Bitter Truths from a “Sweet Little Nun”: The Enemy of the Self-Centered Mind | Thubten Chodron

Nov 30, 2025

Thubten Chodron, a Tibetan Buddhist nun and founder of Sravasti Abbey, brings nearly 50 years of wisdom to the discussion. She reveals how the self-centered mind is our true enemy and discusses the common deceptions it uses. With humor, she emphasizes the importance of seeing others' happiness as vital as our own. Chodron shares a captivating story about a horse in Tibet and offers practical techniques to alleviate anger and cultivate compassion, stressing the universal quest for happiness.

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INSIGHT

Everyone Desires Happiness Equally

Everybody wants happiness and to be free of suffering with equal intensity.
Recognizing this challenges the self-centered mind that prioritizes "me" over others.

INSIGHT

The Self-Centered Mind Is A Deceiver

The self-centered mind deceives us by promising protection and special status.
In reality it fosters attachment, anger, and actions that cause regret and suffering.

INSIGHT

Enemies Inside, Not Outside

Our true enemy is the self-centered mind, not external people or leaders.
Viewing others as suffering beings equal to us reduces hostility and blame.

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In this session, Ven. Thubten Chodron, founder of Sravasti Abbey, visits Clear Mountain's Saturday gathering and shares insights into the self-centered mind and how not to fall for its tricks. Sharing insights from nearly 50 years in robes, she speaks about how we can learn to consider others' wellbeing as of equal importance to our own, and cultivate a heart as broad as the world. Also included: a very good story about a horse in Tibet and giving up anger!

For more information about Venerable Chodron, visit: https://thubtenchodron.org/

Thubten Chodron's Bio

Venerable Thubten Chodron is an author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, a pioneering Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the US. She graduated from UCLA and did graduate work in education at USC. Ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977, she has studied extensively with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, and other Tibetan lamas. She received full ordination as a bhikshuni in 1986.

Venerable Chodron teaches worldwide and is known for her warm, practical, and humorous explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She is also involved in prison outreach and interfaith dialogue. She has published many books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation and assisted His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the writing and publication of The Library of Wisdom and Compassion, a ten-volume series of teachings on the Buddhist path. Visit thubtenchodron.org for a media library of her teachings, and sravastiabbey.org to learn more about Sravasti Abbey.

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