Tag Archives: Pema Chödrön
Stimulus/Response
Pema Chödron, on getting hooked (via Just Dharma Quotes): In Tibetan there is a word that points to the root cause of aggression, the root cause also of craving. It points to a familiar experience that is at the root of all conflict, all cruelty, oppression, and greed. This word is shenpa. The usual translation …
And It Cripples Us
“Every cell in the body is continuously changing. Thoughts and emotions rise and fall away unceasingly. When we’re thinking that we’re competent or that we’re hopeless– what are we basing it on? On this fleeting moment? On yesterday’s success or failure? We cling to a fixed idea of who we are and it cripples us. …
So, how you doin’?
“We don’t set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts.” ~Pema Chödron
Getting the Knack
“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.” …
Change the World
“When we are training in the art of peace, we are not given any promises that, because of our noble intentions, everything will be okay. In fact, there are no promises of fruition at all. Instead, we are encouraged to simply look deeply at joy and sorrow, at laughing and crying, at hoping and fearing, …
It’s just like that.
“Things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” ~ Pema Chödrön
So What? It’s no big deal.
“As we learn to relax with groundlessness, this enthusiasm will emerge. We practice what is called the threefold purity – no big deal about the doer, no big deal about the action, no big deal about the result. This joyful exertion is rooted in no expectation, no ambition, no hope of fruition. We just eagerly …
Unavailable
“The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.” ~Pema Chödron
Monsters
“We can spend our whole lives escaping from the monsters of our minds.” ~Pema Chödron
We don’t know anything.
“Letting there be room for Not Knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure. Life is like that. We don’t know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. …
On the other hand…
“On the other hand, you could just relax and realize that, behind all the worry, complaint and disapproval that goes on in your mind, the sun is always coming up in the morning, moving across the sky, and going down in the evening. The birds are always out there collecting their food and making their …
Forever In Flux
“As human beings we share a tendency to scramble for certainty whenever we realize that everything around us is in flux. In difficult times the stress of trying to find solid ground– something predictable to stand on– seems to intensify. But in truth, the very nature of our existence is forever in flux. Everything keeps …
Two Quotes about Circles
“People often say, ‘Meditation is all very well, but what does it have to do with my life?’ What it has to do with your life is that perhaps through this simple practice of paying attention – giving loving-kindness to your speech and your actions and the movements of your mind – you begin to …
Hooks
Excerpted from the article “5 Ways Not to Bite the Trump Hook” by Susan Piver, in the March 2017 issue of Lion’s Roar: Pema Chodron famously introduced us to the notion of shenpa, which she defines as “biting the hook” of our habitual reactions. When someone leaves us, we may bite the hook of grasping. …
Curiouser
In every issue, the magazine The Lion’s Roar asks the question, “What’s the most important Buddhist teaching to proclaim in today’s troubled world?” I liked this answer: “Two words, from Pema Chödrön: ‘Be Curious.’ Rather than being judgemental, fearful, angry, hurt, annoyed, or even complimented, just be curious. Those two words have brought me more …
An Open Doorway
Excerpted from the September 2015 issue of Shambhala Sun: Three Conscious Breaths Pema Chödrön teaches us a simple technique we can use anytime we need a break from our habitual patterns. Our habits are strong, so a certain discipline is required to step outside our cocoon and receive the magic of our surroundings. Pause practice– …
öö
“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” ~Pema Chödrön
Abbie's Tree House 