Pema Chodron Quotes about Meditation

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In meditation, you learn how to get out of your own way long enough for there to be room for your wisdom to manifest

In meditation, you learn how to get out of your own way long enough for there to be room for your wisdom to manifest

Pema Chodron

Long, Meditation, Way

The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain.

Pema Chodron

Emotional, Meditation, Easier

Meditation isn't really about getting rid of thoughts, it's about changing the pattern of grasping on to things, which in our everyday experience is our thoughts.

Pema Chodron

Meditation, Everyday, Mindfulness

One of the main discoveries of meditation is seeing how we continually run away from the present moment, how we avoid being here just as we are. That’s not considered to be a problem. The point is to see it.

Pema Chodron

Running, Discovery, Meditation

Pema Chodron (2001). “The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving Kindness”, p.3, Shambhala Publications

Well, it starts with being willing to feel what we are going through. It starts with being willing to have a compassionate relationship with the parts of ourselves that we feel are not worthy of existing on the planet. If we are willing through meditation to be mindful not only of what feels comfortable, but also of what pain feels like, if we even aspire to stay awake and open to what we're feeling, to recognize and acknowledge it as best we can in each moment, then something begins to change.

Pema Chodron

Change, Pain, Meditation

Meditation is about seeing clearly the body that we have, the mind that we have, the domestic situation that we have, the job that we have, and the people who are in our lives. It's about seeing how we react to all these things. It's seeing our emotions and thoughts just as they are right now, in this very moment, in this very room, on this very seat. It's about not trying to make them go away, not trying to become better than we are, but just seeing clearly with precision and gentleness.

Pema Chodron

Jobs, People, Meditation

The mind is very wild. The human experience is full of unpredictability and paradox, joys and sorrows, successes and failures. We can't escape any of these experiences in the vast terrain of our existence. It is part of what makes life grand-and it is also why our minds take us on such a crazy ride. If we can train ourselves through meditation to be more open and more accepting toward the wild arc of our experience, if we can lean into the difficulties of life and the ride of our minds, we can become more settled and relaxed amid whatever life brings us.

Pema Chodron

Crazy, Meditation, Joy

When we sit down to meditate, we connect with something unconditional - a state of mind, a basic environment that does not grasp or reject anything. Meditation is probably the only activity that doesn't add anything to the picture. Everything is allowed to come and go without further embellishment. Meditation is a totally nonviolent, non aggressive occupation. Not filling the space, allowing for the possibility of connecting with unconditional openness - this provides the basis for real change.

Pema Chodron

Real, Space, Meditation

Pema Chodron (2008). “The Pocket Pema Chodron”, p.79, Shambhala Publications

In practicing meditation, we're not trying to live up to some kind of ideal -- quite the opposite. We're just being with our experience, whatever it is.

Pema Chodron

Opposites, Meditation, Trying

Pema Chodron (2000). “When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times”, p.23, Shambhala Publications

While we are sitting in meditation, we are simply exploring humanity and all of creation in the form of ourselves.

Pema Chodron

Meditation, Humanity, Sitting

Pema Chodron (1996). “Awakening Loving-Kindness”, p.10, Shambhala Publications

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

Unique, Meditation, Together

It is only when we begin to relax with ourselves that meditation becomes a transformative process. Only when we relate with ourselves without moralizing, without harshness, without deception, can we let go of harmful patterns. Without maitri (metta), renunciation of old habits becomes abusive. This is an important point.

Pema Chodron

Letting Go, Old Habits, Meditation