It isn’t the things that are happening to us that cause us to suffer, it’s what we say to ourselves about the things that are happening. The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.
PEMA CHODRONUse what seems like poison as medicine. Use your personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.
More Pema Chodron Quotes
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Each person’s life is like a mandala – a vast, limitless circle. We stand in the center of our own circle, and everything we see, hear and think forms the mandala of our life … everything that shows up in your mandala is a vehicle for your awakening.
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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.
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Appreciate everything, even the ordinary. Especially the ordinary.
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All situations teach you, and often it’s the tough ones that teach you best.
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The second noble truth says that this resistance is the mechanism of what we call ego, that resisting life causes suffering.
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Resisting what is happening is a major cause of suffering.
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All you need to know is that the future is wide open and you are about to create it by what you do.
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Treat yourself as your own beloved child.
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The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.
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Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible in us be found.
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The future is completely open and we are writing it moment to moment.
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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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Deep down in the human spirit, there is a reservoir of courage. It is always available, always waiting to be discovered.
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The essence of generosity is letting go. Pain is always a sign that we are holding on to something – usually ourselves.
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When we resist change, it’s called suffering. But when we can completely let go and not struggle against it, when we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into it’s dynamic quality, that’s called enlightenment.
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