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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Photo of the Buddha preaches his First Sermon about the Four Noble Truths to the Group of Five Monks
Exploring Monastic Life 2010

The Buddha’s life as an example

Various behavior patterns that influence our communication styles; using Buddha’s life as an example of…

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The text of the Four Noble Truths written on a paper
Exploring Monastic Life 2010

Motivation in a monastic environment

Examining the kind of mind that we want to cultivate when living a monastic way…

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Venerable Jampa and Mary Grace, smiling.
On Cultivating Virtue

Done with the detour

Without renouncing her householder responsibilities, she continues to deepen her understanding of how to perfectly…

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Stained-glass window of thousand-armed Chenrezig.
Chenrezig Weeklong Retreat 2010

Results of anger

How our anger creates many hindrances for liberation and enlightenment.

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Venerable Samten with eyes closed while two nuns shave her head.
Western Monastics

Why we need monasticism

Monastics as a bridge between the ancient teachings and the modern world.

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Green Tara Winter Retreat 2009-2010

Cultivating contentment

How to practice contentment. Letting go of craving and seeing that what we have is…

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Green Tara Winter Retreat 2009-2010

Being dispassionate toward perception

The benefit of being dispassionate toward sense pleasures and material things.

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Green Tara Winter Retreat 2009-2010

Motivation for the retreat

Generating the proper motivation for doing retreat and examining ways to work with the mind,…

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Green Tara Winter Retreat 2009-2010

What it means to do retreat

We have to understand what retreat means. We are retreating from dukkha, from suffering, not…

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