In this talk Venerable Thubten Chodron discusses the significance of taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha (the three jewels) instead of relying on sentient beings for guidance and solutions to problems.
She encourages practitioners to seek spiritual guidance from the enlightened beings in the Sangha community and to aspire for enlightenment to benefit all sentient beings.
Thubten Chodron describes the Saṅgha as a community possessing excellent qualities, including a deep understanding of emptiness and the diversity of all phenomena.
She emphasizes the importance of developing probing awareness and meditation to gain deeper wisdom, eventually leading to liberation and Buddhahood by becoming irreversibly pure of inferior obscurations.
The challenges of transitioning between different stages of concentration and maintaining a balanced perspective in Buddhist practice are also discussed.
She tells a personal anecdote about an abbess in Singapore who devoted her life to helping others, emphasizing the significance of acknowledging the special chances to follow the teachings of Buddhism in every lifetime.
Thubten Chodron further elaborates on the eight excellent qualities of the Saṅgha Jewel and the significant role of conceptual and non-conceptual probing awareness in understanding emptiness, a key concept in Buddhism.
She underscores the community’s commitment to guiding practitioners towards a deeper connection with the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, ultimately aiming for a more profound spiritual growth and enlightenment.
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
The Eight Excellent Qualities of the Sangha Jewel, as discussed by Venerable Thubten Chodron, typically refer to the exceptional attributes that characterize the enlightened members of the Buddhist monastic community (Sangha). These qualities are:
1 – Freedom from Attachment: The Sangha members are free from the attachment to worldly pleasures and desires.
2 – Freedom from Hatred: They have eradicated hatred and ill-will towards all beings.
3 – Freedom from Ignorance: They possess profound wisdom and understanding, having overcome ignorance.
4 – Mastery of the Four Noble Truths: They have a deep realization of the Four Noble Truths, understanding the nature of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path leading to its cessation.
5- Mastery of the Three Trainings: They are well-versed in the trainings of ethics, concentration, and wisdom.
6 – Freedom from Lower Rebirths: They have eliminated the causes for lower rebirths and are destined for higher states of existence or enlightenment.
7 – Possession of the Four Immeasurables: They cultivate and embody loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity.
8 – Possession of the Six Perfections: They practice and perfect the six paramitas: generosity, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom.