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
country strong buddhism
As Buddhism moved to the West, one of the big characteristics was the strong place of women. That didn't exist in the countries of origin. It's just a sign of our culture.
buddhism culture adapted
As Buddhism moved from one culture to another, it always adapted.
disappointment buddhism irritation
Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.
struggle buddhism reality
Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don't struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality.
buddhism suffering trying
Somehow, in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. We tend to forget that we are part of the natural scheme of things.
fall healing buddhism
Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing.
buddhism empowering getting-what-you-want
Buddhism itself is all about empowering yourself, not about getting what you want.
buddhism thinking people
We can gradually drop our ideals of who we think we ought to be, or who we think we want to be, or who we think other people think we want to be or ought to be.
buddhism squares suffering
Come back to square one, just the minimum bare bones. Relaxing with the present moment, relaxing with hopelessness, relaxing with death, not resisting the fact that things end, that things pass, that things have no lasting substance, that everything is changing all the time-that is the basic message.
begins clearly closing darkness illuminate itself longer meditation shut
What's encouraging about meditation is that even if we shut down, we can no longer shut down in ignorance. We see very clearly that we're closing off. That in itself begins to illuminate the darkness of ignorance.
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.
suffering causes happens
It isn't what happens to us that causes us to suffer; it's what we say to ourselves about what happens.
pain powerful feelings
One very powerful and effective way to work with this tendency to push away pain and hold on to pleasure is the practice of tonglen. In tonglen practice, when we see or feel suffering, we breathe in with the notion of completely feeling it, accepting it, and owning it.
pain pleasure
This is the tendency of all living things: to avoid pain and to cling to pleasure.