Authors:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Pema Chodron Quotes - Page 3

All Quotes Acceptance Acting Addiction Appreciation Attitude Awakening Awareness Belief Bravery Buddhism Certainty Challenges Change Character Children Choices Clarity Commitment Compassion Confusion Curiosity Desire Determination Disappointment Drama Earth Ego Empathy Energy Enlightenment Experience Fear Feelings Finding Yourself Freedom Giving Giving Up Grief Happiness Healing Heart Honesty Humanity Hurt Identity Ignorance Insecurity Inspirational Inspiring Journey Joy Justice Karma Kindness Learning Letting Go Life Loneliness Meditation Mindfulness Opportunity Pain Peace Peace Of Mind Perfection Perspective Pleasure Prejudice Quality Reality Resentment Revenge Running Sadness Sleep Sorrow Spirituality Struggle Suffering Teaching Train Training Understanding Waiting Warrior Water Wisdom

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

Happiness, Spiritual, Peace

Pema Chodron (2001). “The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving Kindness”, p.43, Shambhala Publications

Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquillity, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes.

Spiritual, Self, Meditation Practice

So war and peace start in the human heart. Whether that heart is open or whether that heart closes has global implications.

Peace, Buddhist, War

Pema Chodron (2006). “Practicing Peace in Times of War”, p.26, Shambhala Publications

The peace that we are looking for is not peace that crumbles as soon as there is difficulty or chaos. Whether we’re seeking inner peace or global peace or a combination of the two, the way to experience it is to build on the foundation of unconditional openness to all that arises. Peace isn’t an experience free of challenges, free of rough and smooth, it’s an experience that’s expansive enough to include all that arises without feeling threatened.

Two, Challenges, Inner Peace

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior's world.

Warrior, Inspire, Everyday

Pema Chodron (2002). “The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times”, p.85, Shambhala Publications

We think that by protecting ourselves from suffering, we are being kind to ourselves. The truth is we only become more fearful, more hardened and more alienated. We experience ourselves as being separate from the whole. This separateness becomes like a prison for us - a prison that restricts us to our personal hopes and fears, and to caring only for the people nearest to us. Curiously enough, if we primarily try to shield ourselves from discomfort, we suffer. Yet, when we don't close off, when we let our hearts break, we discover our kinship with all beings.

Truth, Fear, Heart

So many of us start along the spiritual path because we are suffering. But you must realize that for real healing to occur, there must first be deep compassion for yourself, especially the parts of yourself you dislike or consider ugly.

Spiritual, Real, Healing

Compassion isn't some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we're trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don't even want to look at.

Compassion, Self, Imperfection

Pema Chodron (2000). “When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times”, p.104, Shambhala Publications

One of the deepest habitual patterns that we have is to feel that now is not enough.

Patterns, Enough, Feels

People get into a heavy-duty sin and guilt trip, feeling that if things are going wrong, that means that they did something bad and they are being punished. That's not the idea at all. The idea of karma is that you continually get the teachings that you need to open your heart. To the degree that you didn't understand in the past how to stop protecting your soft spot, how to stop armoring your heart, you're given this gift of teachings in the form of your life, to give you everything you need to open further.

Karma, Buddhist, Teaching

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

Teacher, Inspirational Love, Peace

The happiness we seek cannot be found through grasping, trying to hold on to things. It cannot be found through getting serious and uptight about wanting things to go in the direction we think will bring happiness. We are always taking hold of the wrong end of the stick. The point is that the happiness we seek is already here and it will be found through relaxation and letting go rather than through struggle.

Happiness, Letting Go, Struggle

Pema Chodron (2001). “Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living”, p.115, Shambhala Publications

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that when we feel suffering, it doesn’t mean that something is wrong. What a relief. Finally somebody told the truth. Suffering is part of life, and we don’t have to feel it’s happening because we personally made the wrong move. In reality, however, when we feel suffering, we think that something is wrong. As long as we’re addicted to hope, we feel that we can tone our experience down or liven it up or change it somehow, and we continue to suffer a lot.

Moving, Mean, Reality

Pema Chodron (2000). “When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times”, p.52, Shambhala Publications

Never give up on yourself. Then you will never give up on others.

Wise, Wisdom, Giving Up

Pema Chodron (2000). “When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times”, p.145, Shambhala Publications

If we run a hundred miles an hour to the other end of the continent in order to get away from the obstacle, we find the very same problem waiting for us when we arrive. It just keeps returning with new names, forms, manifestations until we learn whatever it has to teach us about where we are separating ourselves from reality, how we are pulling back instead of opening up, closing down instead of allowing ourselves to experience fully whatever we encounter, without hesitating or retreating into ourselves.

Running, Reality, Names

"When Things Fall Apart". Book by Pema Chödrön, December 24, 1996.

Feel the wounded heart that's underneath the addiction, self-loathing, or anger.

Heart, Self, Addiction

Pema Chodron (2001). “Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living”, p.42, Shambhala Publications

Inner #‎ peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your #‎ emotions

Inner Peace, Peace Of Mind, Events

Being satisfied with what we already have is a magical golden key to being alive in a full, unrestricted, and inspired way.

Keys, Alive, Golden

Pema Chodron (2001). “The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving Kindness”, p.5, Shambhala Publications

Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing.

Fall, Healing, Buddhism

Pema Chodron (2000). “When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times”, p.11, Shambhala Publications

Feeling irritated, restless, afraid, and hopeless is a reminder to listen more carefully.

Feelings, Irritated, Hopeless

Each person's life is like a mandala - a vast, limitless circle. We stand in the center of our own circle, and everything we see, hear and think forms the mandala of our life ... everything that shows up in your mandala is a vehicle for your awakening.

Thinking, Circles, Life Is Like

You build inner strength through embracing the totality of your experience, both the delightful parts and the difficult parts.

Inner Strength, Difficult, Delightful

Pema Chodron (2012). “Living Beautifully: with Uncertainty and Change”, p.53, Shambhala Publications

Anything we experience, no matter how challenging, can become an open pathway to awakening.

Challenges, Awakening, Matter

Pema Chodron (2009). “Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears”, p.69, Shambhala Publications

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.

Commitment, Heart, Unique

The central question of a warrior's training is not how we avoid uncertainty and fear but how we relate to discomfort.

Warrior, Training, Discomfort

Pema Chodron (2002). “The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times”, p.8, Shambhala Publications

You May Also Like: