Quotes from Pema Chodron

Our true nature is like a precious jewel: although it may be temporarily buried in mud, it remains completely brilliant and unaffected. We simply have to uncover it.

The point is that our true nature is not some ideal that we have to live up to. It's who we are right now, and that's what we can make friends with and celebrate.

Patience is not learned in safety.

Inner # peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your # emotions

Use your life to wake you up.

Rejoicing in the good fortune of others is a practice that can help us when we feel emotionally shut down and unable to connect with others. Rejoicing generates good will.

Unconditional good heart toward others is not even a possibility unless we attend to our own demons.

The most complete and true happiness comes in moments when you feel right there, completely present, with no ideas about good and bad, right and wrong - just a sense of open heart and open mind.

We can begin to open our hearts to others when we have no hope of getting anything back. We just do it for its own sake.

We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.

Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.

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.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings.

When there's a disappointment, I don't know if it's the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.

One can appreciate & celebrate each moment — there's nothing more sacred. There's nothing more vast or absolute. In fact, there's nothing more!

When resistance is gone, the demons are gone.

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

Be kinder to yourself. And then let your kindness flood the world.

As our kindness for ourselves grows, so does our kindness for other people.

Without loving-kindness for ourselves, it is difficult, if not impossible, to genuinely feel it for others.

Patience has nothing to do with suppression. In fact, it has everything to do with a gentle, honest relationship with yourself.

Let difficulty transform you. And it will. In my experience, we just need help in learning how not to run away.

Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allowing ourselves to move gently toward what scares us.