The source of happiness with Q&A session
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Contentment and Happiness 
Dec 19, 2025 A talk followed by questions and answers given to students in Singapore.
- If we want to become buddhas we have to practice
- The source of our happiness is our own mind, not from external sources
- We over estimate the happiness that something will give us
- The cashmere sweater lesson
- The act of compassion is it’s own reward
- Questions and answers
- Politics and religion
- What is the purpose of an empowerment?
- What is the difference between an empowerment and a jenang?
- What are the requirements for an initiation?
- What are the steps to get out of samsara?
- What is the mind?
- Is analytical meditation a way to understand what the mind is?
- The parts of a complete karma and it’s results
The source of happiness with Q&A session (download)
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.
