Pema Chodron Quotes

363 quotes in 3619 categories

• 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…
• We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience and Infinite love is the only truth; everything…
• Even if you don't feel appreciation, just look. Feel what you feel; take an interest and be curious.
• 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…
• When we start out on a spiritual path we often have ideals we think we're supposed to live up to. We feel we're supposed to…
• When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless.
• 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…
• 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.
• The future is completely open and we are writing it moment to moment.
• Come back to square one, just the minimum bare bones. Relaxing with the present moment, relaxing with hopelessness, relaxing with death, not resisting the fact…
• Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don't struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality.
• Somehow, in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. We tend to…
• Underneath our ordinary lives, underneath all the talking we do, all the moving we do, all the thoughts in our minds, there's a fundamental groundlessness.…
• 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…
• Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing.
• We can gradually drop our ideals of who we think we ought to be, or who we think we want to be, or who we…
• If your everyday practice is open to all your emotions, to all the people you meet, to all the situations you encounter, without closing down,…
• There isn't anything except your own life that can be used as ground for your spiritual practice. Spiritual practice is your life, twenty-four hours a…
• Never give up on yourself. Then you will never give up on others.
• The spiritual journey involves going beyond hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory, continually moving forward. The most important aspect of being on the spiritual…

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