Sangha in the West

Many people want to know what it's like for Westerners to be ordained, how sangha support themselves, what living in a nunnery is like, and the role of women monastics in Tibetan Buddhism. Special guest teacher Venerable Thubten Chodron is highly qualified to talk about this topic. She ordained as a nun in the Tibetan tradition in 1977 and received the full ordination of a bhikshuni in Taiwan in 1986. A highly respected teacher and author, she has been the resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Center in Singapore, and was resident teacher and spiritual adviser for Dharma Friendship Foundation in Seattle for ten years. She is currently the Abbess of Sravasti Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in Newport, Washington, which she founded in 2003. In addition to her teaching, we'll also watch two short videos about Sravasti Abbey and monastic life there as an introduction to the topic.

Check out the rest of Ven. Thubten Chodron's scheduled events at Kadampa Center.