wisdom Archives - Thubten Chodron: Recent Episodes
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Explaining the Pratimoksha ethical code, for lay practitioners and monastics, continuing the teaching from Chapter 4.
Leading a review of the Homage to Shakyamuni Buddha to meditate on these meaningful epithets.
Explaining a bodhisattva’s refuge, from Chapter 3 and giving an overview of the three higher trainings, and describing ethical conduct, from Chapter 4.
Explaining the common guidelines and maintaining proper refuge, teaching from Chapter 3.
Describing the guidelines for each of the Three Jewels and the first two of the common guidelines, teaching from Chapter 3.
Explaining the section on formally taking refuge, and covering how to deepen our refuge by studying the general guidelines of refuge, teaching from Chapter 3.
Describing the distinguishing features of the Three Jewels, causal and resultant refuge, from Chapter 2 and formally taking refuge, beginning Chapter 3.
Have you heard of the A.C.E.(Adverse Childhood Experience) questionnaire, which has ten specific questions dealing with trauma? It began with Dr. Vincent Felitti and another doctor, who were doing research on morbidly obese patients with compulsive eating habits. When the doctors began to learn about each patient, they found that the majority were traumatized as […]
Explaining the reverse order why buddha is a reliable guide and beginning the section on the recollection of the buddha, teaching from Chapter 2.
Explaining the four syllogisms of the forward order that prove how the Buddha is a reliable guide, teaching from Chapter 2.
Explaining the qualities of Buddha's body, speech and mind, and beginning the section on Buddha as a reliable guide, teaching from Chapter 2.
Covering the last six of the eighteen unshared qualities of a Buddha, teaching from Chapter 2.
Concluding the ten powers of buddhas (9 - 10), and covering the first twelve of the eighteen unshared qualities of buddhas, teaching from Chapter 2.
Continuing explaining the ten powers of the Buddha, covering 4-9, teaching from Chapter 2.
Explaining the four kinds of self-confidence and the first three of the ten powers, teaching from Chapter 2.
Finishing the section of Final and Provisional Refuges, and explaining the Three Jewels According to the Vajra Vehicle, from Chapter 1.
Describing the difference between the Three Jewels and the objects of refuge, both final and provisional.
Explaining the eight qualities of sangha jewel found in Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum, teaching from Chapter 1.
Explaining the eight excellent qualities of the dharma jewel found in Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum, teaching from Chapter 1.
Explaining the context for understanding the eight qualities of the dharma jewel, teaching from Chapter 1.
Explaining the eight excellent qualities of the Buddha Jewel found in Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum, teaching from Chapter 1.
Describing the qualities of the three jewels based on the perfection vehicle, teaching from Chapter 1.
Describing the qualities of the three jewels, giving commentary on the Jewel Sutra and explaining nirvana, from Chapter 1.
Explaining the reasons for taking refuge, mind's potential and existence of the three jewels, teaching from Chapter 1.
Commencing teaching from Volume 4, "Following in the Buddha's Footsteps", providing an overview of the book and the three objects of refuge.
Explaining the qualities of the dharma jewel and sangha jewel and the precepts to follow with respect to the three jewels, teaching from Chapter 9.
Explaining the three levels of practitioners and the reasons for the gradual stages, teaching from Chapter 7.
Concluding teaching from the text, "Samsara, Nirvana and Buddha Nature", covering the topic are we already buddhas from Chapter 14.
Describing the clear and cognizant nature of the mind and innate clear light mind, covering the subsequent sections in Chapter 14.
Explaining how the uninterrupted path leads to liberated path, transforming buddha nature and the third factor of the tathagatagarbha, nature of the clear light mind according to Tantra and the meaning the verse by Nagarjuna, from the sections in Chapter 14.
Explaining how the progression of teachings in the three turnings of the wheel presents the clear light mind from different perspectives, leading us to enter Tantra in order to understand how to actualize such a mind, from the sections "The Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel and Buddha Nature" and "A Link between Sūtra and Tantra", from Chapter 14, "Going Deeper into Buddha Nature"
Explaining the four causes to restrain the mind as what to do in the periods between the sessions, teaching from Chapter 5.
Explaining the characteristics of a student and describing how to develop faith and three ways of seeing the teacher, from Chapter 4.
Explaining the qualities of a spiritual mentor, continuing the teaching from Chapter 4.
Commentary to verses 6-8 of Chapter 9, "Wisdom," of Shantideva's "Engaging in the Bodhisattva's Deeds."
