karma

Teachings related to the law of karma and its effects, or how intentional actions of body, speech, and mind affect our circumstances and experiences. The law of karma and its effects explains how present experience is the product of past actions and how present actions affect future experience. Posts include teachings on the types and characteristics of karma and how to use an understanding of karma in daily life.

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

Young Adults Explore Buddhism 2015

Making wise choices in life

How our actions have effects on ourselves and others, and how to make wise decisions…

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young man in forest meditating
Prison Dharma

The grief and resilience of a mother

A mother writes about taking refuge in the Dharma after her son's breakdown.

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Essence of a Human Life

Creating the causes for happiness

How the long-term view of creating causes for our future happiness helps us to be…

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Essence of a Human Life

Being fearless in making life meaningful

Appreciating the value of our precious human life, especially respecting our interest in spiritual growth…

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Essence of a Human Life

Valuing our intelligence

Contemplating the rarity of having a human intelligence to study and practice the Dharma, and…

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Guided Meditations

Purification: The four opponent powers

A psychological tool for self-forgiveness and making amends for our negative actions of body, speech,…

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Teachings at Sravasti Abbey

Chapter 1: Verses 20-24

The essential thing to remember is don't engage in nonvirtue, engage in virtue. How do…

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Teachings at Sravasti Abbey

Abandoning the 10 nonvirtues, part 3

Review of the three mental nonvirtuous pathways of action: covetousness, maliciousness, and wrong view.

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Teachings at Sravasti Abbey

Abandoning the 10 nonvirtues, part 2

A review of the nonvirtuous pathways of harsh speech and idle talk. Looking at the…

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Karuna the cat sits on a meditation cushion.
Cultivating Compassion

Our capacity for kindness

Cultivating compassion for specific groups of people and how this inner work transforms our everyday…

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Karuna the cat sits on a meditation cushion.
Cultivating Compassion

Becoming our own best friend

How to cultivate a healthy long-term friendship with ourselves. Learning to recognize the self-centered thought…

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Buddha statue in front of trees in the autumn turning yellow and orange.
37 Practices of Bodhisattvas

37 Practices: Verses 4-8

Looking at "bad" friends who take us away from the Dharma and cherishing the spiritual…

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