Tantra in practice
A talk given during Sravasti Abbey's annual Exploring Monastic Life program in 2006.
The focus of practice
Exploring Monastic Life 2006: Session 12, 1-3 (download)
Features of the Vajrayana
- Cosmology in the Vajrayana
- Unique features of the Vajrayana:
- Use of analogies in rituals
- Using negative states of mind
- Using unconventional behavior as skillful means to break concepts
- Generating the wisdom realizing emptiness is what ultimately breaks the wrong concepts
- Buddhist tantra compared to Hindu tantra
- Uniqueness of the Buddhist path
Exploring Monastic Life 2006: Session 12, 2-3 (download)
Questions and answers
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.