Vajrasattva Retreat - Winter 2006
by Venerable Thubten Chodron©
Sravasti Abbey, Washington, USA
6 December 2005 - 10 March 2006

Teachings from the retreat are posted below, either as audio files in mp3 format or as transcriptions that have been posted as pdf files, or both.

• 8 December 2005
  Cultivating our Motivation
  Transcript (Revised 17 Jan 2006): Download pdf file
  Audio (25 min): Download mp3 file
  
  
• 15 December 2005
  Taking The 8 Mahayana Precepts - A Teaching on Impermanence
  Venerable Chodron gave a teaching on Impermanence during the transmission for the 8 Mahayana Precepts in the first week of retreat.
  Transcript: Download pdf file
  Audio (17 min): Download mp3 file
  
  Question & Answer #1  
      - dependent arising and emptiness meditation
      - labeling and conceptualizing
      - thoughts that come up during Vajrasattva practice  
  Transcript: Download pdf file
  Audio (63 min): Download mp3 file
  
  
• 22 December 2005
  Question & Answer #2:
     -Begins discussion of The 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva
      -Using the Lamrim to shift our mind and world view
      -Distinguishing between attachment and virtuous aspiration
      -Dealing with pain
      -Discussion of the purification visualization
  Transcript: Download pdf file
  Audio (Part 1: 57 min): Download mp3 file
  Audio (Part 2: 59 min): Download mp3 file
  
  
• 26 December 2005
  Lama Tzong Khapa
  Venerable Chodron talks about the life and teachings of Lama Tzong Khapa on the celebration of his birthday. She also explains the practice of Lama Tzong Khapa Guru Yoga.
  Transcript: Download pdf file
  Audio (43 min): Download mp3 file

• 31 December 2005
  Question & Answer #3
  Transcript: Download pdf file
  Audio (Part 1: 58 min): Download mp3 file
     - Continued discussion of 37 Practices of a
       Bodhisattva. Verses 4 - 6.
  Audio (Part 2: 64 min): Download mp3 file
     - How to relate to friends who have negative views
      - Dealing with intense emotions
      - Nightmares
      - Questions on purification practice

• 7 January 2006
  Question & Answer #4
  Transcript: Download pdf file
  Audio (Part 1: 61 min): Download mp3 file
     -  Continued discussion of The 37 Practices of the        Bodhisattva, verses 7 - 9 .
  Audio (Part 2: 65 min): Download mp3 file
      - What is the purpose of silence in retreat?
      - Grasping at inherent existence and perceiving emptiness
      - Purifying actions from previous lives

• 15 January 2006
  Question & Answer #5
  Transcript: Download pdf file
  Audio (Part 1: 49 min): Download mp3 file
     -  Continued discussion of The 37 Practices of the       Bodhisattva, verses 10 - 15
  Audio (Part 2: 56 min): Download mp3 file
     - How to deal with the self-cherishing mind
     - Dealing with anxiety and pain
     - Addiction to thinking

• 22 January 2006
  Question & Answer #6
  Transcript: Download pdf file
Audio (Part 1: 53 min): Download mp3 file
  - Discussion of mindfullness
  - Does the Buddha have negative Karma and pain?
  - Titles of spiritual teachers
  - Respecting the Buddha's teachings and
     Buddhist traditions
Audio (Part 2: 55 min): Download mp3 file
   - What if you feel like you need a break from
     Vajrasattva?
  - How our mind interprets our experience
  - Emptiness of agent, action and object
Audio (Part 3: 47 min): Download mp3 file
  - The hell realms and spirits
  - Karma

• 29 January 2006
  Question & Answer #7
  Transcript: Download pdf file
Audio (Part 1: 49 min): Download mp3 file
  - How to read Dharma books
  - Thinking of the Kindness of others
  - The 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva, verses 16 - 21
Audio (Part 2: 64 min): Download mp3 file
  - What are your "non-negotiables"?
  - Renunciation

• 5 February 2006
  Question & Answer #8
Transcript: Download pdf file
Audio (Part 1: 44 min): Download mp3 file
  - Thinking of future lives
  - How we relate to our body
Audio (Part 2: 28 min): Download mp3 file
  - Continued discussion of the 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva, verses 22 - 24
Audio (Part 3: 36 min): Download mp3 file
  - Compassion and emptiness
  - Attachment to happiness
  - How we label an object determines how we relate to it


• 12 February 2006
  Question & Answer #9
Transcript: Download pdf file
Audio (Part 1: 46 min): Download mp3 file
   - Why do we keep doing the same stupid things?
   - Do we want the results of attachment?
   - Take the medicine or just look at the bottle?
   - Looking at problems in a Dharma context
   - Rejoicing at being wrong
Audio (Part 2: 23 min): Download mp3 file
    - Continued discussion of the 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva, verses 25 - 28.
Audio (Part 3: 58 min): Download mp3 file
   - Self-doubt
   - The kindness of others
   - Being in control
   - How should we respond when teachers are controversial



• 19 February 2006
  Question & Answer #10
Transcript: Download pdf file
Audio (73 min): Download mp3 file
   - The mind that wants excitement, something new and
      how to deal with it
   - How to deal with destructive habits
   - What is a suitable environment to practice?
   - Our "stories" written by our self-centeredness
   - The sufferings of animals

• 23 February 2006
  Question & Answer #11
Audio (30 min): Download mp3 file
   - Regrets for past actions and missed opportunities
   - It's harder to practice when you feel good
   - Trying to make samsara better
   - Compassion and the urge to fix everything

• 26 February 2006
  Question & Answer #12
Audio (79 min): Download mp3 file
   - The mental aggregate of feelings and the "yo-yo" mind.
   - How our mind invents a story out of raw sense data and imputes an emotion on it.
    - How emotions affect judgement.
    - When we see someone doing harm how do we react?

• 5 March 2006
  The 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva, verses 29 - 37
Audio (44 min): Download mp3 file
  Venerable Chodron completes teaching on the
   37 verses with the final verses, 29 - 37

• 9 March 2006
  What To Do With the Rest of Your Life
Audio (Part 1: 43 min): Download mp3 file
  Venerable Chodron talks about how to take what you learned with you after retreat. She gives suggestions for practice, setting priorities and creating conducive conditions for practice. She also talks about avoiding hindrances to practice and what to reflect on.
Q&A
Audio (Part 2: 36 min): Download mp3 file
  - What criteria do you use to make difficult decisions?
  - Helping others.
  - Useful habits learned during retreat..