Foulness of the body
102 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 4 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps 
Jul 10, 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.
- Review of mindfulness of walking
- Lifting, pushing and placing
- Mindfulness of the body while sitting, standing and lying down
- Results from being mindfulness of the four postures
- Developing insight
- Walking is a series of mental and physical phenomena arising and passing away
- Examining the foulness of the body to reduce attachment to the body
- Going through the 32 body parts in six groups
- Observing the color, shape, texture, location in the body and surrounding tissue of each part
- Head hair, body hair, nails, teeth and skin
- Meditating on each of the groups
103 Foulness of the Body (download)
Contemplation points
- Take some time to practice mindfulness of the four postures (walking, sitting, standing, and lying down) as described in the text. Use it to slow down and become more mindful. Use it to become more aware of the momentary components of bodily functions and their arising and passing away. What wisdom arises in your mind about impermanence, the nature of dukkha, the lack of a self? How might living in this way influence how you interact with others?
- “The greater the mindfulness and introspective awareness during daily life activities, the stronger they will be during meditation sessions.” In other words, what we do in between sessions influences our meditation sessions. What are some examples of ways you might employ more mindfulness and introspective awareness in your own daily life?
- From a Buddhist perspective, what does it mean to have a healthier relationship to the body? What thoughts are we encouraged to cultivate when we meditate on the foulness of the body? What thoughts are we encouraged to abandon? Take some time to contemplate why meditation on the foulness of the body reduces attachment, making the mind more peaceful and concentrated.
- Start to investigate the thirty-two parts of the body in your meditation as described in the text. As you examine each part of the body, what thoughts arise in relation to your body? How might doing this regularly reduce attachment and increase a peaceful mind and increased concentration?
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.
