Monastic Life
A treasury of information about the joys and challenges of life as a Buddhist monastic.
All Posts in Monastic Life
Venerable Thubten Chodron Western monastics
How to overcome obstacles to receiving precepts, and the situation of Western monastics in the…
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Taking ethical restraints
The importance of purification before ordination and the actual taking of ethical restraints.
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Guarding integrity and aspiration
How monastics must guard their integrity and aspiration for awakening by developing self-confidence and immunity…
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Venerable Thubten Tarpa Living joyfully together
Venerable Thubten Tarpa teaches on how to live joyfully in community, drawing from her own…
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The banner of the Dharma
A teaching from the ordination ceremony text, focusing on advice from the acharya about practicing…
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Family life
The teaching from the ordination ceremony text continues, focusing on advice concerning how monastic relate…
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Venerable Thubten Jigme Working with expectations
False expectations we may approach ordination with, and the importance of practicing self-compassion to overcome…
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Going forth
A teaching from the Buddhist ordination ceremony text, focusing on the attitude to have when…
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The importance of motivation for ordaining
The importance of motivation when ordaining, and how to work with our expectations of monastic…
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What the Buddha faced in his life
What the Buddha faced in his life, and how the monastic community was established.
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Geshe Chopa Tenzin Lhadron From goatherd to geshe
Geshe Chopa Tenzin Lhadron describes her journey from rural Ladakh with minimal opportunities for education,…
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Bhikshuni Thubten Jampa The benefits of living in a monastic community
Venerable Jampa reflects on the benefits to be gained by living in a community of…
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