Quotes from Pema Chodron

Todos nosotros somos en ocasiones un caso perdido.

WHEN I TEACH, I begin with a compassionate aspiration. I express the wish that we will apply the teachings in our everyday lives and thus free ourselves and others from suffering.

suffering is inevitable for human beings as long as we believe that things last—that they don't disintegrate, that they can be counted on to satisfy our hunger for security.

a commitment to doing our best to not cause harm with our actions or words or thoughts, a commitment to being good to each other.

the Goal WHAT DOES IT TAKE to use the life we already have in order to make us wiser rather than more stuck? What is the source of wisdom at a personal, individual level? The answer to these questions seems to have to do with bringing everything that we encounter to the path. Everything

When we say, "May I have happiness," or, "May I be free of suffering," or, "May any individual have happiness and be free of suffering," we are saying that it is the potential of a human being to expand our capacity for opening and caring limitlessly.

we are all addicted to avoiding pain.

Thinking that we can find some lasting pleasure and avoid pain is what in Buddhism is called samsara, a hopeless cycle that goes round and round endlessly and causes us to suffer greatly

When the rivers and air are polluted, when families and nations are at war, when homeless wanderers fill the highways, these are traditional signs of a dark age. Another is that people become poisoned by self-doubt and become cowards.

The first kind of laziness, comfort orientation, is based on our tendency to avoid inconvenience. We want to take a rest, to give ourselves a break.

By learning to relax with groundlessness, we gradually connect with the mind that knows no fear.

The irony is that what we most want to avoid in our lives is crucial to awakening bodhichitta. These juicy emotional spots are where a warrior gains wisdom and compassion. Of course, we'll want to get out of those spots far more often than we'll want to stay. That's why self-compassion and courage are vital. Without loving-kindness, staying with pain is just warfare.

lo que quiere decir es que lo que normalmente consideramos obstáculos no son verdaderamente nuestros enemigos, sino nuestros amigos.

Love. Buddha nature. Courage. These are code words for things we don't know in our minds, but any of us could experience them. These are words that point to what life really is when we let things fall apart and let ourselves be nailed to the present moment.

The Buddhist teachings tell us that over the course of many lifetimes all beings have been our mothers. At one time, all these

many of our mood swings are related to how we interpret what happens. If we look closely at our mood swings, we'll notice that something always sets them off. We carry around a subjective reality that is continually triggering our emotional reactions.

When the world is filled with evil, transform all mishaps into the path of enlightenment.

If the object of meditation were something concrete, something solid and graspable - an image or a statue or a dot on the floor or a candle - it would be much more of a concentration exercise. But the breath is very elusive; even if you wanted to give it one hundred percent attention, it would be difficult because it is so ephemeral, so light, so airy and spacious. As the object of meditation, it brings a sense of softness and gentleness.

Just where you are—that's the place to start.

The joy comes from not giving up on ourselves, from mindfully sticking with ourselves and beginning to experience our great warrior spirit.

The old joke is that a Buddhist is someone who is either meditating or feeling guilty about not meditating.

six ways of compassionate living: generosity, discipline, patience, enthusiasm, meditation, and prajna—unconditional wisdom.

Being fully present isn't something that happens once and then you have achieved it; it's being awake to the ebb and flow and movement and creation of life, being alive to the process of life itself.

Tú eres el cielo. Todo lo demás es solo el clima