Recollection of the dharma and sangha
19 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 4 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps 
Aug 30, 2024 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.
- Seen here and now, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable and personally experienced
- Transmitted dharma and realizations
- Logic and reasoning
- Uninterrupted paths and liberated paths
- Practicing the good way, straight way, true way and proper way
- Sharing common ethical code and views
- Free from two extremes
- Worthy of gifts, hospitality, praise and respect
- Respecting the qualities of realized beings
- How to reflect and meditate on the qualities of the three jewels
- Benefits of recollecting the qualities of the buddha, dharma and sangha
- How the meditation on the qualities of the three jewels lead us to develop concentration
- Five hindrances
19 Recollection of the Dharma and Sangha (download)
Contemplation points
- Contemplate the recollections of the Dharma presented in this week’s teaching: to be seen here and now, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable, and to be personally experienced by the wise.
- How do each of these apply to our lives? What does each of these qualities encourage us to practice here and now?
- How do these qualities inspire your sense of refuge in the Dharma?
- Contemplate the recollections of the Sangha presented in this week’s teaching: practicing the good way, practicing the straight way, practicing the true way, practicing the proper way, is worthy of hospitality, is worthy of offerings, is worthy of respect, is the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.
- How might reflecting on the Sangha in this way change the way you relate to the Sangha?
- How do these qualities inspire your sense of refuge in the Sangha?
- Consider how fortunate you are to have encountered these objects of refuge. With a sense of deep trust and confidence in the Three Jewels, let a sense of calm uplift your mind.
- Conclude your contemplation by thinking, “Just as the Buddha practiced the Dharma, abandoned all defilements and realized all excelled qualities, I can also do this. He taught the path so that I and other will put the teachings into practice and emulate them by actualizing the same realizations for the benefit of all sentient beings. To fulfill the purpose of the Three Jewels and the hopes of suffering sentient beings, I will practice earnestly.”
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.