Explanation of the view of the selflessness of phenomena in the Buddhist tenet schools.
Describing the arya dispositions according to different tenet systems, from the sections "Ārya Disposition according to the Vaibhāṣikas and Sautrāntikas" and "Buddha Nature according to the Cittamātra School" from Chapter 13, "Buddha Nature"
The source of disagreements between the lower tenets schools and the Prasangika Madhyamikas.
Explaining the emptiness of afflictive mind and the emptiness of purified mind, reviewing the section, "The Equality of Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa", from Chapter 12.
The different understandings of the two truths possessed by those who have direct perception of emptiness and common people.
Describing the three factors that make the cultivation of excellent qualities, reviewing the sections, "Excellent Qualities Can Be Cultivated Limitlessly" and "Afflictive Mental States and the Nature of the Mind" from Chapter 12.
Explaining the obscurations to the mind and factors for liberation, reviewing the sections, "The Mind's Potential," and "Is Liberation Possible?", from Chapter 12
Explaining how tantra manifests the subtlest mind-wind and uses it to accumulate merit and wisdom and attain full enlightenment, completing the section, "Levels of Mind", from Chapter 12
Explaining what it means to say that the innate clear light is the mind is creator of samsara and nirvana, continuing the teaching from the section, "Levels of Mind" from Chapter 12.
Explaining how things are not findable under conventional and ultimate analysis, continuing the section "Equality of Samsara and Nirvana", from Chapter 12
Describing the meaning of "one taste in emptiness", beginning the section, "The Equality of Samsara and Nirvana" from Chapter 12
Explaining dormant and manifest aspects of rigpa and subtlest clear light mind, completing the section "Afflictive Mental States and the Nature of the Mind” from Chapter 12
Explaining rigpa, continuing the teaching from the section "Afflictive Mental States and the Nature of the Mind", in Chapter 12.
Explaining how the mind is different from mental factors, teaching from the next section, “Afflictive Mental States and the Nature of the Mind”, in Chapter 12
A conversation on the nature of time with a theoretical physicist, a philosopher, and a Buddhist teacher.
Explaining how it is possible to cultivate the mind’s excellent qualities limitlessly in the section "Excellent Qualities Can Be Cultivated Limitlessly"
Explaining how the mind can be habituated to excellent qualities that can be built up cumulatively, reviewing the section "Excellent Qualities Can Be Cultivated Limitlessly"
Describing the clear and cognizant nature of the mind as the stable basis for developing good qualities limitlessly
Explaining how the nature of the mind is free from pollutants, such that good qualities can be developed limitlessly, while afflictions can be eradicated through powerful antidotes, completing the review of Chapter 12, "Mind and Its Potential".
Explaining how afflictions are rooted in ignorance and how we can eradicate ignorance, continuing the review of Chapter 12, "Mind and Its Potential"
Explaining the reason how it is possible to cultivate powerful antidotes to the afflictions, continuing the review of Chapter 12, "Mind and Its Potential"
Describing the meaning of the subtlest clear light mind, and how this is the basis of the mind's ability to develop positive qualities infinitely, continuing the review of Chapter 12, "Mind and Its Potential"
Exploring the question, "Is Liberation Possible?", continuing the review of Chapter 12, "The Mind and Its Potential"
Continuing the review of the Chapter 12, "The Mind and Its Potential", describing how Buddhas perceive conventional truth and ultimate truth simultaneously
Continuing the review of Chapter 12, "The Mind and Its Potentials", describing the four maras
Continuing the review of Chapter 12, "Mind and Its Potential", describing how afflictions are not rooted in the nature of the mind and can be dispelled.
Reviewing Chapter 12, "The Mind and Its Potential", describing the nature of the mind and how it is possible to overcome the afflictions.
What it means to say things are empty but arise dependently. Also explanation of the two extreme views and the Middle Way.
Why realizing emptiness is essential and the stages we go through to realize emptiness.
Reviewing Chapter 12, "The Mind and Its Potential", describing how Buddhas depends on sentient beings and how we can treasure sentient beings because of this
Completing teaching from Chapter 12, explaining various meanings of "equality of samsara and nirvana" and how clear light mind is understood according to sutra and tantra vehicles.
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Continuing teaching from Chapter 12, explaining how it it is possible to develop positive mental states limitlessly and why afflictive mental states are not in the nature of the mind.
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How to apply the Buddha's teachings when the rubber hits the road and our Dharma study is put to the test.
The post Transforming intellectual knowledge into compassionate action: Part 2 appeared first on Thubten Chodron.
