Everything is material for the seed of happiness, if you look into it with inquisitiveness and curiosity. The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment. There always is the potential to create an environment of blame -or one that is conducive to loving-kindness.
Pema ChodronWe work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves.
Pema ChodronIn practicing meditation, we're not trying to live up to some kind of ideal -- quite the opposite. We're just being with our experience, whatever it is.
Pema ChodronAll the wars, all the hatred, all the ignorance in the world come out of being so invested in our opinions.
Pema ChodronDo I prefer to grow up and relate to life directly, or do I choose to live and die in fear?
Pema ChodronHope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can’t simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment. We feel that someone else knows what is going on, but that there is something missing in us, and therefore something is lacking in our world.
Pema Chodron