In the realm of spiritual wisdom and mindfulness, the words of Pema Chodron resonate as a beacon of guidance and enlightenment. Renowned for her profound insights into the human experience and her teachings on Tibetan Buddhism, "Quotes By Pema Chodron" offers a window into the transformative power of inner peace and resilience. In this article, we delve into a curated collection of Quotes By Pema Chodron, each one a profound nugget of wisdom that invites reflection, contemplation, and personal growth. Let us embark on this journey through the wisdom of Pema Chodron, as we explore the profound and timeless messages that can transform our lives for the better.
Quotes By Pema Chodron (2024)
Pema Chodron, a revered teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, imparts wisdom that transcends religious boundaries, offering guidance for those seeking inner peace, resilience, and a deeper connection with themselves. Her profound insights and teachings have the power to transform lives. Here are some unique quotes by Pema Chodron that illuminate the path to mindfulness, compassion, and personal growth:
"To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest."
"The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment."
"You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather."
"Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth."
"The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have."
"When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless."
"The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently."
"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals."
"Rather than being disheartened by the uncertainty of life, what if we accepted it and relaxed into it? What if we said, 'Yes, this is the way it is; this is what it means to be human,' and decided to sit down and enjoy the ride?"
"We already have everything we need. There is no need for self-improvement. All these trips that we lay on ourselves—the heavy-duty fearing that we're bad and hoping that we're good, the identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy, and the addictions of all kinds—never touch our basic wealth. They are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here. This is who we really are. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake."
"Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts."
"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."
"Bodhichitta is a Sanskrit word that means 'noble or awakened heart.' It is said to be present in all beings."
"You are the sky. Everything else – it's just the weather."
"Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us."
"The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new."
"As long as we don't have the complete scene, we can't actually solve the problem."
"Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know."
"Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we'd rather collapse and back away. They're like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we're stuck."
"Our greatest ally in healing our pain is our pain."
"The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves."
"Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look."
"We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts."
"The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else's eyes."
"Let the hard things in life break you. Let them affect you. Let them change you. Let these hard moments inform you. Let this pain be your teacher. The experiences of your life are trying to tell you something about yourself. Don't cop out on that. Don't run away and hide under your covers. Lean into it."
"When we protect ourselves so we won't feel pain, that protection becomes like armor, like armor that imprisons the softness of the heart."
"The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment."
"The root of all the difficulties and obstacles we experience is ignorance."
"It's like we're standing at the threshold of a new frontier. The question is not how do we heroically conquer it. The question is how we can let it open us, how we can welcome it, and how we can let it make us more human, more kind, more loving, more brave, and more compassionate."
"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."
"The more you can relax with imperfection, the faster you'll find your way to growing up."
"The only way to get somewhere is to figure out where you're going before you go there."
"You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather."
"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 its dynamic quality, that’s called enlightenment."
"The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with."
"Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already."
"When we practice generating compassion, we can expect to experience the fear of our pain. Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allow ourselves to move gently toward what scares us."
"Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure."
"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. You always have the choice."
"In the process of discovering our true nature, the journey goes down, not up."
"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals."
"We already have everything we need. There is no need for self-improvement. All these trips that we lay on ourselves – the heavy-duty fearing that we’re bad and hoping that we’re good, the identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy and the addictions of all kinds – never touch our basic wealth. They are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here. This is who we really are. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake."
"We don’t set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts."
"We don't sit in meditation to become good meditators. We sit in meditation so that we'll be more awake in our lives."
"You are the sky. Everything else—it's just the weather."
"When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid."
"It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately filling up the space."
"The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best."
"The truth you believe in and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new."
"When things fall apart and we're on the verge of we know not what, the test for each of us is to stay on that brink and not concretize."
"Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back."
"If your wisdom is stable, then you will realize that you cannot make a problem. To realize that you cannot make a problem is to understand the nature of ignorance, or bewilderment, which is the root of all our difficulties in life."
