impact his teacher had on people. The tour ended in Bodh Gaya where they attended His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings. He made his request to be ordained to Venerable Thubten Chodron at the Mahabodhi temple in January 2023. On May 20th 2023, he was ordained as a novice monk (Sramanera). Venerable Master Jian Hu was his preceptor on this most joyful occasion. In his “previous life” before going forth, Ven. Konchog was a musician and worked as a soundman and lighting technician for theaters, music bands, and circuses. He’s now happy to use his expertise to help spread the Dharma. At the Abbey, he finds a lot of joy in balancing his time between his practice and caring for the 375 acres of the Abbey’s forest (another of his passions), producing videos, and using technology to help in whatever way he can.
