Stages of the Path to Awakening

Venerable Thubten Chodron has taught extensively on great lamrim texts, a genre that explains the stages of the path to awakening. This page lays out the various commentaries available, how and where to access them, and a brief description of their content.

Teachings highlighted in bold are listed at the bottom of the page.

Essence of a Human Life

The Essence of a Human Life: Words of Advice for Lay Practitioners is a short lamrim text by Lama Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), an important master of Tibetan Buddhism and founder of the Gelug school. This text focuses on the practices of the initial scope practitioner: developing insight into the topics of our precious human life, impermanence, death, and karma.

Venerable Chodron taught this text in short (10-15 minute) pre-lunch Dharma talks in 2015: The Essence of a Human Life (2015).

Essence of Refined Gold

Essence of Refined Gold by the Third Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Sonam Gyatso (1543–88), is a commentary on Lama Tsongkhapa’s short lamrim text Songs of Experience.

Venerable Chodron taught on this text during the 2007 Chenrezig Winter Retreat at Sravasti Abbey: Essence of Refined Gold (2007-08).

Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Lama Tsongkhapa’s Three Principal Aspects of the Path focuses on three key states of mind that must be developed to progress along the path to awakening: the determination to be free of samsara and the wish to attain liberation, the altruistic intention of bodhicitta, and insight into the ultimate nature of reality.

Venerable Thubten Chodron taught on this text in various locations around the United States from 2002 to 2007: Three Principal Aspects of the Path (2002-07).

Easy Path to Travel to Omniscience

The Easy Path to Travel to Omniscience is a lamrim text by Panchen Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen, the first Panchen Lama. This text is uniquely written as a meditation manual on each important topic of the entire path to awakening—a great resource for beginners and also for more experienced Dharma practitioners.

Venerable Chodron taught on The Easy Path during the weekly teachings at Sravasti Abbey from 2014 to 2015: Easy Path to Travel to Omniscience (2014-15). Each teaching begins with a guided meditation on the lamrim topic of the week, followed by a commentary on the text.

Gomchen Lamrim

The Gomchen Lamrim by Gomchen Ngawang Drakpa is the great lamrim text Venerable Thubten Chodron taught from 2015 to 2018: Gomchen Lamrim (2015-18).

The Great Exposition on the Gradual Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Chenmo)

In the early 11th century the Indian Buddhist master Atisha condensed essential points from the sutras and ordered them into the text Lamp of the Path. These were then expanded in the 14th century by the Tibetan Buddhist master Lama Tsongkhapa into the text The Great Exposition on the Gradual Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Chenmo).

Venerable Thubten Chodron gave an in-depth commentary on this text between 1991 and 1994, with particular emphasis on how to relate these practical teachings to our daily lives: Gradual Path to Enlightenment (1991-94).

Access here a searchable and easy-to-navigate index of the teachings in this series, as well as links to lamrim outlines to help structure meditation and study sessions.

Each link contains audio recordings and complete transcripts. The transcripts of these teachings have also been formatted into ebooks available from the books for free distribution page.