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We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.

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
Open
Resentful
Choices
Scares
Lives
Kinder
Become
Increasingly
Make
Scare
Always
Choice
Circumstances
Harden
Afraid
Soften

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Until we stop clinging to the concept of good and evil, the world will continue to manifest as friendly goddesses and harmful demons.
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We practice to liberate ourselves from a burden.
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Ego is something that you come to know - something that you befriend by not acting out or by repressing all the feelings that you feel.
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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.
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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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Since death is certain and the time of death is uncertain, what is the most important thing?
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Just where you are-that's the place to start!
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You see, there really is no separation between you and everyone else.
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When we touch the center of sorrow, when we sit with discomfort without trying to fix it, when we stay present to the pain of disapproval or betrayal and let it soften us, these are times that we connect with bohdichitta.
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Compassion starts with making friends with ourselves.
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I equate ego with trying to figure everything out instead of going with the flow. That closes your heart and your mind to the person or situation that's right in front of you, and you miss so much.
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Suffering begins to dissolve when we can question the belief or the hope that there's anywhere to hide.
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Discomfort of any kind becomes the basis for practice. We breathe in knowing our pain is shared.
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Patience is not learned in safety.
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It has a lot to do with developing patience, not with the check-out person so much, but with your own pain that arises, the rawness and the vulnerability, and sending some kind of warmth and love to that rawness and soreness. I think that's how we have to practice.
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If you’re aggressive in your dealings, that’s how you’ll be regarded in the world. You might smile and give generously, but if you frequently explode in anger, people never feel comfortable in your presence and you’ll never have peace of mind.
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Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allowing ourselves to move gently toward what scares us.
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Only in an open, nonjudgmental space can we acknowledge what we are feeling. Only in an open space where we're not all caught up in our own version of reality can we see and hear and feel who others really are, which allows us to be with them and communicate with them properly.
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Resistance to unwanted circumstances has the power to keep those circumstances alive and well for a very long time.
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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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