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90th out of 103 books
—
228 voters
Living Beautifully: with Uncertainty and Change
by
Pema Chödrön
Is it possible to live well when the very ground we stand on is shaky? Yes, says everyone's favorite Buddhist nun, it's even possible to live beautifully, compassionately, and happily on shaky ground—and the secret is: the ground is always shaky. Pema shows how using a traditional Buddhist practice called the Three Vows or Three Commitments is a way to relax into profound...more
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
October 9th 2012
by Shambhala
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Pema Chodron's books are full of wisdom, and I say this because I have read many of them and talked with others who have read them. This book is not only for our precarious lives today but for all times. She helps us understand that it is not the circumstances that threaten us but our reaction, our resistance to "the fundamental uncertainty of our situation" that causes our suffering. We need to let the truth of "how things really are" sink in by being fully present, feeling our hearts, and meet...more
Book Review: Pema Chodron’s “Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change”
Pema Chödrön is my go to for books that both kick me in the rump and provide that warmbelly feeling after eating a nice bowl of soup on a cold winter day. How can it feel both good and bad at the same time? How can it be like medicine that burns going down but yet helps to soothe? Well that’s just Pema’s teachings. They’re like that.
Based on a series of talks delivered at Gampo Abbey in 2009 during a winter retreat, the...more
Pema Chödrön is my go to for books that both kick me in the rump and provide that warmbelly feeling after eating a nice bowl of soup on a cold winter day. How can it feel both good and bad at the same time? How can it be like medicine that burns going down but yet helps to soothe? Well that’s just Pema’s teachings. They’re like that.
Based on a series of talks delivered at Gampo Abbey in 2009 during a winter retreat, the...more
"The Tibetan word for warrior, paw for a male warrior or pawmo for a female warrior, means “the one who cultivates bravery.” As warriors in training, we cultivate the courage and flexibility to live with uncertainty — with the shaky, tender feeling of anxiety, of nothing to hold on to — and to dedicate our lives to making ourselves available to every person, in every situation."
I have been a Pema Chodron fan for many years now. The Buddhist nun’s work has been critical to my on-sometimes, off-so...more
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Look, it's impossible to not like Pema Chodron if you are someone who in interested in spiritual enlightenment. She is an American raised Buddhist who writes in the style anyone can understand and relate to. She's not overly "God" in her dialogue, and she's very down-to-earth. She's not out of touch with the realities of life.
This is NOT a self-help book. This is a self-AWARENESS book. It's about how to live with and accept the crap and the glory in life. It's how Buddhists make it through the...more
This is NOT a self-help book. This is a self-AWARENESS book. It's about how to live with and accept the crap and the glory in life. It's how Buddhists make it through the...more
I love all of her books. This book summarizes points that I have heard before on the CD "The Three Commitments: Walking the Path of Liberation". However, they are good points to read again.
The three commitments are:
1. Committing to Not Cause Harm
2. Committing to Take Care of One Another
3. Committing to Embrace the World As It Is
Of all those three commitments, the hardest one for me is the third one. I don't always like how the world is and I don't like the uncomfortable feelings that come with c...more
The three commitments are:
1. Committing to Not Cause Harm
2. Committing to Take Care of One Another
3. Committing to Embrace the World As It Is
Of all those three commitments, the hardest one for me is the third one. I don't always like how the world is and I don't like the uncomfortable feelings that come with c...more
An excellent book, presenting the three levels of Buddhist vows (in the Tibetan tradition called the Pratimoksha, Bodhisattva, and Samaya Vows) in the form of three commitments that correspond to three components of spiritual training and growth. Pema Chodron always seems very understanding of the problems we are facing, while also being relentlessly insistent that we can do this spiritual warrior training, no matter where we are starting from or what we are grappling with. Thus her teachings se...more
Whenever I read a book by Pema, something clicks. She either speaks directly to current experiences in my life, or her plain and simple way of explaining her ideas and instructions gives me an ah-ha moment. That's not to say that I continue to grasp her message, but I continue to be inspired to keep trying.
This book deals with the three commitments: committing to not cause harm, to take care of one another, and to embrace the world just as it is. If this is what it takes to live beautifully with...more
This book deals with the three commitments: committing to not cause harm, to take care of one another, and to embrace the world just as it is. If this is what it takes to live beautifully with...more
a compelling and 'to the heart' teaching on how to recognize our own compassion and worth, acknowledge the universality in suffering, and how improving our own souls through meditation can better equip us to bring compassion to others who are in discomfort as well as ourselves. chödrön writes clearly and concisely and extends to others an entirely new way to approach day-to-day living. this book was given to me by a friend and admittedly outside of my typical 'non-new age' reading genre, yet i f...more
I have read several of Pema Chodron's books and this is another excellent one. Her writing style is easy to understand and follow, even when she is explaining what can be complex issues. Even more important, she explains how to feel OK when you are not able to put it all in practice! So that rather than throw your hands up in the air and admit defeat, you can plod on and try to deal with your difficulties. One does not need to be a Buddhist to benefit from her teachings.
