Monastic Life

A treasury of information about the joys and challenges of life as a Buddhist monastic.

All Posts in Monastic Life

Exploring Monastic Life 2019

Guarding integrity and aspiration

The purpose of religious institutions, what to do when disagreements arise with our spiritual mentors,…

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Exploring Monastic Life 2019

Taking refuge

The meaning of taking refuge and commentary to the verses of taking refuge.

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Exploring Monastic Life 2019

Sincerely going forth

How to overcome a poor-quality view of ourselves, and how to generate a mind of…

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Exploring Monastic Life 2019

Leaving family and renouncing worldly ties

How community life is a fast-track to overcome the eight worldly concerns, and commentary to…

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Exploring Monastic Life 2019

The meaning of ordination

The meaning of ordination, how it is much more than just keeping precepts.

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Venerable standing behind a podium with a photograph of the Sravasti Abbey community projected behind her.
Living in Community

The six harmonies: Setting the stage for living toge...

The six harmonies help people come together to create a spiritual community with the conditions…

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Nuns from different traditions do Chinese chanting and bowing at Sravasti Abbey.
Life at Sravasti Abbey

Living Vinaya in the United States

A paper on the bhikshuni sangha in the west written by a nun who participated…

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Venerable holding a microphone and speaking.
Becoming a Monastic

Living in the precepts

The joy of living in the Dharma. The importance of bodhicitta and how it helps…

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Venerable Chodron standing with monastics and lay people at Shide Nunnery.
Western Monastics

Interview with Shide Nunnery

An interview with Venerable Chodron with nuns from Shide Nunnery in Germany about the mindful…

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Life at Sravasti Abbey

The past and future of the bhikshuni sangha in the West

The role of the sangha in preserving and spreading the Dharma. The relationship of the…

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Group photo from monastic gathering.
Western Buddhist Monastic Gatherings

The 24th Annual Western Buddhist Monastic Gathering

Venerable Thubten Lamsel reports on the 24th annual monastic gathering, which took place at Spirit…

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Life at Sravasti Abbey

Purpose of a monastery

A discussion on ways in which the structure of monastery life serves to transform our…

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