Four types of srvaka aryas and eight liberations
68 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 4 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps 
Sep 26, 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.
- Bodhisattvas developing fourth dhyana in different ways
- Unifying serenity and insight on emptiness
- Alternating stabilizing and analytical meditation on emptiness
- Afflictive obscurations and cognitive obscurations
- Stream of dharma concentration and its causes
- Coarse generation stage and subtle generation stage of highest yoga tantra
- Eight liberations
- Exalted knowers
- Three paths of emanation
- Five paths of abiding happily in this life
68 Four Types of Sravaka Aryas and Eight Liberations (download)
Contemplation points
- Why do we have to put serenity and insight together to realize emptiness? Describe how the two are harmonized in the mind of a bodhisattva who has attained serenity on emptiness.
- Imagine having the ability of yogis of the highest yoga tantra who can visualize the mandala and all its deities with perfect clarity within a subtle drop (analytic meditation), then reabsorbing (stabilizing meditation) . What would it be like to experience this? Allow this to inspire your mind to practice.
- Review: What are the three realms and how do they relate to the three spheres of consciousness?
- Review: What are the principal mental factors present in each of the four dhyanas? What are their functions and why are some of them abandoned as concentration deepens?
- Review: What is the difference in outcome between developing insight by contemplating grossness and peacefulness, and by contemplating the aspects of the four truths?
- What is the meaning of “liberation” when we speak of the Eight Liberations? What are the eight according to the Sanskrit tradition? Briefly describe each
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.