This amazingly simple book is steeped in Buddhist values, written beautifully. Each page can be read over and over and one's heart and mind, once open to dealing with change, can begin to heal. With that said, it can take years to accept these teachings, but worth reading Pema Chodron's whole series to see what is possible.
I know I really like a book when I read it with highlighter in hand. Pema takes the Buddhist philosophy and puts it in terms that are easily understandable and applicable. A wonderful book if you are going through a rough time or just want to become enlightened. Can be life changing. Namaste
I really can't muster anything profound to say about Pema that hasn't been said already. This a beautiful book. She has a beautiful vision of the practices necessary to be at peace with the way life is, full of opposite emotions and experiences. She's a wonderful, wonderful teacher.
Pema Chodron, as always, writes beautifully and clearly. This is a small book that would take a big effort to actually put into practice. Organized around an adaptation for lay people of three traditional Buddhist vows, the book focuses on accepting "groundlessness" (aka insecurity) as a fundamental fact of life. Best thing for me: just the idea of accepting, rather than always fighting/fleeing from/trying to change insecurity. Perhaps too scary for me to do much with at the moment: fully feelin...more
Such a beautifully written little book.
"When the appearances of this life dissolve
May I with ease and great happiness,
Let go of all attachments to this life,
As a son or daughter returning home."
Dzigar Kongtrül
Perhaps not her best. A bit patchy, a bit recycled. Still I read it all and am glad I did, because she gives here the reminders I am looking for: how to enjoy awfulness.
Pema Chodron always has the words I need to hear just when I need to hear them. The image of of the Charnel ground will stick with me
Good as always. Pema always says things that stick with me. This book had lots of good info and suggestions.
Pema always has advice on how to live…the real examples and metaphors help you understand.
Not my favorite Chödrön book - or maybe not the right time in my life for this one.
Pema offers practical information, new ideas, and draws from many inspiring teachers.
One of the clearest and most helpful books on mindful living that I have encountered. I intend to get a copy of my own, and to revisit this in the future.
Loved this book. It is not a self help book as it is a roadmap to how to be a spiritual warrior in face of such unsure and challenging times.
Wonderful! An inspiring book.
breaking down the path into the 3 commitments:
1) commitment of non-harm
2) for the benefit of others
3) by communicating with the present as it arises
concise, eloquent, inspiring, loving. like spending time with a beloved, wise friend.
1) commitment of non-harm
2) for the benefit of others
3) by communicating with the present as it arises
concise, eloquent, inspiring, loving. like spending time with a beloved, wise friend.
I���m biased because I���m a Chodron fan, but this one is really great. It challenged me to work with being open, despite my inclination to judge my reactions to life and to close down emotions and feelings and to shut down to people who make me uncomfortable. The book is based on a series of talks, it comes with a mini-guide at the end to some of her other works, including Start Where You Are and When Things Fall Apart.
Such a wonderful treatment and teaching on the Three Commitments and Charnal Ground Practice. Read it. You will be so glad you did.
LOVE Pema Chidron! Brilliant, practical insight written in a light, easily digestible style. This book is a winner. Should be required reading for the world.
Feb 02, 2013
Piepie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
meditation-spirituality
Chodron's writing is clear and compassionate. The book provides an outline of 3 traditional Buddhist vows and suggests a very non-traditional application of them in concert with daily meditation.
I have to say that I'm really happy with my life but sometimes wish I was Pema Chodron or at the very least had some of her practical wisdom! Another important wonderful book that I can use to live my daily life.
Our book circle just finished this one -- Pema Chodrin writes so clearly, and so delightfully! This is about living in the world, as chaotic as it is, with as much mindfulness as you can.
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Ani Pema Chödrön (Deirdre Blomfield-Brown) is an American Buddhist nun in the Tibetan tradition, closely associated with the Kagyu school and the Shambhala lineage.
She attended Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught as an elementary school teacher for many years in both New Mexico and California. Pema has two children and three g...more
More about Pema Chödrön...
She attended Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught as an elementary school teacher for many years in both New Mexico and California. Pema has two children and three g...more
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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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15 people liked it
“We have a choice. We can spend our whole life suffering because we can't relax with how things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation, which is fresh, unfixated, unbiased.”
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8 people liked it
More quotes…
Jul 14, 2012 12:50pm