compassion

Compassion is the wish for sentient beings to be free from suffering and its causes. Posts include teachings and meditations on how to develop and increase compassion.

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View all posts in Venerable Thubten Chodron's teaching archive.

Statue of a sitting Buddha.
LR12 Cultivating Bodhicitta

Bodhicitta: Advantages and prerequisites

More of the many advantages of bodhicitta as well as how to cultivate equanimity, a…

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Statue of a sitting Buddha.
LR12 Cultivating Bodhicitta

The altruistic intention

An examination of the practices in common with advanced level practitioners starts by first considering…

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Large Mahayana Buddha statue.
Texts to Recite and Contemplate

Praise of the Teacher, the Buddha, Through His 12 Deeds

An extended homage to Shakyamuni Buddha, describing his many activities in spreading the Dharma, from…

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A nun smiling with palms together.
LR08 Karma

Practice virtue, avoid non-virtue

Developing a long-term perspective helps us gain clarity about the results of our actions.

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Statue of a Buddha in front of a setting sun.
LR08 Karma

Motivation and karma

Looking at karma within the three levels of motivation on the path, and describing karma…

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Stained glass image of Benedictine nuns.
Interfaith Dialogue

A Benedictine’s view

A Catholic nun's perspective on world monastic traditions and her own spiritual journey.

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Deteriorating Buddha statue at the Abbey pet cemetary.
LR06 Death

The lower realms

An in-depth look at the lower realms, the causes for rebirth there, and the benefits…

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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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A woman looking very sad and despair.
Science and Buddhism

The Mind and Life III Conference: Emotions and health

Do buddhas have emotions? Why do we feel low self-esteem and self-hatred? Finding peace through…

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