When Things Fall Apart — Pema Chödrön
The beautiful practicality of her teaching has made Pema Chödrön one of the most beloved of contemporary American spiritual authors among Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. A collection of talks she gave between 1987 and 1994, the book is a treasury of wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. Chödrön discusses:
• Using painful emotions to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and courage
• Communicating so as to encourage others to open up rather than shut down
• Practices for reversing habitual patterns
• Methods for working with chaotic situations
• Ways for creating effective social action
- loc. 618
“Abandon hope”
- loc. 635
You can laugh at this story, but what happens with you
- loc. 648
life is like getting into a boat that’s just about to sail out to sea and sink.
- loc. 655–656
things that we don’t want.
- loc. 656–657
Having a relationship with death in everyday life means that we begin to be able to wait, to relax with insecurity, with panic, with embarrassment, with things not working out.
- loc. 842
instructed to label it “thinking.” It has no objective reality. It
- loc. 960–961
However, we don’t have to consider seeking pleasure as an obstacle. Rather, seeking pleasure is an opportunity to observe what we do in the face of pain.
- loc. 987
We use our emotions.
- loc. 1007
The essence of life is that it’s challenging.
- loc. 1014–1015
So even though we say the yama mara is fear of death, it’s actually fear of life.
- loc. 1018–1019
All the maras point the way to being completely awake and alive by letting go, by letting ourselves die moment after moment, at the end of each out-breath.
- loc. 1050
without clarity and honesty, we don’t progress.
- loc. 1051
honesty without kindness makes us feel grim and mean,
- loc. 1053–1055
kindness. Sometimes it’s expressed as heart, awakening your heart. Often it’s called gentleness. Sometimes it’s called unlimited friendliness.
- loc. 1068
regard thoughts and emotions with humor and openness,