Use what seems like poison as medicine. Use your personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings. Pema Chodron More Quotes by Pema Chodron More Quotes From Pema Chodron The essence of our whole path is in that place of discomfort, and what do we do with it? Pema Chodron discomfortessencepath The most heartbreaking thing of all is how we cheat ourselves of the present moment. Pema Chodron cheatheartbreakingmoments Meditation accepts us just as we are-in both our tantrums and our bad habits, in our love and commitments and happiness. It allows us to have a more flexible identity because we learn to accept ourselves and all of our human experience with more tenderness and openness. We learn to accept the present moment with an open heart. Every moment is incredibly unique and fresh, and when we drop into the moment, as meditation allows us to do, we learn how to truly taste this tender and mysterious life that we share together. Pema Chodron uniqueheartcommitment Hold the sadness and pain of samsara [suffering, confusion] in your heart and at the same time the power and vision of the Great Eastern Sun [fundamental awake human nature]. Then the warrior [brave enough to look at & work with reality] can make a proper cup of tea. Pema Chodron sadnesspainheart The essence of generosity is letting go. Pain is always a sign that we are holding on to something - usually ourselves. Pema Chodron painessenceletting-go The difference between theism and nontheism is not whether one does or does not believe in God. . . Theism is a deep-seated conviction that there's some hand to hold: if we just do the right things, someone will appreciate us and take care of us. . . Nontheism is relaxing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the present moment without reaching for anything to protect ourselves. Pema Chodron buddhistatheistbelieve Awareness is the key. Do we see the stories that we're telling ourselves and question their validity? Pema Chodron awarenesskeysstories If there's any possibility for enlightenment, it's right now, not at some future time. Now is the time. Pema Chodron enlightenmentmomentslive-in-the-moment Everything in our lives has the potential to wake us up or put us to sleep. Allowing it to awaken us is up to us. Pema Chodron allowingour-livessleep When things are shaky and nothing is working, we might realize that we are on the verge of something. We might realize that this is a very vulnerable and tender place, and that tenderness can go either way. We can shut down and feel resentful or we can touch in on that throbbing quality. (9) Pema Chodron down-andqualitymight 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. Pema Chodron buddhismsquaressuffering We give it up and just look directly with compassion and humor at who we are. Then loneliness is no threat and heartache, no punishment. Pema Chodron punishmentlonelinesscompassion You must learn to sit with the restless, painful energy and not let the momentum pull you under and cause you to do the same thing over and over that's ruining your life and the lives of those around you. Pema Chodron learningenergylife When we start out on a spiritual path we often have ideals we think we're supposed to live up to. We feel we're supposed to be better than we are in some way. But with this practice you take yourself completely as you are. Then ironically, taking in pain - breathing it in for yourself and all others in the same boat as you are heightens your awareness of exactly where you're stuck. Pema Chodron painhelping-othersspiritual If you're invested in security and certainty, you are on the wrong planet. Pema Chodron planetscertaintyifs Allow situations in your life to become your teacher. Pema Chodron situationteacher In the most ordinary terms, egolessness is a flexible identity. It manifests as inquisitiveness , as adaptability, as humor, as playfulness. It is our capacity to relax with not knowing, not figuring everything out, with not being at all sure who we are, or who anyone else is, either. Pema Chodron buddhisthumorwisdom Buddhism itself is all about empowering yourself, not about getting what you want. Pema Chodron getting-what-you-wantempoweringbuddhism Affirmations are like screaming that you're okay in order to overcome this whisper that you're not. That's a big contrast to actually uncovering the whisper, realizing that it's a passing memory, and moving closer to all those fears and all those edgy feelings that maybe you're not okay. Well, no big deal. None of us is okay and all of us are fine. It's not just one way. We are walking, talking paradoxes. Pema Chodron inspirationalmemoriesmoving That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence. It is the ordinary state of affairs. Everything is in process. Everything - every tree, every blade of grass, all the animals, insects, human beings, buildings, the animate and the inanimate - is always changing, moment to moment. Pema Chodron ordinarytreeanimal
