"At some point, we realize that what we do for ourselves benefits others, and what we do for others benefits us."
Read quote
3 likes
Quote collection
Pema Chodron quotes (page 21 of 23)
453 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"If you look back at history or you look at any place in the world where religious groups or ethnic groups or racial groups or political groups are killing each other, or families have been feuding for years and years, you can see - because you're not particularly invested in that particular argument - that there will never be peace until somebody softens what is rigid in their heart."
Read quote
3 likes
"Life's work is to wake up, to let the things that enter your life wake you up rather than put you to sleep."
Read quote
3 likes
"Just where you are-that's the place to start!"
Read quote
3 likes
"Honesty without kindness, humor, and goodheartedness can be just mean."
Read quote
3 likes
"Searching for happiness prevents us from ever finding it."
Read quote
3 likes
"Surrendering, letting go of possessiveness, and complete nonattachment-all are synonyms for accumulating merit."
Read quote
3 likes
"Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person."
Read quote
3 likes
"Words themselves are neutral. It's the charge we add to them that matters"
Read quote
3 likes
"Meditation is not about getting out of ourselves or achieving something better. It is about getting in touch with what you already are."
Read quote
3 likes
"Many people hope a spiritual practice will let them avoid what they are ashamed of. But when you hide something from yourself, you are going to project it onto your world. You continually find it in others and it becomes the source of prejudices and dogmatic views. On top of that, you feel bad about yourself, because you aren't the loving, open-minded, "spiritual" person you'd like to be."
Read quote
3 likes
"If you see a homeless person on the street, and they need food, housing, medical attention - if you can give that, do it. But at the same time, work with tonglen, because that is how you start dissolving the barrier between you and them."
Read quote
3 likes
"If it's painful, you become willing not just to endure it but also to let it awaken your heart and soften you. You learn to embrace it."
Read quote
3 likes
"We practice to liberate ourselves from a burden."
Read quote
3 likes
"It's not a terrible thing that we feel fear when faced with the unknown. It is a part of being alive, something we all share. We react against the possibility of loneliness, of death, of not having anything to hold on to. Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth."
Read quote
3 likes
"Meditation takes us just as we are, with our confusion and our sanity. This complete acceptance of ourselves as we are is called maitri, or unconditional friendliness, a simple, direct relationship with the way we are."
Read quote
3 likes
"We can stop thinking that good practice is when it’s smooth and calm, and bad practice is when it’s rough and dark. If we can hold it all in our hearts, then we can make a proper cup of tea."
Read quote
3 likes
"Opening to the world begins to benefit ourselves and others simultaneously. The more we relate with others, the more quickly we discover where we're blocked."
Read quote
3 likes
"Fear itself is the vanguard of wisdom"
Read quote
3 likes
"Sitting meditation gives us a way to move closer to our thoughts and emotions and to get in touch with our bodies."
Read quote
3 likes