Pema Chodron
Pema Chodron
Pema Chödrönis an American, Tibetan Buddhist. She is an ordained nun, acharya and disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Chodron has written several books and is the director of the Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, Canada...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionClergyman
Date of Birth14 July 1936
CountryUnited States of America
Pema Chodron quotes about
- hope
- one-day
- fundamentals
- results
- only-time
- right-now
- unlimited-potential
- down-and
- becoming
- positive
- use
- wakes-you
- ebb-and-flow
- movement
- alive
- underestimate
- recognizing
- never-underestimate
- enlightenment
- way
- cheerful
- moments
- path
- path-to-enlightenment
- roots
- suffering
- matter
- present-moment
- butterfly
- ego
spiritual revenge life-changing
To stay with that shakiness-to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge-that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic-this is the spiritual path.
pain pleasure
This is the tendency of all living things: to avoid pain and to cling to pleasure.
precious-jewels may mud
Our true nature is like a precious jewel: although it may be temporarily buried in mud, it remains completely brilliant and unaffected. We simply have to uncover it.
butterfly knowing laughing
It's hard to know whether to laugh or to cry at the human predicament. Here we are with so much wisdom and tenderness, and—without even knowing it—we cover it over to protect ourselves from insecurity. Although we have the potential to experience the freedom of a butterfly, we mysteriously prefer the small and fearful cocoon of ego.
wells openness resisting
Openness doesn’t come from resisting our fears but rather from getting to know them well.
giving attention medical
If you see a homeless person on the street, and they need food, housing, medical attention - if you can give that, do it. But at the same time, work with tonglen, because that is how you start dissolving the barrier between you and them.
letting-go practice curiosity
The painful thing is that when we buy into disapproval, we are practicing disapproval. When we buy into harshness, we are practicing harshness. The more we do it, the stronger these qualities become. How sad it is that we become so expert at causing harm to ourselves and others. The trick then is to practice gentleness and letting go. We can learn to meet whatever arises with curiosity and not make it such a big deal.
writing moments
The future is completely open and we are writing it moment to moment.
freedom heart inspire
We can begin to open our hearts to others when we have no hope of getting anything back. We just do it for its own sake.
wise helping loser
Tonglen dissolves your solid sense of "I'm the wise person, I'm going to help this poor, unfortunate loser."
who-we-are celebrate right-now
The point is that our true nature is not some ideal that we have to live up to. It's who we are right now, and that's what we can make friends with and celebrate.
compassion circles compassion-for-others
As we learn to have compassion for ourselves, the circle of compassion for others - what and whom we can work with, and how - becomes wider.
spiritual important path
There's nothing more important on our spiritual path than developing gentleness to oneself.
peace buddhist heart
The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else's eyes.