Microsoft
The first stop was in Seattle where, at the invitation of the Tibetan Association, she spoke at Microsoft. It was an educational experience to be at the huge campus of 40 buildings with 10,000 employees and to hear about the long hours people work and the competition they engage in.
In her talk, Ven. Chodron addressed these issues and encouraged people to value the connection to living human beings, especially their families, colleagues, and friends, as well as all the people worldwide whom we don’t know personally but on whom we depend for the essentials of life—food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. One employee commented afterwards, “I watched and listened to the YouTube video and found a renewed sense of how I should live my life in the workplace. So thankful that it is on YouTube for everyone to watch.” Here’s the talk.

Yale University & NYC
This was followed by a full day at Yale University, where Ven. Chodron spoke to four groups. First, she recorded an interview to show to future students of their “What Is a Life Worth Living?” course. Next, she spoke to a class of students currently attending the course.
Ven. Chodron suggested that they change the class title. Asking “What Is a Meaningful Life,” implies that maybe there are lives not worth living, whereas she believes that every life is worth living. Why? Because people can change their bad habits and harmful actions so ending one’s own or others’ lives deprives them of the opportunity to cultivate their buddha nature.
In the third talk at Yale, she spoke to a group of freshmen at the Morris House residence on Compassion in Our Country. They asked about why she chose to become a monastic and the role of monastics in society. Lastly, she spoke to the university’s Buddhist group. Guided by Chaplain Suni Kim, the group met in an old chapel on campus.
Heading on to New York City, Ven. Chodron taught “Three Principal Aspects of the Path” by Je Tsongkhapa at Shantideva Center. Mary Grace returned to Seattle after that. Ven. Konchog, who videoed all the talks and made the sound systems at the Dharma centers work properly, continued on to Europe.
France
In France, Ven. Jampa joined to assist with the rest of the tour for the whole month of April. Their first stop was in Marzens, in southern France where they were invited for lunch at both Dorje Pamo Monastery for nuns and Nalanda Monastery for monks. Ven. Chodron gave talks at both places. See the photos here. She also gave three teachings on “Working with Anger” with French interpretation at Vajra Yogini Institute (VYI).
Forty years ago, she lived at Dorje Pamo Monastery for four years when it was then located at VYI and attended teachings at Nalanda. This was her first visit since since then. It brought many good memories and a renewed appreciation for her opportunity to study there with Khensur Jampa Tegchok, who has subsequently passed away.

Switzerland
The three monastics then traveled to Geneva, Switzerland where they were hosted by a branch of the Longku Center. There Ven. Chodron spoke on The Buddhist Approach to Cultivating Inner Peace, a topic that was especially applicable to the numerous people working at U.N. and charity organizations in Geneva. These organizations have been rocked by policy changes in the U.S., especially the elimination of USAID, which engaged in so many international humanitarian efforts.
They then went to Bern, Switzerland’s capital, where they stayed at a home outside the city in the foothills of the alps. In the few hours of free time on this trip, they enjoyed long walks in the countryside as well as their host Jenny’s delicious food. The public talk was on “Buddhist Wisdom to Manage Your Emotional Life” and the weekend retreat was on “Parting from the Four Clingings.” This group was especially responsive to the teachings and people enjoyed learning to laugh at the “rules of their universe” that were dictated by their self-centered thought.
Netherlands
They packed their bags once more and traveled by train to Amsterdam. The talk in the city center was entitled “Letting Go of Worldly Concerns,” which you can watch here, and the three-day retreat at the countryside center at Loenen was on the bodhisattva perfections of “Ethical Conduct, Fortitude, and Joyous Effort.”
We’ll report on the final stops in Germany in the June enews.
You can also read MG’s reflections on the first part of the trip here.
