Venerable Sangye Khadro

California-born, Venerable Sangye Khadro ordained as a Buddhist nun at Kopan Monastery in 1974 and is a longtime friend and colleague of Abbey founder Venerable Thubten Chodron. She took bhikshuni (full) ordination in 1988. While studying at Nalanda Monastery in France in the 1980s, she helped to start the Dorje Pamo Nunnery, along with Venerable Chodron. Venerable Sangye Khadro has studied with many Buddhist masters including Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, and Khensur Jampa Tegchok. At her teachers’ request, she began teaching in 1980 and has since taught in countries around the world, occasionally taking time off for personal retreats. She served as resident teacher in Buddha House, Australia, Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore, and the FPMT centre in Denmark. From 2008-2015, she followed the Masters Program at the Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Italy. Venerable has authored a number books found here, including the best-selling How to Meditate. She has taught at Sravasti Abbey since 2017 and is now a full-time resident.

Featured Series

Venerable Sangye Khadro stands next to a wooden statue of Kuan Yin.

37 Practices of Bodhisattvas with Venerable Sangye Khadro (2019)

Short talks by Venerable Sangye Khadro on "The 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas" by Gyelsay Togmay Zangpo.

View Series

70 Topics with Venerable Sangye Khadro (2022)

70 Topics is an important study of the entire sutra path to enlightenment as presented in Maitreya's "Ornament for Clear Realization," including all the fundamental features of the basis, path and goal in the Mahayana.

View Series
Venerable Sangye Khadro smiles while teaching.

Art of Transforming Suffering Retreat with Venerable Sangye Khadro (2017)

Teachings by Venerable Sangye Khadro on the art of transforming suffering given at Sravasti Abbey in July 2017.

View Series
Know Your Mind with Venerable Sangye Khadro livestream banner.

Know Your Mind with Venerable Sangye Khadro (2021)

An introduction to Buddhist psychology by Venerable Sangye Khadro. The course explores topics such as what the mind is, perception and conception, types of awareness, and the mental factors.

View Series
Venerable Sangye Khadro smiling while teaching in front of a thangka.

Meditation 101 by Venerable Sangye Khadro (2021)

Teachings by Venerable Sangye Khadro suitable for people encountering both meditation and Buddhism for the first time.

View Series
A path in the meadow that leads into the forest.

Mind and Mental Factors with Venerable Sangye Khadro (2019)

An overview of the Buddhist psychology of mind and mental factors given during a course on Buddhist reasoning and debate in 2019.

View Series
Blue sky with wispy clouds above a meadow.

Seven Kinds of Awareness with Venerable Sangye Khadro (2019)

An overview of the seven kinds of awareness according to the Buddhist philosophy of mind taught as part of a course on Buddhist reasoning and debate in 2019.

View Series
Venerable Sangye Khadro smiles while speaking into a microphone.

Tenets with Venerable Sangye Khadro (2022)

Weekly teachings on the text "Presentation of Tenets" by Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen by Venerable Sangye Khadro.

View Series

View Posts

Working with Emotions

Developing inner peace through transforming perspect...

How to cultivate a positive perspective and a brief practice based on building resilience.

View Post
Wisdom

Types of selflessness

A teaching on the types of selflessness and the three levels of selflessness of persons.

View Post
Working with Emotions

Developing inner peace through mindfulness

Peace starts with ourselves. With peace in our own mind, we can emanate peace to…

View Post
Easy Path to Travel to Omniscience

The perfection of concentration

A teaching on concentration, including meditation instructions. The perfection of wisdom is introduced with an…

View Post
Wisdom

The Buddhist path and emptiness

An overview of the Buddhist path and how the delusion of an intrinsic self is…

View Post
Know Your Mind with Venerable Sangye Khadro livestream banner.
Mind and Mental Factors

Know your mind: The twenty auxiliary afflictions

An explanation of the 20 auxiliary mental afflictions, which are branches of the three root…

View Post
Know Your Mind with Venerable Sangye Khadro livestream banner.
Mind and Mental Factors

Know your mind: Six root afflictions

Explanation of the meaning and antidotes to the remaining five root afflictions: anger, arrogance, ignorance,…

View Post
Know Your Mind with Venerable Sangye Khadro livestream banner.
Mind and Mental Factors

Know your mind: A general explanation of afflictions

An overview of mental afflictions and explanation of the first of the six root afflictions,…

View Post
Easy Path to Travel to Omniscience

Patience and joyous action

More on the perfection of patience and a teaching on the last three perfections: joyous…

View Post
Guided Meditations

Meditation on the third attribute of true duhkha

Meditation on exploring the possibility of a permanent, unitary, independent self.

View Post