General meaning of introspective awareness
95 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 4 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps 
May 8, 2026 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.
- Mindfulness and introspective awareness
- Three types of non introspective awareness
- Four aspects of introspective awareness
- Explanation of abiding in awareness during various activities
95 General Meaning of Introspective Awareness (download)
Contemplation points
- Think of a situation in which your self-centered mind is triggered, making you angry. How might it transform the situation if you think, “Good! I’m glad my self-centered mind is triggered. It points out one of the problems my self-centeredness creates for me: feeling frustrated. I’m glad it’s not getting what it wants.” Does your self-centered thought put up some resistance? By practicing this, what might it change in your own mind? How might that benefit your life and practice?
- Review: What is non-introspective awareness and how does it contribute to the increase of destructive actions of body, speech, and mind? Use examples from your own life and from the world around you using the three types: 1) that accompanies wrong views, 2) that hinders development of reliable analytical wisdom because it misunderstands the object, and 3) that interrupts serenity because the mind is unable to attend alertly to the meditation object.
- Review: Imagine living in each moment with an awareness of the four types of introspective awareness as described in the Pali commentaries: 1) introspective awareness of purpose, 2) introspective awareness of suitability, 3) introspective awareness of the domain, and introspective awareness of nonignornace. How might this change the way you view and interact with the world around you?
- Asanga describes the general meaning of introspective awareness as a mental factor that is aware of what we are doing and how we are doing it or should do it. A person acting with awareness is paying attention to her actions as well as to the surrounding environment and her relationship to it. Spend some time with this:
- What would introspective awareness look like as you move throughout your day (walking, lying down, falling asleep, waking up, talking, eating and drinking, etc)?
- How you could employ introspective awareness to your experience.
- How often do you act without awareness at all?
- How might strengthening your introspective awareness benefit your life?
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.
