Researching The Gelongma Lineage
By Ven Sangye Khadro
The September 2020 IMI e-news included an extract from a teaching about Sangha and gelongmas that Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave in Holland in 2015. This article raised a number of questions and points for reflection regarding the gelongma/bhikshuni ordination. As someone who was very fortunate to…
06
July
Pratimoksha is a bridle
With hundreds of sharp spikes, suited to
The horse of the mind, so hard to steer
And always driven with effort
~The Pratimoksha Sutra
Preparing for Ordination
Written by Ven. Thubten Dondrub
Motivation
Adopting the life of a renunciate is a life-long commitment in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. One takes ordination because one realizes that this human life…
06
July
The Job of Ordained People
By Ven. Antonio Satta
It is important to know-and for those who do know, to remember-that desire does not start with becoming ordained. We may sometimes find ourselves wondering why we are so full of desire, as if the ordained life increased or brought desire.
Abstinence (for ordained people) and giving vent…
06
July
While it’s true that one can practice in a relationship, it’s more difficult to counteract attachment when one lives in an environment permeated by it. If lay life were the most effective way to practice, the Buddha himself would not have been a monastic.
Ven. Thubten Chodron
Remaining Celibate in an Environment of Attachment
By Ven. Thubten…
05
July
Have a sense that being ordained is really important and really precious and someone who has been able to remain ordained for so many years is something to rejoice in. If we have this attitude of appreciation for this whole lifestyle as a monk and nun, we will value our own ordination more.
Ven Sangye Khadro
Keeping…
05
July
Sojong as Skillful Means for Building Community
By Bhikshuni Thubten Saldon
Today more than ever, I am deeply reassured about the potential of Sojong for the Western Sangha. The practice of or Sojong supports both the individual and the community by the dismantling of harmful karmic conditionings. Again and again, I have experienced the huge potential…