“Sutta on a Lump of Foam”
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Middle Way Philosophy 
Dec 15, 2024 A talk given at the Buddhist Fellowship West in Singapore. Venerable Chodron reads from Realizing the Profound View, the eigth volume in The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron. The Sutta on a Lump of Foam can be found here.
- Reflecting on our motivation for attending teachings
- The Dharma makes us look at topics that make us uncomfortable
- Similarities between the Pali and Mahayana traditions
- The “Sutta on a Lump of Foam”
- Form is like a lump of foam
- Feelings are like bubbles
- Discrimination is like a mirage
- Miscellaneous factors are like a plantain tree trunk
- Consciousness is like an illusion
- The Sanskrit explanation of the five similes
- The Buddha is negating inherent existence, not all existence
- Questions and answers
- Analyzing real life situations from a Buddhist perspective
- Is it better to say nothing than tell a “white lie”?
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.
