Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion | Volume 3

Volume 3 of The Library of Wisdom and Compassion addresses the unsatisfactory nature of samsara, what it means to renounce our present predicament, and how the mind is the basis for both the problems of samsara and the peace of nirvana.

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About the book

In this third volume of the series, discover the mind’s infinitely vast potential and buddha nature. Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature takes up centrally important premises of Buddhism: the unsatisfactoriness (duhkha) of cyclic existence (samsara), the determination to be free of cyclic existence, and the mind as the basis for both the extreme duhkha of samsara and the bliss of nirvana. This volume shows us how to purify our minds and cultivate awakened qualities.

Knowledge of buddha nature reveals and reconciles the paradox of how the mind can be the basis for both the extreme duhkha of samsara (the unpurified mind) and the bliss and fulfillment of nirvana (the purified mind). To illustrate this, Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature first takes readers through Buddhist thought on the self, the Four Noble Truths, and their sixteen attributes. Then, the Dalai Lama explains afflictions, their arising and antidotes, followed by an examination of karma and cyclic existence and, finally, a deep and thorough elucidation of buddha nature.

The Self, the Four Truths, and Their Sixteen Attributes
Revolving in Cyclic Existence: The Truth of Duḥkha
True Origins of Duḥkha
Afflictions, Their Arising, and Their Antidotes
Afflictions and Karma, Their Seeds and Latencies
Karma, the Universe, and Evolution
Revolving in Cyclic Existence: The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
Dependent Origination: Cycling in Samsāra
The Determination to Be Free
Seeking Genuine Peace
Freedom from Cyclic Existence
The Mind and Its Potential
Buddha Nature
Going Deeper into Buddha Nature

Overview of contents

Venerable Thubten Chodron reads an excerpt

Venerable Chodron answers questions sparked by the book reading

Teaching series

In-depth Lamrim teachings:

“Series: Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature,” in-depth weekly teachings, Sravasti Abbey, 2021-23
Archived teachings, including topics covered and points for contemplation, are here.

Talks

“Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature,” a talk based on the book, given at the American Evergreen Buddhist Association Temple in Kirkland, WA, organized by Dharma Friendship Foundation

Media coverage

“Buddhadharma Book Briefs for Fall 2019,” Lion’s Roar

Translations

Available in Chinese (Traditional) and Spanish

Cover of Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature, Chinese translation

Reviews

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This book is a veritable tour de force in its explanation of the role of the mind in samsara and the realization of nirvana, which is the mind’s own ultimate nature. In its examination of buddha nature—spanning early discussions of the mind’s potential in the Pali canon through to the teachings of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection—it casts a bright light to dispel the darkness of materialism, which deludedly reduces the mind to a mere epiphenomenon or emergent property of the brain. Books such as this are urgently needed to trigger a true revolution in the mind sciences.

— B. Alan Wallace, Founder and President, Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies

“Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature” is the third volume in the series of books co-authored by Ven. Thubten Chodron and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This has proven to be a remarkable partnership, producing lucid, accessible articulations of Buddhadharma and demonstrating the relevance of philosophy to practice. The present volume ably advances the project begun in the first two and expands its scope enormously. His Holiness and Ven. Thubten Chodron together set out a comprehensive vision of the nature of samsara and nirvana, of the Buddhist understanding of the nature of mind, and of the path to liberation grounded in the realization of our buddha nature. The philosophical analysis is precise and comprehensive. The application to personal practice is insightful, direct, and easy to apply. This is a wonderful example of how Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist practice can be integrated.

— Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Smith College and Harvard Divinity School

Ever since their stellar collaboration on “Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions,” the team of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron have been bringing us teachings aimed at a modern Western-educated audience. In “Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature,” they have done it again, wonderfully. This third volume in the Wisdom Publication series “The Library of Wisdom and Compassion” presents an in-depth examination of the idea of ‘Buddha nature’ and explores and illustrates how the mind itself serves as both the basis for our suffering and our liberation. Helpful reflections throughout the text guide our journey. These are truly textbooks tailored for our times.

— Jan Willis, author of “Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist and Buddhist”

About the series

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion is a special multi-volume series in which His Holiness the Dalai Lama shares the Buddha’s teachings on the complete path to full awakening that he himself has practiced his entire life. The topics are arranged especially for people not born in a Buddhist culture and are peppered with the Dalai Lama’s own unique outlook. Coauthored by one of his long-standing Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron, each book can be enjoyed on its own or read as the logical next step in the series.

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