As Todd Hall began to buzz with people walking in, the simplicity of a single chair placed in the front of the room, covered in an orange drape surrounded by bouquets of flowers and a small wooden table set serenity to the tone of the evening.
Venerable Thubten Chodron, the American Tibetan Buddhist nun and founder of the Sravasti Abbey, shared “Buddhist Advice for a Better World” in the Molestead Library, on October 12.
The Buddhist Monastic Community, Sravasti Abbey’s slogan, “creating peace in a chaotic world” reflected in the atmosphere as people paused the hastiness of life to gather together, connecting to their breathing in a guided mediation before Thubten Chodron began.
When Thubten Chodron spoke, her serene energy and wisdom shined in her eyes.
Thubten Chodron asked the audience to reflect inwardly on their intentions and motivations for coming to the event and, on a larger scale, their intentions in their own lives.
A range of topics were discussed, including the pressures of being what others want you to be, the negative effects of comparing oneself to others, coming to peace with growing older, forgiving yourself, the effect of the media on self-esteem, the victim mentality, and in the great relief of accepting oneself.
Each topic had a common goal, to make one’s actions as compassionate and kind as possible.
Monastic community “strives to embody the Buddhist values of non-harming, mindfulness, compassion, inter-relatedness, and respect for nature, and service to sentient beings—all directed towards the enlightenment of all beings,” according to Sravasti Abbey.
Chodron didn’t hide the fact that she too will always have more behavior she can change in order to become more compassionate, confessing that she continues to struggle the most with making peace with the fact that she cannot control everything.
“If you can’t control yourself, how could you possibly control someone else?” Thubten Chodron said.
Her eyes lit up as she talked about these pressing topics, making many laugh with her; honesty, wit, genuine inner spirit shining outward.
Chodron discussed how it felt when she first created the Sravasti Abbey over thirty years ago; as she was jobless on a large property in the middle of nowhere with two cats, she began to doubt herself.
Chodron kept focused, remembering her intentions, and now travels worldwide teaching the Dharma, training in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and has written several books, including her latest, “Don’t Believe Everything You Think.
For more information regarding the abbey visit to www.sravastiabbey.org, and for more information about Thubten Chodron go to www.thubtenchodron.org.
