Quote

Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allowing ourselves to move gently toward what scares us.

Pema Chodron

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Pema Chodron
Age: 88
Born: 1936
Born: July 14
Clergyman
Philosopher
Writer
New York City
New York
Deirdre Blomfield-Brow
Practice
Scare
Moving
Allowing
Relax
Buddhist
Scares
Toward
Gently
Compassion
Relaxation
Move
Daring
Learning
Involves

More quotes by Pema Chodron

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Most spiritual experiences begin with suffering. They begin with groundlessness. They begin when the rug has been pulled out from under us.
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I have all the support I need to simply relax and be with the transitional, in-process quality of my life. I have all I need to engage in the process of awakening.
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To live is to be willing to die over and over again.
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Our neurosis and our wisdom are made out of the same material. If you throw out your neurosis, you also throw out your wisdom.
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If someone comes along and shoots an arrow into your heart, it's fruitless to stand there and yell at the person. It would be much better to turn your attention to the fact that there's an arrow in your heart.
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In a nutshell, when life is pleasant, think of others. When life is a burden, think of others.
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Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die.
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We feel that we have to be right so that we can feel good... The whole right and wrong business closes us down and makes our world smaller.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Being preoccupied with our self-image is like being deaf and blind. It's like standing in the middle of a vast field of wildflowers with a black hood over our heads. It's like coming upon a tree of singing birds while wearing earplugs.
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Life's work is to wake up, to let the things that enter your life wake you up rather than put you to sleep.
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At some point, we realize that what we do for ourselves benefits others, and what we do for others benefits us.
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Someone needs to encourage us not to brush aside what we feel. Not to be ashamed of the love and grief that it arouses in us. Not to be afraid of pain. Someone needs to encourage us: that this soft spot in us could be awakened, and that to do this would change our lives.
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This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we go.
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Every small problem most likely stems from the same root as large problems, and so there is no need to always go deep. One can use anything for the therapeutic process and/if this link is made.
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We don’t sit in meditation to become good meditators. We sit in meditation so that we’ll be more awake in our lives.
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All the wars, all the hatred, all the ignorance in the world come out of being so invested in our opinions.
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By not knowing, not hoping to know and not acting like we know what's happening, we begin to access our inner strength.
Pema Chodron