Pema Chodron Quotes

Welcome the present moment as if you had invited it. Why? Because it is all we ever have.

Not causing harm requires staying awake. Part of being awake is slowing down enough to notice what we say and do. The more we witness our emotional chain reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain. It becomes a way of life to stay awake, slow down, and notice.

Difficult things provoke all your irritations and bring your habitual patterns to the surface. And that becomes the moment of truth. You have the choice to launch into your lousy habitual patterns, or to stay with the rawness and discomfort of the situation and let it transform you.

Most spiritual experiences begin with suffering. They begin with groundlessness. They begin when the rug has been pulled out from under us.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

As Buddhism moved to the West, one of the big characteristics was the strong place of women. That didn’t exist in the countries of origin. It’s just a sign of our culture.

This moving away from comfort and security, this stepping out into what is unknown, uncharted and shaky – that’s called liberation.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

There’s something delicious about finding fault with something. And that can be including finding fault with one’s self, you know?

All situations teach you, and often it’s the tough ones that teach you best.

The Buddha taught that we’re not actually in control, which is a pretty scary idea. But when you let things be as they are, you will be a much happier, more balanced, compassionate person.

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.

As Buddhism moved from one culture to another, it always adapted.

You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.