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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Venerables Samten and Jampa prostrating in front of the Abbey altar.
LR03 The Six Preparatory Practices

Visualizing the merit field and offering the seven-l...

How to set up the meditation session by doing the refuge visualization, contemplating the four…

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Altar in a shrine room.
LR03 The Six Preparatory Practices

Obtaining offerings properly and setting the right p...

Further instruction on how to make offerings, and a commentary on the third preparatory practice:…

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Venerable Chodron offering incense.
LR03 The Six Preparatory Practices

Preparing the meditation space and making offerings

Instructions on the first two preparatory practices for a meditation session: (1) cleaning the room…

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Thangka image of a Buddha.
LR02 Introduction to the Lamrim

Basic Buddhist topics

An overview of topics such as the mind, rebirth, cyclic existence, and enlightenment, as an…

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Thangka image of a Buddha.
LR02 Introduction to the Lamrim

How teachings should be studied and taught

Cultivating the qualities, attitudes, and motivations that make the student's mind receptive and the teacher's…

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Thangka image of Shantarakshita.
LR01 Lamrim Outline

Lamrim outline: Intermediate

A detailed outline of the practices of an intermediate level practitioner: the four noble truths…

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Thangka image of Shantarakshita.
LR01 Lamrim Outline

Lamrim outline: Initial

A detailed outline of the practices of an initial level practitioner: remembering death, the lower…

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Thangka image of Shantarakshita.
LR01 Lamrim Outline

Lamrim outline: Foundation

A detailed outline of the foundation practices of the lamrim: relying on a spiritual mentor…

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