"By not knowing, not hoping to know, and not acting like we know what’s happening, we begin to access our inner strength." (Pema Chödrön)
"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." (Pema Chödrön)
"If it weren’t for my mind, my meditation would be excellent." (Pema Chödrön)
"In Buddhism, we call the notion of a fixed identity 'ego clinging'. It's how we try to put solid ground under our feet in an ever shifting world. Meditation practice starts to erode that fixed identity." Pema Chödrön
"It's helpful to remind yourself that meditation is about opening and relaxing with whatever arises, without picking and choosing." (Pema Chödrön)
"Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together." (Pema Chödrön)
"Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquillity, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes." (Pema Chödrön & Chogyam Trungpa)
"Meditation takes us just as we are, with our confusion and our sanity. This complete acceptance of ourselves as we are is a simple, direct relationship with our being. We call this maitri, loving-kindness toward ourselves and others." (Pema Chödrön)
"Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know." (Pema Chödrön)
"The root of compassion is compassion for oneself." (Pema Chödrön)
"The teacher serves as a mirror but also encourages your ability to trust in yourself. You begin to trust in your basic goodness instead of identifying with your neurosis. There’s a shift of allegiance. Then the obstacles begin to seem temporary, and what’s permanent is the wisdom. To the degree that you become intimate with your neurosis - not acting-out and not repressing - to that degree you discover your wisdom." (Pema Chödron)
"There is nobody on the planet, neither those whom we see as the oppressed nor those whom we see as the oppressor, who doesn’t have what it takes to wake up. We all need support and encouragement to be aware of what we think, what we say, and what we do. Notice your opinions. If you find yourself becoming aggressive about your opinions, notice that. If you find yourself being nonaggressive, notice that. Cultivating a mind that does not grasp at right and wrong, you will find a fresh state of being. The ultimate cessation of suffering comes from that. Finally, never give up on yourself. Then you will never give up on others. Wholeheartedly do what it takes to awaken your clear-seeing intelligence, but one day at a time, one moment at a time. If we live that way, we will benefit this earth." (Pema Chödrön)
"When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being. [...] You’re able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. [...] you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently." (Pema Chödrön)
"While we are sitting in meditation, we are simply exploring humanity and all of creation in the form of ourselves. We can become the world’s greatest experts on anger, jealousy, and self-deprecation, as well as on joyfulness, clarity, and insight. Everything that human beings feel, we feel. We can become extremely wise and sensitive to all of humanity and the whole universe simply by knowing ourselves, just as we are." (Pema Chödrön)
"Without anger there is no enemy… When hatred consumes us we perceive enemies everywhere." (Pema Chödrön)
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