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

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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Group photo of monastics.
Western Buddhist Monastic Gatherings

Joyfully swimming upstream

Monastics from different traditions discussed the significance of the Vinaya and its application in a…

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