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
attitude benefits increase
Whatever you are doing, take the attitude of wanting it directly or indirectly to benefit others. Take the attitude of wanting it to increase your experience of kinship with your fellow beings.
loneliness humanity
Better to join in with humanity than to set ourselves apart.
fear struggle threatening-us
A further sign of health is that we don't become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us.
compassion order compassion-for-others
In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves.
giving people mind
If you’re aggressive in your dealings, that’s how you’ll be regarded in the world. You might smile and give generously, but if you frequently explode in anger, people never feel comfortable in your presence and you’ll never have peace of mind.
kindness impossible difficult
Without loving-kindness for ourselves, it is difficult, if not impossible, to genuinely feel it for others.
inspiring needs sitting
It's also helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that's sitting right here right now... with its aches and it pleasures... is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive.
karma struggle seductive
Our patterns are well established, seductive, and comforting. Just wanting for them to be ventilated isn't enough. Those of us who struggle with this know.
mistake self suffering
We insist on being Someone, with a capital S. We get security from defining ourselves as worthless or worthy, superior or inferior. We waste precious time exaggerating or romanticizing or belittling ourselves with a complacent surety that yes, that’s who we are. We mistake the openness of our being—the inherent wonder and surprise of each moment—for a solid, irrefutable self. Because of this misunderstanding, we suffer.
compassion working-with-others action
Compassionate action involves working with ourselves as much as working with others.
kindness writing curiosity
Everything is material for the seed of happiness, if you look into it with inquisitiveness and curiosity. The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment. There always is the potential to create an environment of blame -or one that is conducive to loving-kindness.
meditation-practice meditation-and-yoga trying
Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.
teacher irritation perfect
This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we go.
reality practice differences
As we practice, we begin to know the difference between our fantasy and reality.