Konin Cardenas, Mark Unno, Thubten Chodron, and Bhikkhu Bodhi examine what dukkha is, why it matters, and how we can approach it in our lives. From the Winter 2017 issue of Buddhadharma. Buddhadharma: Dukkha is the starting point of Buddhist teachings, but not everyone speaks about it in the same way. Speaking from your own tradition, what does dukkha mean? Bhikkhu [...]
About Thubten Chodron
Oh Tara, Protect Us
Vajrayana practitioners supplicate deities and buddhas to help clear obstacles on the path. In this teaching, Thubten Chodron comments on a prayer to the buddha Tara to protect us from the eight dangers. Tara is one of the most beloved buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism. Her name means “the liberator.” She liberates us from ignorance, which is the root of cyclic existence, and [...]
19th Annual Western Buddhist Monastic Gathering: A personal report from Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
A personal report from Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron after she attended the 19th Annual Western Buddhist Monastic Gathering. The annual gathering of Western Buddhist monastics is one of my favorite events of the year. Having attended all but three or four of the nineteen gatherings, I have watched our group expand and coalesce into a vibrant community over the years. It seems [...]
A report from the 17th annual Buddhist monastic gathering
Bhiksuni Thubten Chodron reports on the 17th annual Buddhist monastic gathering, a non-sectarian gathering of ordained practitioners. Each year I look forward to our annual Buddhist Monastic Gathering, a time when Buddhist monastics from various traditions gather together to get to know each other and to discuss topics of mutual interest. The gathering, hosted by the City of [...]
Reflections on renunciation
A reflection on a recent gathering of Buddhist monks from various traditions, and their discussions of Vinaya, by Bhiksuni Thubten Chodron. For centuries, Buddhists from the various Buddhist traditions seldom met each other due to geographic distance, different language, and different cultures. Now they can, and for sixteen years Western Buddhist monastics from [...]
Monastics Go Green: Treating Planet Earth with Non-greed, Gratitude, and Simplicity
Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron reports from a meeting of Buddhist monastics on the theme of “Monasticism and the Environment: Treating Planet Earth with Non-greed, Gratitude, and Simplicity.” Each year, for fifteen years now, Western Buddhist monastics from diverse Buddhist traditions have been gathering together for four or five days to share our Dharma understandings and to [...]
