Obstacles are our friends: they teach us where we’re stuck.
PEMA CHODRONAll the wars, all the hatred, all the ignorance in the world come out of being so invested in our opinions.
More Pema Chodron Quotes
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Our true nature is like a precious jewel: although it may be temporarily buried in mud, it remains completely brilliant and unaffected. We simply have to uncover it.
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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 isn’t really about getting rid of thoughts, it’s about changing the pattern of grasping on to things, which in our everyday experience is our thoughts.
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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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Don’t worry about achieving. Don’t worry about perfection. Just be there each moment as best you can.
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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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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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When things fall apart in your life, you feel as if your whole world is crumbling. But actually it’s your fixed identity that’s crumbling. And as Chögyam Trungpa used to tell us, that’s cause for celebration.
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Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.
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Anything we experience, no matter how challenging, can become an open pathway to awakening.
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Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic-this is the spiritual path.
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Feeling irritated, restless, afraid, and hopeless is a reminder to listen more carefully.
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As our kindness for ourselves grows, so does our kindness for other people.
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Never give up on yourself. Then you will never give up on others.
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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.
PEMA CHODRON