The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self
IN THE BUDDHA’S first teaching—called the four noble truths—he talked about suffering. The first noble truth says that it’s part of being human to feel discomfort. Nothing in its essence is one way or the other. All around us the wind, the fire, the earth, the water, are always taking on different qualities; they’re like magicians. We also change l
... See morePema Chodron • Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion
FRUITION” IMPLIES that at some future time you will feel good. One of the most powerful Buddhist teachings is that as long as you are wishing for things to change, they never will. As long as you’re wanting yourself to get better, you won’t. As long as you are oriented toward the future, you can never just relax into what you already have or alread
... See morePema Chodron • Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion
WHAT KEEPS US unhappy and stuck in a limited view of reality is our tendency to seek pleasure and avoid pain, to seek security and avoid groundlessness, to seek comfort and avoid discomfort. This is how we keep ourselves enclosed in a cocoon. Out there are all the planets and all the galaxies and vast space, but we’re stuck here in this cocoon. Mom
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