Chapter 1: Verses 82-86
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Teachings at Sravasti Abbey 
Oct 15, 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.
- Refuting an inherently existent self through the fivefold and sevenfold reasonings
- All the points of the sevenfold analysis boil down to the self and aggregates not being inherently one or inherently separate
- Refuting the inherent existence of the four elements
- Because the elements are mutually dependent they cannot exist inherently
- The fact that Nagarjuna teaches about causality shows the he believes in dependent existence, not that things are totally nonexistent
Precious Garland 24: Verses 82-86 (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.