"We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that."
"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 its dynamic quality, that's called enlightenment."
"The only way to get ground under our feet and to feel at home in the world is to open ourselves to our situations, to get used to their moods, to follow their rhythms."
"As long as we're addicted to hope, we feel that we can tone our experience down or liven it up or change it somehow, and we continue to suffer a lot."
"The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else’s eyes."
"Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already."
"We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart."
"It isn't the things that happen to us in our lives that cause us to suffer, it's how we relate to the things that happen to us that causes us to suffer."
"Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can't simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment."
"When we resist change, it's called suffering."
"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."
"The most important thing is to know that the 'trick' of meditation is to be entirely open to yourself and your situation."
"Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there's a big disappointment, we don't know if that's the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure."
"The journey of awakening happens when we let go of our attachment to our identity as a 'somebody.'"
"We can gradually drop our ideals of who we think we ought to be, or who we think we want to be, or who we think other people think we want to be or ought to be."
"To stay with that shakiness—to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge—that is the path of true awakening."
"The present moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we are."
"We are all capable of becoming fundamentalists because we get addicted to other people's wrongness."
"The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment."
"When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space."
"Bodhisattvas are beings who are willing to give up their own territory and security to help others."
"We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart."
"Each day is a new opportunity to begin again. Don't carry the mistakes of yesterday with you."
"If your everyday practice is to open to all your emotions, to all the people you meet, to all the situations you encounter, without closing down, trusting that you can do that—then that will take you as far as you can go."
"The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain."
"Each and every one of us has the same potential."
"When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You're able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you get caught up in prejudice, bias, and aggression. You develop an enthusiasm for no longer watering those negative seeds, from now until the day you die. And, you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently."
"We can use any situation to either wake up or to put ourselves to sleep."
"The most precious opportunity presents itself when we come to the place where we think we can't handle whatever is happening."
"It's painful to see how we slap ourselves around. Yet we do it all the time."
"When we drop the storyline and come into the present moment, we get in touch with the openness and vulnerability of our hearts."
"The only time we ever know what's really going on is when the rug's been pulled out and we can't find anywhere to land."
"There is a basic wakefulness that is the basis of human life, and it is available to us, we could say, in every moment."
"When we talk about compassion, we talk in terms of being kind. But compassion is not so much being kind; it is being creative [enough] to wake a person up."
"The greatest obstacle to connecting with our inner stillness is the habit of running from our pain."
"The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with."
"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."
"In the midst of loneliness, in the midst of fear, in the middle of feeling misunderstood and rejected is the heartbeat of all things."
"Each moment is an opportunity to make a fresh start."
"The greatest obstacle to connecting with our inner stillness is the belief that there is something wrong with us."
"It's painful to witness the ways in which we abandon ourselves and others."
"When things fall apart and we can't get the pieces back together, when we lose something dear to us, when the whole thing is just not working and we don't know what to do, this is the time when the natural warmth of tenderness, the warmth of empathy and kindness, are just waiting to be uncovered, just waiting to be embraced."
"We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heroes or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe it's our job to invent something better."
"The point is not to make ourselves secure. We are insecure; it is the truth of our existence."
"In the process of discovering our true nature, the journey goes down, not up."
"The point is not to change ourselves. It's to be ourselves."
"If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher."
"The only way to ease our pain is to experience it fully. Learn to stay."
"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…"
"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity."
"The most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves is to remain ignorant by not having the courage to look at ourselves honestly and gently."
"We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy."
"The only way to ease our pain is to experience it fully. Learn to stay."
In the tapestry of spiritual teachings, "Quotes By Pema Chodron" stands as a profound testament to the timeless wisdom and compassion that flows from her words. Pema Chodron's insights into the human experience, resilience, and the journey toward inner peace have the power to awaken our hearts and minds. As we have traversed through these unique quotes, we've embarked on a journey of self-discovery, compassion, and mindfulness.
