Establishing precepts
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Exploring Monastic Life 2014 
Aug 9, 2014 A talk given during Sravasti Abbey's annual Exploring Monastic Life program in 2014.
- Being samsara addicts, looking outside for pleasure, success, approval
- Actions that aren’t conducive for a renunciate life
- Origin stories of the precepts
- Euthanasia and keeping people on life support
- Overview of prescriptive precepts: poshadha, varsha, pravarana; and the kathina ceremony
- Precepts are trainings we take voluntarily
- Two different meanings of “shame”
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.
