Restlessness and laxity
61 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 4 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps 
Aug 1, 2025 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.
- Eight worldly concerns
- Stability and Clarity of the mind
- Different ways restlessness arise
- Coarse restlessness and subtle restlessness
- Remedies for coarse restlessness and subtle restlessness
- Mindfulness and introspective awareness
- Knowing the antidotes to specific applications and practicing them
- Identifying mental factors interfere or support serenity in our own experience
- Lethargy and laxity
- Coarse laxity
61 Restlessness and Laxity (download)
Contemplation points
- It is easy to become distracted by samsara/the Eight Worldly Concerns and delay our practice of the Dharma. What are some distractions in your own life that prevent you from practice? What are steps you can take now to begin to overcome those?
- The third of the five faults is restlessness and laxity. Describe this fault in your own words. How does this fault hinder the two characteristics of single-pointedness (stability and clarity)?
- What is the difference between coarse and subtle restlessness? Make examples of each. Spend some time contemplating the descriptions of subtle restlessness like a bird with a chained foot and coarse restlessness like water under ice. How do you see these operate in your meditation sessions?
- What is introspective awareness and how does it act as an antidote to restlessness? What are other antidotes that can help with coarse and subtle restlessness?
- What is laxity and how is it different from lethargy? How does coarse laxity manifest in your meditation sessions? What are some antidotes to counter it?
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.
