Chapter 1: Verses 36-38
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Teachings at Sravasti Abbey 
Aug 6, 2015 Chapter 1 addresses what to abandon and what to practice to attain upper rebirth and highest good. Part of a series of talks on Nagarjuna's Precious Garland of Advice for a King.
- Examining how the Precious Garland and the lamrim teachings differ in how they describe the causes for precious human rebirth
- Review and clarification of verse 36
- The twelve links of dependent arising explained in three phases
- The twelve links show how we are reborn and bound in cyclic existence
- The three unsatisfactory conditions of cyclic existence and contemplating them to generate the determination to be free:
- The dukkha of pain
- The dukkha of change
- Pervasive conditioned dukkha
- Clarification regarding bodhisattvas’ rebirth in the world, the difference between arya bodhisattvas and lower level bodhisattvas
- Analyzing the four types of production to refute inherent existence
- How to meditate on the twelve links of dependent arising using personal experience
Precious Garland 13: Verses 36-38 (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.
