The joy of monastic discipline
45 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 4 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps 
Mar 7, 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.
- Poem on monastic discipline composed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- Externally pure and internally pure
- Temporary benefits and ultimate benefits
- Bodhisattva ethical codes and tantric ethical codes
- Benefits self and others
- Concentration and perfection of mediative stability
- Serenity and insight
- Primary mind and mental factors
- Three realms of existence
45 The Joy of Monastic Discipline (download)
Contemplation points
- Spend some time contemplating each of the stanzas from the poem that His Holiness the Dalai Lama shares in the text about the joy of monastic discipline. What can you take from each stanza to inspire your own practice?
- What kind of faith are we encouraged to have in our spiritual practice and why? How do we get that kind of faith in the precepts?
- Why is “this opportunity… difficult to find again?” To what is it referring? How are we encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity?
- Why is there less confusion in our lives when we are grounded in ethical conduct?
- Consider that the Buddha chose to live as a monastic. How can we use this to inspire our own ethical discipline, our own spiritual practice, whether we are lay or monastic practitioners?
- What are some aspects of life in general where concentration is useful? When we speak of it in the context of spiritual practice, what kind of concentration are we trying to attain?
- What are the benefits of attaining samadhi? How does it fit into the spiritual path?
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.
