Why you can’t rush samadhi
Higher Training in Concentration
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Concentration 
Aug 30, 2026 An online talk in the Vibe with Venerables series, hosted by Buddhism.net
- The importance of having an overview of the Buddhist path
- Our motivation for cultivating concentration
- Relying on a teacher for meditation instruction
- Meditation objects for cultivating concentration
- Obstacles to attaining serenity and their antidotes
- Sensual desire
- Anger
- Sleep and drowsiness
- Restlessness and remorse
- Doubt
- Questions and answers
- What are some antidotes to doubt?
- Whether it’s good to argue with the self-centered mind
- What concentration feels and looks like
- Can I use mantra as an object of concentration?
- Order of structuring our meditation session
- Is mantra a preliminary object before switching to visualization?
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.
