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.

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Buddhist Reasoning and Debate

Four possibilities

Continuing Chapter Four by engaging the audience in identifying the 'four possibilities' when comparing different…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2017

Balance in body, speech, and mind

A review of the five hindrances and sharing of Master Zhiyi's advice on cultivating balance…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2017

Overcoming hindrances to concentration

How to work with the hindrances of lethargy and sleepiness, agitation and remorse, and deluded…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2017

Getting unstuck from attachment and anger

How to work with sensual desire and malice that are hindrances to cultivating concentration.

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2017

Criteria for developing serenity

Teachings from a text by Chinese Master Zhiyi on the levels of conditions we need…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2017

The prerequisites for concentration

An overview of the causes and conditions we need to cultivate as the foundation for…

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Gomchen Lamrim

More on the ten paths of nonvirtue today

Continuation on the ten paths of non-virtue as they relate to our modern age, focusing…

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Buddhist Reasoning and Debate

The comparison of phenomena

Beginning chapter four by teaching on how to use logic and reasoning to understand how…

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Qualities of a Spiritual Teacher

What it means to see the guru as the Buddha

More about why we can get confused with Tantra teachings and teachers and loose faith.

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Qualities of a Spiritual Teacher

Confusion within tantra

Continuing to share about teachers who use their power inappropriately and why that could happen.

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Qualities of a Spiritual Teacher

How to tell if a Buddhist teacher has the right qual...

Venerable Thubten Chodron responds to some distressed students who were following a teacher who abused…

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