The Buddha’s life
01 Exploring Monastic Life (2025)
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Exploring Monastic Life 2025 
Jul 26, 2025 Part of a series of teachings given during Sravasti Abbey's annual Exploring Monastic Life program in 2025
- The importance of evaluating our priorities
- The purpose of different recitations and prayers
- Buddha Shakyamuni’s life and path to awakening
- How and why Buddha established the ordination system
- The purpose and origin of monastic precepts
- How Buddhism adapted to different cultures and environments
- Questions and answers
- Why did the Buddha have to be convinced to teach?
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.
