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Venerable Thubten Chodron

Pioneering American Buddhist teacher and founder of Sravasti Abbey, currently assisting His Holiness the Dalai Lama with The Library of Wisdom and Compassion book series.

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Wisdom you can taste

How can mindfulness about eating a strawberry help us when we’re hanging on to our precious human life?

Read here as Venerable Chodron teaches us to turn our minds toward a higher purpose with long-lasting benefits rather than wasting moments focused only on short-lived pleasures.

The Buddha gave a wealth of teachings on impermanence, cyclic existence, emptiness and bodhicitta. He did not teach being attached to the present moment because it’s so wonderful!”
How can we eat mindfully to create the causes for awakening? We can eat a strawberry mindfully in many different ways... a whole variety of things we could do with our minds while eating."
We can use our minds to promote progress on the spiritual path, instead of eating just to enjoy something that disappears. Our lives are too short and precious to spend them in that way.”

Featured Teachings

Check out highlights from Venerable Thubten Chodron's extensive teaching archive.

Young people knead bread together in the Sravasti Abbey kitchen. Mindful Eating

Eating mindfully

A continuation of the commentary on five ways to think…

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Young people knead bread together in the Sravasti Abbey kitchen. Mindful Eating

Working with attachment to food

Ways to work with attachment to food with a balanced…

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Four Establishments of Mindfulness Retreat

Mindfulness and lamrim meditation

How the four establishments of mindfulness practice fits with the…

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Nun smiling while meditating in a library. Mindfulness

Buddhist mindfulness and secular mindfulness

The contemporary trend of mindfulness differs from the 2,500-year-old practice…

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Stages of the Path to Awakening Podcast

Reliable cognizers and meditation

The relationship between our thinking patterns and types of cognizers,…

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Venerable Sangye Khadro smiling while teaching in front of a thangka. Buddhist Meditation 101

Meditation 101: Meditating on the breath

Instruction on posture and techniques of breathing meditation and bare…

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The Six Perfections

Diligence and concentration

Finishing the teaching on the perfection of diligence, and discussing…

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Latest Posts

Keep up with recent teachings by Venerable Thubten Chodron and other Sravasti Abbey monastics.

Volume 3 Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature

Are sentient beings already Buddhas?

Explaining whether sentient beings are already buddhas and covering the…

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Shantideva Teachings at Sravasti Abbey

Illusion or illusion like

The difference between being an actual illusion, and illusion-like.

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Venerable Chodron teaching in a crowded room of students. Travels

Asia Teaching Tour 2023

In-person teachings in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan.

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Volume 3 Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature

Transforming and naturally abiding Buddha nature

Explaining the meaning of naturally abiding buddha nature and transforming…

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Shantideva Teachings at Sravasti Abbey

Debating impermanence

Commentary to verses 6-8 of Chapter 9, "Wisdom," of Shantideva's…

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Smoke billowing behind a silhouette of trees. Dharma in Daily Life

A teaching on impermanence

The Abbey's brush with wildfire.

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Shantideva Teachings at Sravasti Abbey

Conventional consciousness

What is negated by ultimate analysis and the role of…

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An Open-Hearted Life

Compassion as an antidote to low-self esteem

How compassion works as an antidote to low self-esteem.

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Cultivating the Four Immeasurables

Meditation on fear of compassion

A reflection on fear of compassion and how to overcome…

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Upcoming Live Teachings

Follow Venerable Thubten Chodron's teachings at Sravasti Abbey, online, and worldwide.

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Books

Learn more about Buddhist books written and edited by Venerable Thubten Chodron.

Book cover of Appearing and Empty

Appearing and Empty

In this third and final volume on emptiness, the authors impart the Prasangika view of the ultima...

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Book cover of In Praise of Great Compassion

In Praise of Great Compassion

Volume 5 of The Library of Wisdom and Compassion takes us beyond our present situation and guides...

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Book cover of Foundation of Buddhist Practice

The Foundation of Buddhist Practice

Volume 2 of The Library of Wisdom and Compassion describes the bedrock of Buddhist practice — ess...

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Cover of 365 Gems of Wisdom

365 Gems of Wisdom

Reflections by Venerable Thubten Chodron and other Sravasti Abbey monastics to guide us in settin...

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Book cover of Working with Anger

Working with Anger

A variety of Buddhist methods for subduing anger, not by changing what is happening, but by worki...

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Book cover of Open Heart Clear Mind

Open Heart, Clear Mind

A practical introduction to the application of Buddhist psychology to modern life in order to bet...

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Book cover of Buddhism for Beginners

Buddhism for Beginners

An accessible and engaging introduction to some of the most commonly asked questions about the es...

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Book cover of Guided Buddhist Meditations

Guided Buddhist Meditations

This invaluable resource provides Dharma practitioners with clear explanations of the stages of t...

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Book cover of Gavin Discovers the Secret

Gavin Discovers the Secret to Happiness

A book enjoyable and beneficial for all ages, Gavin Discovers the Secret to Happiness has much to...

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