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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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A cartoon drawing of a person in jail clothes(black and white stripes) trap inside bars surrounded by the words:Fear, Anger, Pain, Innocent, Shame and Trust.
Prison Dharma

Prison Dharma

Reflections on visiting incarcerated people to share the Dharma in prisons throughout the United States

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The Dhamek Stupa under clear blue sky with Tibetan prayer flags in front.
On Refuge and Bodhicitta

In the footsteps of the Buddha

An Israeli Buddhist embarks on a walking pilgrimage to to Bodhgaya and discovers the joy…

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Wheel of Life
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Sufferings of cyclic existence

We can ground our intention to be free from the endless cycle of samsara by…

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Parents and their two young children have fun in the snow at Sravasti Abbey.
Family and Friends

Communication and understanding conflict styles

People deal with conflict differently, and it is helpful to know and understand what's really…

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Parents and their two young children have fun in the snow at Sravasti Abbey.
Family and Friends

Redefining boundaries

Looking at boundaries with a Dharma perspective.

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Parents and their two young children have fun in the snow at Sravasti Abbey.
Family and Friends

Wanting to fix others

How looking at our problems and addressing them is more beneficial than trying to fix…

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Parents and their two young children have fun in the snow at Sravasti Abbey.
Family and Friends

Love and attachment

How to not only recognize the difference between love and attachment but how to be…

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Wheel of Life thangka.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Infallible effects of karma

Avoiding and purifying the negative karma created through the actions of our body, speech, and…

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Cover of Geshen Sonam Rinchen's book "The Three Principal Aspects of the Path".
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

General characteristics of karma

Karma is definite, expandable, doesn't get lost, and results from the causes that we have…

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Venerable Chodron meditating.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Imagining your death

The Buddhist practice of meditation on our own deaths can free our minds from the…

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Venerable Chodron meditating.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Nine-point death meditation

By reflecting carefully and thoroughly on death and impermanence, we reach the conclusion that we…

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A young Abbey retreatant, bowing to Venerable Chodron.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Rarity of a precious human rebirth

Contemplating the rarity of a precious human life complete with both the ability and the…

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