Welcome to Episodes 14-16 of the Vibe with Venerables series, where we talk “live” to Buddhist masters together. Full listing of all Vibe with Venerables episodes here.
TL;DR
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Episodes 14-16. Compassion: Try a Little Kindness
Join Venerable Thubten Chodron and Sravasti Abbey monastics as we dive into the transformative power of compassion. What does it truly mean to feel and extend compassion, not only for others but for ourselves? This series will explore how cultivating a compassionate heart can heal suffering, both internally and in the world around us.
Each Venerable speaker will share their insights on how to deepen this immeasurable quality, making it an integral part of our lives.
Episode 14, with Venerable Thubten Chonyi
13 July 2025 (Sunday), 5pm US Pacific Time, 8pm US Eastern
14 July 2025 (Monday), 1am London, 8am Singapore, 10am Sydney (Timezone converter) [Register here]
Episode 15, with Venerable Thubten Chodron
20 July 2025 (Sunday), 5pm US Pacific Time, 8pm US Eastern
21 July 2025 (Monday), 1am London, 8am Singapore, 10am Sydney (Timezone converter) [Register here]
Episode 16, with Venerable Thubten Gyatso
27 July 2025 (Sunday), 5pm US Pacific Time, 8pm US Eastern
28 July 2025 (Monday), 1am London, 8am Singapore, 10am Sydney (Timezone converter) [Register here]
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About the Teachers
Bhikshuni Venerable Thubten Chodron, Founder & Abbess, Sravasti Abbey
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Establishing Sravasti Abbey fulfills a long-held dream for Venerable Thubten Chodron (Venerable 德林 De Lin in Chinese): to train Western ordained sangha in the Buddha’s teachings. Her vision includes doing prayers and practices in English and using technology to spread the Dharma. She brings her core values of gender equality, social engagement, and care for the environment to the Abbey community.
A native of the U.S., Ven. Chodron, is particularly qualified to teach Western monastics. She trained in Asia for many years, receiving novice ordination from Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in 1977 and full ordination in Taiwan in 1986. Her teachers include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Lama Thubten Yeshe and many others.
In addition to founding Sravasti Abbey, Ven. Chodron is a well-known author and teacher. She has published many books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, including ten volumes in The Library of Wisdom and Compassion, co-authored with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with whom she has studied for nearly fifty years.
Venerable Thubten Chonyi, Bhikshuni, Sravasti Abbey
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Ven. Chonyi met Abbey founder and abbess Venerable Thubten Chodron in the mid-1990s, taking refuge with her at Dharma Friendship Foundation in Seattle in 1997. After completing a three-month Vajrasattva retreat, she made a deep commitment to study and practice the Dharma as a lay student.
She moved to North Idaho in 2002. Venerable Chodron and the Abbey fortuitously became her neighbor the next year. She was a founder of Friends of Sravasti Abbey and a frequent Abbey visitor before realizing her extraordinarily precious circumstances. She moved to the Abbey in June 2007, took sramanerika and sikasamana precepts in May 2008, and received full ordination at Fo Guang Shan in Taiwan in 2011.
At the Abbey, Ven. Chonyi is mainly involved with publicity and inviting generosity. She occasionally shares Buddha’s teachings at the Abbey, online, and at Buddhist centers in the US and abroad.
Venerable Thubten Gyatso, Sramanera, Sravasti Abbey
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Ven. Thubten Gyatso grew up near the beautiful white-sand beaches of northwest Florida. He first encountered Buddhism in 2005 with The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Ven. Gyatso deepened his practice by volunteering at Dharma College in Berkeley as the registrar for eight months. He continued with the same Nyingma Mandala organization by taking a volunteer position as an English teacher in Sarnath, India with the Sarnath International Nyingma Institute for three years. While living, eating, and practicing together with monks, he was able to deepen his commitment to the Dharma and train his mind to benefit all beings. A Goenka Vipassana retreat in Lumbini, Nepal had a profound impact by showing the calm, joy, and clarity of a focused mind.
He decided that the monastic life was the most conducive to benefiting others, and started looking for a monastery to ordain. He arrived at the Abbey in September 2021 after the Exploring Monastic Life course online, and recognized that Sravasti Abbey had all the conditions necessary for spiritual growth. His request for ordination was approved, and on May 20th, 2023, he ordained and became Ven. Thubten Gyatso.
Some of his opportunities for service at the Abbey include administration, infrastructure, and Dharma dissemination with the prison outreach team. He’s looking forward to one day joining the bhikshu sangha and attending the very first bhikshu posadha at Sravasti Abbey.
Donation
This series is freely offered by Buddhism.net.
If you’d like, you may make a donation directly to Sravasi Abbey here.
We thank you for dāna, the practice of cultivating generosity.
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