Thubten Chodron – författare

A life overflowing with compassion. It sounds wonderful in theory, but how do you do it? This guide provides practical methods for living with this wonderful quality, based on traditional Buddhist teachings and on methods from modern psychology—particularly a technique called Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). The methods presented by the two authors—a psychotherapist and a Tibetan Buddhist nun—turn out to have a good deal in common. In fact, they complement each other in wonderful ways. Each of the sixty-four short chapters ends with a reflection or exercise for putting compassion into practice in various life situations.

It can be hard for those of us living in the twenty-first century to see how fourteenth-century Buddhist teachings still apply. When you’re trying to figure out which cell phone plan to buy or brooding about something someone wrote about you on Facebook, lines like "While the enemy of your own anger is unsubdued, though you conquer external foes, they will only increase" can seem a little obscure. Thubten Chodron’s illuminating explication of Togmay Zangpo’s revered text, The Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas, doesn’t just explain its profound meaning; in dozens of passages she lets her students and colleagues share first-person stories of the ways that its teachings have changed their lives. Some bear witness to dramatic transformations—making friends with an enemy prisoner-of-war, finding peace after the murder of a loved one—while others tell of smaller lessons, like waiting for something to happen or coping with a minor injury.

Tara, the feminine embodiment of enlightened activity, is a Buddhist deity whose Tibetan name means "liberator," signaling her ability to free beings from the delusion and ignorance that keep them trapped in ever-recurring patterns of negativity. She embodies a challenge, but one that is profoundly nurturing: to transform our minds and become like her, reflecting the tranquility, compassion, and wisdom that make her so beautiful. Thubten Chodron describes a simple meditation on Tara, explaining its benefits and its application to daily life. She also presents two well-loved praises—"Homage to the Twenty-one Taras" and "A Song of Longing for Tara, the Infallible"—together with reflections on their meanings for modern practitioners.

Why do things happen the way they do in our lives? How do we create the causes for a happy life? The Buddhist practice of mind training gives us the answer to these questions: it involves overcoming our self-centered attitude and replacing it with an attitude that cherishes others. This, in turn, leads us to act in ways that naturally lead away from suffering and toward happiness—in short, to create good karma. Thubten Chodron offers a commentary on one of the great Tibetan Buddhist poems, The Wheel of Sharp Weapons, which shows, clearly and practically, how to eliminate the causes of anxiety, fear, and depression and to create the causes of joyful liberation for oneself and all others.

Eating as a spiritual practice: wisdom from the Buddhist tradition that you can use at home.Every aspect of our daily activities can be a part of spiritual practice if done with compassion—and this compact guide offers wisdom from the Buddhist tradition on how eating mindfully can nourish the mind as well as the body.Thubten Chodron, abbess of  Sravasti Abbey in Washington state, shows us that eating and activities related to it—preparation of food, offering and consuming it, and cleaning up afterward—can contribute to awakening and to increased kindness and care toward others. Chodron offers traditional Buddhist teachings and specific practices used at the Abbey, along with advice for taking the principles into our own home in order to make the sharing of food a spiritual intention for anyone. By eating consciously and mindfully—and by including certain rituals—we find ourselves less obsessive about food and can enjoy our meals more.

Daily dharma teachings on compassion, wisdom, mindfulness, and joy--ideal for creating moments of peace and reflection in our chaotic world.Awaken Every Day shares a quick dose of everyday wisdom, encouraging us to understand the true causes of our suffering and the paths to freedom. These insightful reflections help us understand our minds, our connections to our communities, and how to become the people we aspire to be.

A new edition of a Buddhist classic, an accessible introduction to the stages of the path (lamrim)--including 14 hours of downloadable audio meditations.The Stages of the Path, or lamrim, presentation of Buddhist teachings (a step-by-step method to tame the mind) is a core topic of Buddhist study. The lamrim meditations remind us that the process of transforming the mind, unlike so much of our frantic modern society, is a slow and thoughtful one. Best-selling author and Buddhist teacher Thubten Chodron here provides clear explanations of the stages of the path, as well as an accompanying downloadable audio program containing over fourteen hours of guided meditations on each of the topics covered in the text. Chodron discusses how to establish a daily practice and presents the meditations in detail, followed by advice for newcomers, instructions for working with distractions, antidotes to mental afflictions, and suggestions on how to deepen Dharma practice. Each practitioner will find meaning and insight according to their own skill level.

This user’s guide to Buddhist basics takes the most commonly asked questions—beginning with "What is the essence of the Buddha’s teachings?"—and provides simple answers in plain English. Thubten Chodron’s responses to the questions that always seem to arise among people approaching Buddhism make this an exceptionally complete and accessible introduction—as well as a manual for living a more peaceful, mindful, and satisfying Life. Buddhism for Beginners is an ideal first book on the subject for anyone, but it’s also a wonderful resource for seasoned students, since the question-and-answer format makes it easy to find just the topic you’re looking for, such as:    • What is the goal of the Buddhist path?    • What is karma?    • If all phenomena are empty, does that mean nothing exists?    • How can we deal with fear?    • How do I establish a regular meditation practice?    • What are the qualities I should look for in a teacher?    • What is Buddha-nature?    • Why can''t we remember our past lives?

