Understanding reality

A talk given at Dharma Friendship Foundation in 2008, reflecting on the recent death of Venerable Thubten Chodron's mother.

  • Conventional and ultimate reality within the context of a recent death
  • Showing how death and Buddhist practice coincide
  • The effect of the death on practice
  • How practice helps in dealing with death
  • The kindness of our own mother in this life and, by extension, the kindness of all beings

Understanding reality (download)

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.