Pema Chodron Quotes About Meditation

Quotes about: Meditation

• Meditation is about seeing clearly the body that we have, the mind that we have, the domestic situation that we have, the job that we have, and the people who are in our lives. It's about seeing how we react to all these things. It's seeing our emotions and thoughts just as they are right now, in this very moment, in this very room, on this very seat. It's about not trying to make them go away, not trying to become better than we are, but just seeing clearly with precision and gentleness.

  Pema Chodron

  Jobs, People, Meditation

• 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. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.

  Pema Chodron

  Teacher, Disappointment, Irritation

  "When Things Fall Apart". Book by Pema Chödrön, December 24, 1996.

• 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.

  Pema Chodron

  Inspirational, Heart, Eye

  Pema Chodron (2008). “The Pocket Pema Chodron”, p.24, Shambhala Publications

• 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.

  Pema Chodron

  Buddhist, Walking Meditation, Ignorant

  Pema Chodron (2003). “Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion”, p.29, Shambhala Publications

• Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.

  Pema Chodron

  Practice, Meditation And Yoga, Trying

  Pema Chodron (2001). “The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving Kindness”, p.2, Shambhala Publications

• In meditation and in our daily lives there are three qualities that we can nurture, cultivate, and bring out. We already possess these, but they can be ripened: precision, gentleness, and the ability to let go.

  Pema Chodron

  Inspiring, Letting Go, Yoga

  Pema Chodron (2001). “The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving Kindness”, p.15, Shambhala Publications

• Meditation accepts us just as we are-in both our tantrums and our bad habits, in our love and commitments and happiness. It allows us to have a more flexible identity because we learn to accept ourselves and all of our human experience with more tenderness and openness. We learn to accept the present moment with an open heart. Every moment is incredibly unique and fresh, and when we drop into the moment, as meditation allows us to do, we learn how to truly taste this tender and mysterious life that we share together.

  Pema Chodron

  Commitment, Heart, Unique

• One of the main discoveries of meditation is seeing how we continually run away from the present moment, how we avoid being here just as we are. That’s not considered to be a problem. The point is to see it.

  Pema Chodron

  Running, Discovery, Meditation

  Pema Chodron (2001). “The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving Kindness”, p.3, Shambhala Publications

• It's helpful to remind yourself that meditation is about opening and relaxing with whatever arises, without picking and choosing.

  Pema Chodron

  Wisdom, Inspiration, Meditation Practice

  Pema Chodron (2000). “When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times”, p.28, Shambhala Publications

• When we sit down to meditate, we connect with something unconditional - a state of mind, a basic environment that does not grasp or reject anything. Meditation is probably the only activity that doesn't add anything to the picture. Everything is allowed to come and go without further embellishment. Meditation is a totally nonviolent, non aggressive occupation. Not filling the space, allowing for the possibility of connecting with unconditional openness - this provides the basis for real change.

  Pema Chodron

  Real, Space, Meditation

  Pema Chodron (2008). “The Pocket Pema Chodron”, p.79, Shambhala Publications

• 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 Chodron

  Spiritual, Self, Meditation Practice

• Well, it starts with being willing to feel what we are going through. It starts with being willing to have a compassionate relationship with the parts of ourselves that we feel are not worthy of existing on the planet. If we are willing through meditation to be mindful not only of what feels comfortable, but also of what pain feels like, if we even aspire to stay awake and open to what we're feeling, to recognize and acknowledge it as best we can in each moment, then something begins to change.

  Pema Chodron

  Change, Pain, Meditation

• The mind is very wild. The human experience is full of unpredictability and paradox, joys and sorrows, successes and failures. We can't escape any of these experiences in the vast terrain of our existence. It is part of what makes life grand-and it is also why our minds take us on such a crazy ride. If we can train ourselves through meditation to be more open and more accepting toward the wild arc of our experience, if we can lean into the difficulties of life and the ride of our minds, we can become more settled and relaxed amid whatever life brings us.

  Pema Chodron

  Crazy, Meditation, Joy

• 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-deprecatio n, 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 Chodron

  Wise, Self, Knowing

• What's encouraging about meditation is that, even if we shut down, we can no longer shut down in ignorance. We see very clearly that we're closing off. That in itself begins to illuminate the darkness of ignorance.

  Pema Chodron

  Buddhist, Ignorance, Meditation Practice

  Pema Chodron (2000). “When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times”, p.18, Shambhala Publications

• One way to practice staying present is to simply sit still for a while and listen. For one minute, listen to the sounds close to you. For one minute, listen to the sounds at a distance. Just listen attentively.

  Pema Chodron

  Buddhist, Distance, Practice

  Pema Chodron (2009). “Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears”, p.19, Shambhala Publications

• 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.

  Pema Chodron

  Meditation, Everyday, Mindfulness

• Are you experiencing restlessness? Stay! Are fear and loathing out of control? Stay! Aching knees and throbbing back? Stay! What's for lunch? Stay! I can't stand this another minute! Stay!

  Pema Chodron

  Inspiration, Practice, Lunch

  Pema Chodron (2002). “The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times”, p.36, Shambhala Publications

• The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain.

  Pema Chodron

  Emotional, Meditation, Easier

• It is only when we begin to relax with ourselves that meditation becomes a transformative process. Only when we relate with ourselves without moralizing, without harshness, without deception, can we let go of harmful patterns. Without maitri (metta), renunciation of old habits becomes abusive. This is an important point.

  Pema Chodron

  Letting Go, Old Habits, Meditation

• Sitting meditation gives us a way to move closer to our thoughts and emotions and to get in touch with our bodies.

  Pema Chodron

  Moving, Giving, Meditation

  Pema Chodron (2003). “Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion”, p.13, Shambhala Publications

• Every moment is incredibly unique and fresh, and when we drop into the moment, as meditation allows us to do, we learn how to truly taste this tender and mysterious life that we share together.

  Pema Chodron

  Unique, Meditation, Together

• Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s the ground, that’s what we study, that’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.

  Pema Chodron

  Meditation Practice, Curiosity, Trying

  Pema Chodron (2001). “The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving Kindness”, p.2, Shambhala Publications

• In meditation, you learn how to get out of your own way long enough for there to be room for your wisdom to manifest

  Pema Chodron

  Long, Meditation, Way

• Over time, as the thinking mind begins to settle [through the practice of meditation], we’ll start to see our patterns and habits far more clearly. Sometimes this can be a painful experience. I can’t overestimate the importance of accepting ourselves exactly as we are right now, not as we wish we were or think we ought to be. By cultivating nonjudgmental openness to ourselves and to whatever arises, to our surprise and delight we will find ourselves genuinely welcoming the never-pin-downable quality of life, experiencing it as a friend, a teacher, and a support, and no longer as an enemy.

  Pema Chodron

  Teacher, Thinking, Painful Experiences

Page 1 of 2

← Prev

1

2

Next →

• facebook
• twitter
• googleplus
• email
• linkedin

• facebook
• twitter
• googleplus
• email
• linkedin