An open heart is the dwelling place of compassion that extends toward all beings; a clear mind is the source of the penetrating wisdom of deep insight. Their union leads to the enlightened way of life that is at the heart of the spiritual path as taught by the Buddha. This introduction to his teaching is thorough yet wonderfully accessible, even to those with no previous knowledge of Buddhism. Thubten Chodron writes in an easy-to-understand manner as she skillfully relates the Buddha’s wisdom to the realities of our modern lives.

A former abbot of one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world, Khensur Jampa Tegchok has been teaching Westerners about Buddhism since the 1970s. With a deep respect for the intellectual capacity of his students, Khensur Tegchok here unpacks with great erudition Buddhism''s animating philosophical principle - the emptiness of all appearances. Engagingly edited by bestselling author Thubten Chodron, emptiness is here approached from a host of angles far beyond most treatments of the subject, while never sacrificing its conversational approach.

Explore the common ground underlying the diverse expressions of the Buddha's teachings with two of Tibetan Buddhism's bestselling authors.Buddhism is practiced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, from Tibetan caves to Tokyo temples to redwood retreats. To an outside viewer, it might be hard to see what they all have in common. In Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and American Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron map out with clarity the convergences and the divergences between the two major strains of Buddhism--the Sanskrit traditions of Tibet and East Asia and the Pali traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Especially deep consideration is given to the foundational Indian traditions and their respective treatment of such central tenets as the four noble truths the practice of meditation the meaning of nirvana enlightenment. The authors seek harmony and greater understanding among Buddhist traditions worldwide, illuminating the rich benefits of respectful dialogue and the many ways that Buddhists of all stripes share a common heritage and common goals.

Let a great Tibetan scholar guide you through one of Nagarjuna’s masterworks.In Practical Ethics and Profound Emptiness Khensur Jampa Tegchok walks us carefully through a classic of Indian Buddhist philosophy, explaining the implications of its philosophical arguments and grounding its advice in a recognizable day-to-day world. In Precious Garland, the source text for this commentary, Nagarjuna advises his patron king on how best to take advantage of human life to secure a happy rebirth in the next life while making progress toward the goal of enlightenment. Known primarily for his incisive presentation of emptiness, here Nagarjuna shows his wise understanding of how to navigate the intricacies of worldly life to balance everyday needs with spiritual practice. Loaded with equal measures of penetrating explanations of the highest reality and inspiring encouragement towards the bodhisattva practices, Practical Ethics and Profound Emptiness makes the case for living a thoughtful, morally upright life in the world to achieve immediate and ultimate spiritual goals.

The first volume in a multi-volume collection presenting the Dalai Lama’s comprehensive explanation of the Buddhist path.His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been publicly teaching Buddhism for decades. This series collects his presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment, compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron. The Buddha wanted his students to investigate, to see for themselves whether what he said were true. As a student of the Buddha, the Dalai Lama promotes the same spirit of investigation, and as the rich tradition of the Buddha makes its way into new lands and cultures, His Holiness has recognized that new approaches are needed to allow seekers in the West to experience the relevance of the liberating message in their own lives. Such an approach cannot assume listeners are free from doubt and already have faith in Buddhism’s basic tenets. The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series, therefore, starts from the universal human wish for happiness and presents the dynamic nature of the mind. This first volume also provides a wealth of reflections on Buddhist history and fundamentals, contemporary issues, and the Dalai Lama’s own personal experiences. It stands alone as an introduction to Buddhism, but it also provides a foundation for the systematic illumination of the path in the volumes to come.  The Library of Wisdom and Compassion collects the Dalai Lama’s decades of presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment. It has been compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron.

The second volume in the Dalai Lama’s definitive and comprehensive series on the stages of the Buddhist path, The Library of Wisdom and Compassion.Volume 1, Approaching the Buddhist Path, contained introductory material that set the context for Buddhist practice. This second volume, The Foundation of Buddhist Practice, describes the important teachings that will help us establish a flourishing Dharma practice.   Traditional presentations of the path in Tibetan Buddhism assume the audience already has faith in the Buddha and believes in rebirth and karma, but the Dalai Lama realized early on that a different approach was needed for his Western and contemporary Asian students. Starting with the four seals and the two truths, His Holiness illuminates key Buddhist ideas, such as dependent arising, emptiness, and karma, to support the reader in engaging with this rich tradition. This second volume in the Library of Wisdom and Compassion series provides a wealth of reflections on the relationship between a spiritual mentor and student, how to begin a meditation practice, and the relationship between the body and mind.