We are all capable of becoming fundamentalists because we get addicted to other people's wrongness.
Pema ChodronTonglen dissolves your solid sense of "I'm the wise person, I'm going to help this poor, unfortunate loser."
Pema ChodronThe truth is that good and bad coexist; sour and sweet coexist. They aren't really opposed to each other.
Pema ChodronIf your everyday practice is open to all your emotions, to all the people you meet, to all the situations you encounter, without closing down, trusting that you can do that - then that will take you are far as you can go. And then you'll understand all the teachings that anyone has ever taught.
Pema ChodronIt is a commitment to respect whatever life brings that we develop wholehearted determination to use discomfort as an opportunity for awakening, rather than trying to make it disappear.
Pema ChodronInstead of asking ourselves, 'How can I find security and happiness?' we could ask ourselves, 'Can I touch the center of my pain? Can I sit with suffering, both yours and mine, without trying to make it go away? Can I stay present to the ache of loss or disgrace-disapp ointment in all its many forms-and let it open me?' This is the trick.
Pema Chodron