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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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Statue of Je Tsongkhapa
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Ways in which we apprehend phenomena

What does it mean when we say that things, including the self, exist in dependence…

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Statue of a Buddha.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Progressing from wrong conceptions to correct view

How to use your meditation to move through the various stages of realizing emptiness, the…

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Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Negating inherent existence

The three levels of selflessness. Conventional and ultimate truths. The three levels of dependent arising.

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Statue of Lama Tsongkhapa and altar.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Cultivating the correct view

The importance of meditating on emptiness. How ignorance leads to suffering and wisdom eliminates suffering.…

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Venerable Tarpa getting her head shaved by Venerable and other monastics.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Renunciation and bodhicitta

We can end our grasping at the illusory happiness of our lives and learn to…

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A yellow statute of prince siddhartha cutting of his hair, as a symbol of his renunciation.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Advantages of renunciation

Explains the opening verses, and explains the importance and advantages of renunciation. Clarifies what renunciation…

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Stupas at Kopan Monastery, Nepal
Making Offerings

Explanation of the extensive offering practice

An explanation of the symbolism of the extensive offerings practice; imagining vast offerings in order…

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A hand holding a hand clock and a skeleton head in background.
Living a Meaningful Life

What is important at the time of death

A guided meditation on imagining our own death. How to practice in preparation for death…

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A Green Tara tsatsa.
Prayers and Practices

Recovering after Hurricane Wilma

Advice to a Buddhist group on developing renunciation and bodhicitta in the aftermath of Hurricane…

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Venerable Jigme sitting on a lake dock with her feet in the water.
Dharma in Daily Life

How to handle everyday problems

In order to be happy it is important to change our attitude instead of focusing…

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Sangha and lay practitioners listening carefully as Venerable Chodron teaches.
Contentment and Happiness

Finding true happiness

Looking for happiness in all the wrong places? True happiness and contentment are not created…

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Venerable Chodron and a monk walking down a path, in conversation.
Western Buddhist Monastic Gatherings

Monastic practices

A discussion among Western and Asian monastics highlights some of the practices in their particular…

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