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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Venerable Chodron standing with participants of the 2018 Young Adult Week.
Young Adults Explore Buddhism 2018

Planting seeds to understand the Dharma

How to create the causes to have the opportunity to hear Dharma teachings and the…

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A group of young adults sitting at a table discussing teachings.
Young Adults Explore Buddhism 2018

Training the mind to see things more accurately

If we can see situations more accurately, we won't have unrealistic expectations and we can…

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Four young adults smiling in the back of a pickup truck.
Young Adults Explore Buddhism 2018

Becoming the person we want to be

It’s impossible not to change. With a clear motivation we can steer that change to…

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An Open-Hearted Life

A different kind of strength

Compassion is based on inner strength that helps us remain present with own and others…

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Speaking Wisely and Kindly

The fourth nonvirtue of speech: Idle talk (part 2)

Venerable Thubten Chodron shares a positive memory of something she did in a large gathering…

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Gomchen Lamrim

The two truths

Teaching on the two truths: conventional truths, and ultimate truths.

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Buddhist Reasoning and Debate

Hidden phenomena and manifest phenomena

Continuation of Chapter 10, covering the section “The Division of Existents into Hidden Phenomena and…

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How to See Yourself As You Really Are

Love, compassion, and total commitment

The three levels of love, compassion, and total commitment, and the eight precepts of aspiring…

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How to See Yourself As You Really Are

Closeness to others

How recognizing the kindness of others develops a sense of closeness to them.

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How to See Yourself As You Really Are

Compassion as an antidote to anger

The antidotes to anger as the first step towards cultivating compassion for all sentient beings.

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How to See Yourself As You Really Are

A bucket in a well

Explaining the analogy of cyclic existence as a bucket in a well, focusing on karma…

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How to See Yourself As You Really Are

Feeling empathy

Comparing rebirth in cyclic existence to a bucket going up and down a well.

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