Dependent Arising and How We Create Our World: The Rice Seedling Sūtra

Venerable Thubten Chodron delivers a practical teaching on The Rice Seedling Sūtra to celebrate Chökhor Düchen, the anniversary of the Buddha's first sermon. Speaking to approximately 350 practitioners, she explains the core Buddhist concept of dependent arising—how all phenomena, including ourselves, arise when causes and conditions come together without requiring a divine creator or permanent soul. Using accessible analogies like reflections in a mirror and sprouting seeds, she clarifies that while rebirth exists as a mental continuum, there is no inherent self that transmigrates. The teaching explores the relationship between impermanence, emptiness, and rebirth within the framework of dependent arising, demonstrating how understanding the empty nature of phenomena allows practitioners to apply ancient wisdom to daily ethical conduct and spiritual development. Ven. Thubten Chodron provides clear, humorous commentary on how causes and conditions function, addresses common misunderstandings about the absence of a permanent self, and concludes with insightful guidance on the Noble Eightfold Path as the essential framework for transforming the mind and achieving liberation from suffering. The session, hosted by Joie Chen and held at Sravasti Abbey, includes a question-answer period addressing practical applications of these profound teachings.

Key Moments:

[2:51] Recitation of 84000 Aspiration Prayer

[4:35] Venerable Thubten Chodron begins the teachings

[7:55] Explanation of dependent arising

[23:38] Transmigration from this existence to the next

[50:30] “Like the beam of a scale tilting from up to down”

[01:22:38] The eightfold path

[01:41:52) Question-answer session