--- title: "8 Seeing Quotes By Pema Chödrön" description: "8 Seeing quotes by Pema Chödrön. Plus more from Pema Chödrön and more Seeing sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_if-right-now-our-emotional-reaction-to-s_1030270.png" --- > [If right now our emotional reaction to seeing a certain person or hearing certain news is to fly into a rage or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-right-now-our-emotional-reaction-to-seeing-a-certain-person-or/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_if-right-now-our-emotional-reaction-to-s_1030270.png) > [When we struggle agains our energy we reject the source of wisdom. Anger without the fixation is none other than clear-seeing wisdom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/when-we-struggle-agains-our-energy-we-reject-the-source-of-wisdom/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_when-we-struggle-agains-our-energy-we-re_1161278.png) > [Wholeheartedly do what it takes to awaken your clear-seeing intelligence, but one day at a time, one moment at a time. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/wholeheartedly-do-what-it-takes-to-awaken-your-clear-seeing/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/pema-ch-dr-n-327_awaken_wholeheartedly-do-what-it-takes-to-awake_1428879.png) > [Meditation is about seeing clearly the body that we have, the mind that we have, the domestic situation that we have, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/meditation-is-about-seeing-clearly-the-body-that-we-have-the-mind-2/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/pema-ch-dr-n-327_body_meditation-is-about-seeing-clearly-the-b_1545608.jpg) > [One of the main discoveries of meditation is seeing how we continually run away from the present moment, how we avoid being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/one-of-the-main-discoveries-of-meditation-is-seeing-how-we-2/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_discovery_one-of-the-main-discoveries-of-meditatio_1703645.png) > [Take three conscious breaths. Just pause. Let it be a contrast to being all caught up. Let it be like popping a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/take-three-conscious-breaths-just-pause-let-it-be-a-contrast-to-being/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/pema-ch-dr-n-327_breaths_take-three-conscious-breaths-just-pause_2097746.png) > [If seeing that other person's pain brings up your fear or anger or confusion (which often happens), just start doing tonglen for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-seeing-that-other-person-s-pain-brings-up-your-fear-or-anger-or/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/pema-ch-dr-n-327_confusion_if-seeing-that-other-person-s-pain-bring_2689795.png) > [As long as we're caught up in always looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring the taste and smell and quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/as-long-as-we-re-caught-up-in-always-looking-for-certainty-and/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/pema-ch-dr-n-327_adversity_as-long-as-we-re-caught-up-in-always-loo_2860911.png) ## Other authors on Seeing ## More by Pema Chödrön > [“LIFE’S work is to wake up, to let the things that enter into your life wake you up rather than put you to sleep.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/life-s-work-is-to-wake-up-to-let-the-things-that-enter-into-your-life/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Since death is certain and the time of death is uncertain, what is the most important thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/since-death-is-certain-and-the-time-of-death-is-uncertain-what-is-the/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [The essence of generosity is letting go. Pain is always a sign that we are holding on to something - usually ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/the-essence-of-generosity-is-letting-go-pain-is-always-a-sign-that-we/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“If the object of meditation were something concrete, something solid and graspable - an image or a statue or a dot on the floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-the-object-of-meditation-were-something-concrete-something-solid/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately fill up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/it-s-a-transformative-experience-to-simply-pause-instead-of/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“The essence of life is that it’s challenging. Sometimes it is sweet, and sometimes it is bitter. Sometimes your body tenses, and sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/the-essence-of-life-is-that-it-s-challenging-sometimes-it-is-sweet/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [If we run a hundred miles an hour to the other end of the continent in order to get away from the obstacle, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-we-run-a-hundred-miles-an-hour-to-the-other-end-of-the-continent/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“But in this meditation technique, we are with the out-breath; there's no particular instruction about what to do until the next out-breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/but-in-this-meditation-technique-we-are-with-the-out-breath-there-s/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. Nothing ever really attacks us except our own confusion. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/nothing-ever-goes-away-until-it-has-taught-us-what-we-need-to-know/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [So even if the hot loneliness is there, and for 1.6 seconds we sit with that restlessness when yesterday we couldn't sit for even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/so-even-if-the-hot-loneliness-is-there-and-for-1-6-seconds-we-sit/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [If you have rage and righteously act it out and blame it all on others, it's really you who suffers. The other people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-you-have-rage-and-righteously-act-it-out-and-blame-it-all-on/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“When we realize that the path is the goal, there’s a sense of workability. Trungpa Rinpoche said, “Whatever occurs in the confused mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/when-we-realize-that-the-path-is-the-goal-there-s-a-sense-of/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Every day is a new opportunity to work with what you have inside toward enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/every-day-is-a-new-opportunity-to-work-with-what-you-have-inside/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [If someone comes along and shoots an arrow into your heart, it’s fruitless to stand there and yell at the person. It would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-someone-comes-along-and-shoots-an-arrow-into-your-heart-it-s/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/pema-ch-dr-n/#itemlist", "name": "8 Seeing Quotes By Pema Chödrön", "numberOfItems": 8, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If right now our emotional reaction to seeing a certain person or hearing certain news is to fly into a rage or to get despondent or something equally extreme, it's because we have been cultivating that particular habit for a very long time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pema Chödrön" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-right-now-our-emotional-reaction-to-seeing-a-certain-person-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_if-right-now-our-emotional-reaction-to-s_1030270.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_if-right-now-our-emotional-reaction-to-s_1030270.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_if-right-now-our-emotional-reaction-to-s_1030270.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If right now our emotional reaction to seeing a certain person or hearing certain news is to fly into a rage…” — Pema Chodron", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we struggle agains our energy we reject the source of wisdom. Anger without the fixation is none other than clear-seeing wisdom. Pride without fixation is experienced as equanimity. The energy of passion when it's free of grasping is wisdom that sees all the angles.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pema Chödrön" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/when-we-struggle-agains-our-energy-we-reject-the-source-of-wisdom/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_when-we-struggle-agains-our-energy-we-re_1161278.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_when-we-struggle-agains-our-energy-we-re_1161278.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/pema-ch-dr-n-327_anger_when-we-struggle-agains-our-energy-we-re_1161278.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we struggle agains our energy we reject the source of wisdom. 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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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pema Chödrön" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/meditation-is-about-seeing-clearly-the-body-that-we-have-the-mind-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/pema-ch-dr-n-327_body_meditation-is-about-seeing-clearly-the-b_1545608.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/pema-ch-dr-n-327_body_meditation-is-about-seeing-clearly-the-b_1545608.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/pema-ch-dr-n-327_body_meditation-is-about-seeing-clearly-the-b_1545608.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Meditation is about seeing clearly the body that we have, the mind that we have, the domestic situation that…” — Pema Chodron", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pema Chödrön" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/one-of-the-main-discoveries-of-meditation-is-seeing-how-we-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_discovery_one-of-the-main-discoveries-of-meditatio_1703645.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_discovery_one-of-the-main-discoveries-of-meditatio_1703645.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/pema-ch-dr-n-327_discovery_one-of-the-main-discoveries-of-meditatio_1703645.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the main discoveries of meditation is seeing how we continually run away from the present moment, how…” — Pema Chodron", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Take three conscious breaths. Just pause. Let it be a contrast to being all caught up. Let it be like popping a bubble. Let it be just a moment in time, and then go on. Maybe you are on your way to whatever you need to do for the day. You are in your car, or on the bus, or standing in line. But you can still create that gap by taking three conscious breaths and being right there with the immediacy of your experience, right there with whatever you are seeing, with whatever you are doing, with whatever you are feeling.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pema Chödrön" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/take-three-conscious-breaths-just-pause-let-it-be-a-contrast-to-being/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/pema-ch-dr-n-327_breaths_take-three-conscious-breaths-just-pause_2097746.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/pema-ch-dr-n-327_breaths_take-three-conscious-breaths-just-pause_2097746.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/pema-ch-dr-n-327_breaths_take-three-conscious-breaths-just-pause_2097746.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Take three conscious breaths. Just pause. Let it be a contrast to being all caught up. Let it be like…” — Pema Chodron", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If seeing that other person's pain brings up your fear or anger or confusion (which often happens), just start doing tonglen for yourself and all the other people who are stuck in the very same way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pema Chödrön" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-seeing-that-other-person-s-pain-brings-up-your-fear-or-anger-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/pema-ch-dr-n-327_confusion_if-seeing-that-other-person-s-pain-bring_2689795.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/pema-ch-dr-n-327_confusion_if-seeing-that-other-person-s-pain-bring_2689795.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/pema-ch-dr-n-327_confusion_if-seeing-that-other-person-s-pain-bring_2689795.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If seeing that other person's pain brings up your fear or anger or confusion (which often happens), just…” — Pema Chodron", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As long as we're caught up in always looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring the taste and smell and quality of exactly what is happening, as long as we're always running from discomfort, we're going to be caught in a cycle of unhappiness and discomfort, and we will feel weaker and weaker. This way of seeing helps us develop inner strength. 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