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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Pema Chödrön
Read between
May 4 - May 14, 2023
Awareness is the key. Do we see the stories that we’re telling ourselves and question their validity?
we are the ones who know what’s happening in our hearts and minds.
We also see our strong belief that if only we could do everything right, we’d be able to find a safe, comfortable, and secure place to spend the rest of our lives.
“Don’t try to be the fastest,” “Abandon any hope of fruition,” and “Don’t expect applause”!
May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.
May we be free from suffering and the root of suffering.
We start just where we are, where the aspirations feel genuine.
We begin by acknowledging where we already feel love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
We discover that we have our limits: we can stay open to some people, but we remain closed to others.
We are expressing our willingness to open our hearts and move closer to our fears.
These practices unblock our love and compassion, joy and equanimity, tapping into their boundless potential to expand.
No matter how we feel, we can aspire to be happy.
protect against the discomfort. That we close down is not a problem. In fact, to become aware of when we do so is an important part of the training. The first step in cultivating loving-kindness is to see when we are erecting barriers between ourselves and others. This compassionate recognition is essential.
“May I and others enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.”
“May we have enough to eat and a place to sleep where we will be safe and comfortable.”
“May all beings in the universe enjoy happiness and its causes.”
Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others.
“May I be free of suffering and the root of suffering.”
Thich Nhat Hanh suggests these alternatives: “May I be safe and free from accidents. May I be free of anger, . . . fear, and worries.
Instead of always pulling back and putting up walls, we can do something unpredictable and make a compassionate aspiration.
just like me she doesn’t want stress in her life. Just like me she has worries. Through our hopes and fears, our pleasures and pains, we are deeply interconnected.
A teacher once told me that if I wanted lasting happiness, the only way to get it was to step out of my cocoon.
the best way to serve ourselves is to love and care for others.
TONGLEN, or exchanging oneself for others, is another bodhichitta practice for activating loving-kindness and compassion.
tonglen literally means “sending and taking.”
We completely open our hearts and minds to whatever arises.
Buddhist teaching of shunyata—often translated as “emptiness” or “openness.”
The first flash of openness reminds us that we can always let go of our fixed ideas and connect with something open, fresh, and unbiased.
a vast ocean or a cloudless sky—any image that conveys unlimited expansiveness.
To train in releasing our tight hold on self and to care for others is what connects us with the soft spot of bodhichitta.
If someone on the other side of the earth is hurting, will it help her that somebody cares?
This trust in our fresh, unbiased nature brings us unlimited joy
We let the process evolve naturally.
often happiness comes in ways we don’t even notice.
mindfulness and appreciation connects us fully with reality and brings us joy.
Everything we see, hear, taste, and smell has the power to strengthen and uplift
Difficult people are, as usual, the greatest teachers.
learning to appreciate what we have.
no matter how shut down we get, we can always look outside our cocoon and connect with joy.”
Just train yourself to have a kind heart always and in all situations.
when life is pleasant, think of others. When life is a burden, think of others.
stop, notice, and appreciate what is happening.
Say we’re eating a delicious strawberry. We don’t think, “Oh, I shouldn’t be enjoying this so much. Other people don’t even have a crust of bread.” We just fully appreciate the luscious fruit.
We are cultivating the unbiased state of equanimity.
On bad days, I’m okay. On good days, I’m also okay.” This is equanimity.
We aspire to spend our lives training in the loving-kindness and courage that it takes to receive whatever appears—sickness, health, poverty, wealth, sorrow, and joy.
we hope to get what we want and fear losing what we have—
tendency to hope and fear: pleasure and pain, praise and blame, gain and loss, fame and disgrace.
With unfailing kindness, your life always presents what you need to learn.
A warrior begins to take responsibility for the direction of her life.
