renunciation

Renunciation, or the determination to be free, is the attitude aspiring to be free from all suffering and to attain the liberation that is freedom from cyclic existence.

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

Grounds and Paths

Asanga’s hearer’s grounds

An explanation of the 10 points of Asanga's hearer's grounds and how meditating on these…

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Grounds and Paths

Hearer’s path of accumulation

How the hearer enters the path of accumulation through developing the determination to be free…

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A Buddha statue inside a glass case.
Monastic Life

Vinaya is the best retreat manual

A group of long-term retreatants discover that the Buddha's system of ethical conduct in the…

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Abbey retreatant studying near the Meditation Hall.
Becoming a Monastic

Advice for someone considering ordination

Venerable Chodron offers advice to an aspiring monastic who asks how to know when it's…

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A woman prostrating.
On Refuge and Bodhicitta

The secret to happiness

Reflections on the benefits of doing a three-year retreat, and how letting go of self-cherishing…

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Hand turning large prayer wheels.
Helping the Dying and Deceased

Practicing for a loved one who is ill

Advice for a student struggling with her Dharma practice since the onset of her mother's…

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Venerable Damcho during her head-shaving ceremony.
Becoming a Monastic

Letter to those considering monastic ordination

Advice and resources for those considering monastic life, and special advice for those who are…

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A group of nuns standing together under a tree.
Western Monastics

Western Buddhist nuns

What it's like to be a Buddhist nun in the West, the challenges faced and…

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Grounds and Paths

Benefits of studying the grounds and paths

The motivations of different levels of spiritual practitioners, and why it is beneficial to study…

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Grounds and Paths

The three levels of spiritual practitioner

A look at the three levels of spiritual practitioners and how to cultivate their main…

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The Eight Dangers

The chain of miserliness

We need to develop a realistic view of just what our situation is—bound in cyclic…

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Man walking out of a tunnel toward light.
Prison Poetry

Upon life’s journey

Putting the needs of others ahead of his own, an incarcerated person makes a pivotal…

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