"Venerable Chodron has been dreaming…to establish Abbey for so many eons (laughs)…so now it happens, now it's actualized, and I think it's very wonderful."
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche



Offerings Gathered:
Taking Delight in Giving

Founder and Abbess, Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
Establishing Sravasti Abbey fulfills a long-held vision for Venerable Thubten Chodron: to train Western Sangha in the Buddha's pure teachings, doing prayers and practice in English, and incorporating the best elements of Western society, including gender equality and technology to spread the Dharma.

Venerable Chodron is particularly qualified to teach Western monastics. A native of the U.S., she trained in Asia for many years, receiving novice vows from Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in 1977 and full ordination in Taiwan in 1986. She was resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore and Dharma Friendship Foundation in Seattle.

Her teachers include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Lama Thubten Yeshe among others.

Venerable Chodron teaches Buddhist philosophy and meditation worldwide and has published numerous books including Open Heart, Clear Mind; Working with Anger; Buddhism for Beginners; Cultivating Compassion: the Yoga Method of Chenrezig; How to Free Your Mind: Tara the Liberator; Taming the Mind and the recently released Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path.

In her thirty plus years of ordained life, Venerable Chodron has lived in several monastic communities in Asia and in the West. She brings her wisdom from these experiences to shape the growing monastic community at Sravasti Abbey. In her vision, a flourishing Western Sangha is essential to preserve the Buddha's precious teachings, bringing peace to countless beings in countless future lives.