Continuing teaching from Chapter 12, describing three reasons that make liberation possible
The post Is liberation possible? appeared first on Thubten Chodron.
Buddhism is full of lists—but how do we put our intellectual knowledge of the Dharma into practice, especially in times of adversity?
The post Transforming intellectual knowledge into compassionate action: Part 1 appeared first on Thubten Chodron.
Completing teaching Chapter 11, "Freedom From Cyclic Existence" and commencing Chapter 12, "Mind and Its Potential".
The post The mind and its potential appeared first on Thubten Chodron.
Continuing teaching from Chapter 11, describing the nature and characteristics of nirvana.
Continuing teaching from Chapter 11, covering afflictive obscurations and cognitive obscurations.
Continuing teaching from Chapter 11, explaining the five paths of the bodhisattva vehicle.
Commencing teaching from Chapter 11, describing five paths of the practitioners of sravaka vehicle.
Completing teaching from Chapter 10, explaining the last two transcendental factors and covering the types of results from polluted and unpolluted karma
Continuing teaching from Chapter 10, explaining the transcendental factors concentration, knowledge and vision, disenchantment and dispassion.
Continuing teaching from Chapter 10, explaining the flow the transcendental dependent origination and covering faith, delight, joy, pliancy and bliss
Starting teaching from Chapter 10, explaining “dharani” to describe how they cover different aspects of the four noble truths and four self-confidences.
Continuing teaching from Chapter 9, describing the way to investigate the source of true happiness in order to sustain the dharma practice.
Explanation of the five paths according to the Vaibhashika school and assertions on the objects of abandonment and method and wisdom.
Explanation of the philosophical assertions of the Vaibhashika school including the view of the two truths.
The seventh in a multi-volume collection presenting the Dalai Lama's comprehensive explanation of the Buddhist path.
An introduction to the four tenet schools and the reasons for studying Buddhist tenets.
Commenting on Verses 66-74 of Chapter 6, discussing the relationship between attachment and anger and the reasonings to encourage our fortitude to small harms
Continuing teaching from Chapter 7, explaining the specific scope of the first-link, ignorance and the differences according to various tenet systems.
Covering Verses 62-66, leading a discussion on working with the self-centered thought and describing more techniques to counteract anger
Completing Chapter 6, covering karma and instinctual behavior and commencing Chapter 7, describing the wheel of life.
Giving commentary to Verses 38-42, discussing various reasons for why it's unreasonable to be angry with the people, objects, or situations that harm us
Discussing the tenets of non-Buddhist schools and going to cover Verses 33-38 that discuss how to cultivate fortitude for those who cause harm
- Identifying the nature of detachment
- Meditation on suffering is not a path to liberation but to generate renunciation
- The order of the teachings is to lead to insight to selflessness
- The purpose of recognizing impermanence
- Establishing that self-grasping is the root of samsara
- Refuting that a ritual empowered by god is a path to liberation
- Refuting that physical rituals will eliminate negative karma
- Showing that just sacred words can’t stop the cause of future rebirth
- Showing that if the self exists, there can be no reliable antidote to desire
- Why meditation on evident suffering does not lead to liberation
- Refuting that just seeing the faults in something leads to detachment
- Refuting the views of Samkhyas
- Refuting that liberation is recognizing that the fundamental nature and the person are different
- Refuting that renunciation comes from contemplating the suffering of suffering
- The impossibility of being free from attachment without abandoning self-grasping
- Attachment to the self cannot be abandoned merely by meditating on it as flawed
- As long as one has self-grasping one will still have attachment and aversion
- Refuting the views of Vaisesikas
- Merely meditating on evident suffering is not a path to freedom
- As long as there is a sense of self we won’t reject what is useful to the self
- Refuting relationships asserted by Vaisesikas
- The impossibility of meditating on a permanent person meditating on suffering
- It’s not possible to be freed from samsara without abandoning self-grasping
- It’s not possible to get rid of attachment when one asserts a self
- It’s not possible to get rid of attachment just by viewing it as flawed
- Questions and answers
- The argument proving omniscience
- Refuting self-disparagement
- Is it practical to first investigate the self-sufficient, substantially existent self?
- The pain of clinging to an I
- Can you use exchanging self and other to approach emptiness?
- Are both wisdom and bodhicitta needed to remove cognitive obscurations?
- Can ordinary people see the merely designated self?
- Do stream enterers realize all levels of selflessness?
- Is self-centered thought based on the self-sufficient, substantially existent self?
- Subtle self-centered thought