Venerable Thubten Samten

Venerable Samten met Venerable Chodron in 1996 when the future Venerable Chonyi took the future Ven. Samten to a Dharma talk at Dharma Friendship Foundation. The talk on the kindness of others and the way it was presented is deeply etched in her mind. Four Cloud Mountain retreats with Ven. Chodron, eight months in India and Nepal studying the Dharma, one month of offering service at Sravasti Abbey, and a two month retreat at Sravasti Abbey in 2008, fueled the fire to ordain. This took place August 26, 2010 (see photos). This was followed by full ordination in Taiwan in March, 2012 (see photos), becoming Sravasti Abbey's sixth bhikshuni. Right after finishing a Bachelor of Music degree, Ven. Samten moved to Edmonton to pursue training as a corporeal mime artist. Five years later, a return to university to obtain Bachelor of Education degree opened the door to teaching for the Edmonton Public School board as a music teacher. Concurrently, Ven. Samten became a founding member and performer with Kita No Taiko, Alberta's first Japanese drum group. Ven. Samten is responsible for thanking donors who make offerings online; assisting Venerable Tarpa with developing and facilitating the SAFE online learning courses; assisting with the forest thinning project; tracking down knapweed; maintaining the Abbey database and answering email questions; and photographing the amazing moments that are constantly happening at the Abbey.

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Venerable Chodron and Venerable Samten sitting with a group of inmates in the Medan prison chapel.
By Prison Volunteers

Connecting with incarcerated women in Indonesia

Reflections on a visit together with Venerable Thubten Chodron to a women's prison in Indonesia.

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Aryadeva's 400 Stanzas

Chapter 12: Quiz review part 1

Review and discussion of questions on refuting wrong views. The first part of the review…

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Aryadeva's 400 Stanzas

Review of Chapter 7: Verses 156-175

A review of Chapter 7 of Aryadeva's "400 Stanzas on the Middle Way" focuses on…

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Aryadeva's 400 Stanzas

Review of Chapter 7: Verses 151-155

A review of Chapter 7 of Aryadeva's "400 Stanzas on the Middle Way" focuses on…

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Aryadeva's 400 Stanzas

Review of Chapter 2

A review of Chapter 2 of Aryadeva's "400 Stanzas on the Middle Way" focuses on…

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Exploring Monastic Life 2013

An example of integrity

Group discussion questions pertaining to our understanding of integrity.

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Closeup of hands of someone playing guitar.
By Prison Volunteers

The Dharma is flourishing

Incarcerated people share emotional stories of how the Dharma has brought them personal transformation.

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Stages of the Path

Seven-point cause and effect

Developing bodhicitta, first by meditating on exchanging and equalizing self with others, then following the…

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Stages of the Path

Death and impermanence

The importance and benefits of contemplating death, complemented by explanation of the nine-point death meditation.

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