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

More quotes by Pema Chodron

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When we are willing to stay even a moment with uncomfortable energy, we gradually learn not to fear it.
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When there's a disappointment, I don't know if it's the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.
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It is possible to move through the drama of our lives without believing so earnestly in the character that we play.
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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.
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It becomes increasingly clear that we won’t be free of self-destructive patterns unless we develop a compassionate understanding of what they are.
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The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.
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Allow situations in your life to become your teacher.
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We have two alternatives: either we question our beliefs - or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality- or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in staying open and curious - to train in dissolving our assumptions and beliefs - is the best use of our human lives.
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When we feel left out, inadequate, or lonely, can we take a warrior’s perspective and contact bodhichitta?
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To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again.
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It's important to remember, when we're out there aggressively working for reform, that, even if our particular issue doesn't get resolved, we are adding peace to the world. We have to do our best and at the same time give up all hope of fruition.
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Fear is a natural reaction of moving closer to the truth. If we commit ourselves to staying right where we are, then our experience becomes very vivid. Things become very clear when there is nowhere to escape.
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Let difficulty transform you. And it will. In my experience, we just need help in learning how not to run away.
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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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Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.
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Few of us are satisfied with retreating from the world and just working on ourselves. We want our training to manifest and to be of benefit. The bodhisattva-warrior, therefore, makes a vow to wake up not just for himself but for the welfare of all beings.
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Never underestimate the desire to bolt.
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We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.
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You see, there really is no separation between you and everyone else.
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Opening to the world begins to benefit ourselves and others simultaneously. The more we relate with others, the more quickly we discover where we're blocked.
Pema Chodron