41 Prayers to Cultivate Bodhicitta (2008-09)
Short talks on "41 Prayers to Cultivate Bodhicitta" from the Flower Ornament Sutra (Avatamsaka Sutra).
Verse 27: Empty containers
Venerable Thubten Chodron Transforming the appearance of an empty container into the wish that all beings be empty of faults.
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Verse 28: Joy in the teachings
Benefiting ourselves by taking joy in others' good qualities, and especially rejoicing at others' joy in the Dharma.
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Verse 29: Dissatisfaction with samsara
Why bodhisattvas pray for all beings to become dissatisfied with worldly things. The proper type of dissatisfaction to cultivate.
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Verse 30-1: Happiness
Cultivating dissatisfaction with samsara and striving to attain the happiness of the buddhas. How this happiness is different from sense pleasure happiness.
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Verse 30-2: The bliss of a buddha
The meaning of the term "the bliss of the Buddha." Considering the removal of the afflictions and the complete cultivation of all positive qualities.
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Verse 31: Seeing someone suffering
How compassion differs from personal distress and how to cultivate compassion without falling to apathy. How to benefit the animals in our care with the…
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Verse 32-1: Being free from illness
How the body, by its very nature, gets sick. The only way to avoid illness is to cut the root of samsara.
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Verse 32-2: Working with sickness
How to work with the mind when we are sick and transform illness into the path.
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Verse 32-3: Renouncing suffering
The importance of generating renunciation and really getting a feel for wanting to be free from cyclic existence.
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Verse 32-4: Aging gracefully
How attachment to the body—it's appearance and physical abilities— makes it so difficult to accept aging. How to age gracefully.
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Verse 32-5: Who is sick?
Working with illness and pain by considering who is the "I" who is experiencing the pain.
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