Quote

The essence of practice is always the same: instead of falling prey to a chain reaction of revenge or self-hatred, we gradually learn to catch the emotional reaction and drop the story lines.

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
Catch
Prey
Story
Revenge
Chain
Learn
Falling
Gradually
Fall
Hatred
Reaction
Stories
Essence
Self
Emotional
Drop
Always
Instead
Chains
Lines
Reactions

More quotes by Pema Chodron

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Are you experiencing restlessness? Stay! Are fear and loathing out of control? Stay! Aching knees and throbbing back? Stay! What's for lunch? Stay! I can't stand this another minute! Stay!
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At the root of all the harm we cause is ignorance.
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Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life it might be the only strawberry we'll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.
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Sticking with uncertainty is how we learn to relax in the midst of chaos, how we learn to be cool when the ground beneath us suddenly disappears. We can bring ourselves back to the spiritual path countless times every day simply by exercising our willingness to rest in the uncertainty of the present moment—over and over again.
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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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To put it concisely, we suffer when we resist the noble and irrefutable truth of impermanence and death.
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How will we experience the world a month, a year, or five years from now? Will we be even angrier, more grasping and fearful, or will some shift have occurred? This depends entirely on the tendencies we reinforce today.
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Openness doesn’t come from resisting our fears but rather from getting to know them well.
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Meditation is not about getting out of ourselves or achieving something better. It is about getting in touch with what you already are.
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The more neurosis the more wisdom.
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The truth is that good and bad coexist sour and sweet coexist. They aren't really opposed to each other.
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You see, there really is no separation between you and everyone else.
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Obstacles are our friends: they teach us where we're stuck.
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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.
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Generosity is an activity that loosens us up. By offering whatever we can - a dollar, a flower, a word of encouragement - we are training in letting go.
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Welcome the present moment as if you had invited it. It is all we ever have, so we night as well work with it rather than struggling against it. We might as well make it our friend and teacher rather than our enemy.
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Enlightenment is a direct experience with reality.
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That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence. Everything is in process.
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Rather than becoming more relaxed, you start pulling down the shades and locking the door. When you do go out, you find the experience more and more unsettling and disagreeable. You become touchier, more fearful, more irritable than ever. The more you try to get it your way, the less you feel at home.
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Feel the feelings and drop the story.
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