Description
Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara / Kuan Yin) is not only Tibet’s patron deity, he also is the embodiment of the compassion of all the Buddhas and as such is deemed the best possible contemplative gateway to the cultivation of compassion.
In this book, which has received high praise from monastics and lay Buddhist scholars alike, the American-born nun Ven. Thubten Chodron lucidly and engagingly elucidates the Tibetan Buddhist yoga of Chenrezig. Her explanations are based not only on scriptural but also oral teachings, which makes them eminently authoritative and practical.
Essentially, Cultivating a Compassionate Heart is a knowledgeable, highly practical, and fairly extensive commentary on the Chenrezig sadhana. The book starts with the Thousand-Armed Chenrezig visualization and the preliminary prayers found in most sadhanas and the long mantra of Chenrezig. Only then does the author proceed to explaining the various concepts that make up the theoretical underpinnings of this extraordinary practice.
About the Author
Born in 1950,Venerable Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron(Ch: 圖丹.卻淮) grew up near Los Angeles. She graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1971. After travelling through Europe, North Africa and Asia for one and a half years, she received a teaching credential and went to the University of Southern California to do post-graduate work in Education while working as a teacher in the Los Angeles City School System.In 1975, she attended a meditation course given by Ven. Lama Yeshe and Ven. Zopa Rinpoche, and subsequently went to their monastery in Nepal to continue to study and practice Buddha's teachings. In 1977, she received the sramanerika (novice) ordination, and in 1986, received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan.She studied and practiced Buddhism of the Tibetan tradition for many years in India and Nepal under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, Zopa Rinpoche and other Tibetan masters for many years. She directed the spiritual program at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Italy for nearly two years, studied three years at Dorje Pamo Monastery in France, and was resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Center in Singapore. For ten years she was resident teacher at Dharma Friendship Founation in Seattle, where she continues to be spiritual advisor.Ven. Chodron was a co-organizer of Life as a Western Buddhist Nun, and took part in the conferences of Western Buddhist teachers with H.H. the Dalai Lama in 1993 and 1994. She was present during the Jewish delegation's visit to Dharamsala, India, in 1990, which was the basis for Rodger Kamenetz' The Jew in the Lotus, and attended the Second Gethsemani Encounter in 2002. She is keen on interreligious dialogue. She has also been present at several of the Mind-Life Conferences in which H. H. the Dalai Lama dialogues with Western scientists.Ven. Chodron travels worldwide to teach the Dharma: North America, Latin America, Israel, Singapore, Malaysia, and former communist countries.. Seeing the importance and necessity of a monastery for Westerners training in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, she founded Sravasti Abbey and is currently involved in developing it.Ven. Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well-known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings.
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