by 57 people |
Pema Chodron
She's funny, she has kids and grandkids, she has an opinion about how Cher looks after all the plastic surgery. She's not your parents' Buddhist nun, in other words.
I'll put Pema Chodron up as the greatest Buddhist teacher today (who speaks English, anyway), including the admittedly wonderful Thich Nhat Hanh and the certainly famous and charismatic Dalai Lama.
You don't have to be a Buddhist to learn more about compassion and fearlessness from Pema Chodron. She has Christian students, Jewish students, athiest students, and any other flavor of belief or non-belief that you can think of. She does not show any interest in converting anyone to Buddhism, just in teaching us how to be gentler and to suffer less.
P.S. If you buy something from this page...
. . . you'll automatically be making a donation to The Acumen Fund, working to solve global poverty.I don't know about you, but I think that is pretty cool.
Pema Chodron at a Glance
Pema Chödrön (formerly known as Deirdre Blomfield-Brown) is an ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition, and a teacher in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa. The goal of her work is the ability to apply Buddhist teachings in everyday life.
A prolific author, she has conducted workshops, seminars, and meditation retreats in Europe, Australia, and throughout North America. She is resident teacher of Gampo Abbey, a monastery in rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.Cahill (1996) p. 377
Selected Pema quote
From time to time I'll refresh these for your reading pleasure
It made me think of a Gary Larson cartoon I once saw. Two women are standing behind their locked door peeking out the window at a monster standing on their doorstep. One of the ladies is saying, "Calm down, Edna. Yes, it is a giant hideous insect, but it may be a giant hideous insect in need of help."
The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves. Yet it's never too late or too early to practice loving-kindness. It's as if we had a terminal disease but might live for quite a while. Not knowing how much time we have left, we might begin to think it was important to make friends with ourselves and others in the remaining hours, months, or years.
—When Things Fall Apart
It's like lying in bed before dawn and . . .
hearing rain on the roof. This simple sound can be disappointing because we were planning a picnic. It can be pleasing because our garden is so dry. But the flexible mind of prajna doesn't draw conclusions of good or bad. It perceives the sound without adding anything extra, without judgments of happy or sad. (From Comfortable with Uncertainty)
Four fine Pema Chodron books from Amazon
Pema's article on transforming confusion into wisdom (the practice of Tonglen)
from www.shambhala.org
In particular, to care about other people who are fearful, angry, jealous, overpowered by addictions of all kinds, arrogant, proud, miserly, selfish, mean—you name it—to have compassion and to care for these people, means not to run from the pain of finding these things in ourselves. In fact, one's whole attitude toward pain can change. Instead of fending it off and hiding from it, one could open one's heart and allow oneself to feel that pain, feel it as something that will soften and purify us and make us far more . . . more >>
Buddhism is not separate from reality
You are perfectly normal. Those other people are way messed up.
Pema Chodron audio on Amazon
Getting Unstuck
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 07/10/2009) 
The Pema Chodron Audio Collection: Pure Meditation:Good Medicine:From Fear to Fearlessness
Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 07/10/2009)
True Happiness
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 07/10/2009)
An article by Pema Chodron on the "hooked" feeling
from www.shambhalasun.com
The Tibetan word for this is shenpa. It is usually translated "attachment," but a more descriptive translation might be "hooked." When shenpa hooks us, we're likely to get stuck. We could call shenpa "that sticky feeling." It's an everyday experience. Even a spot on your new sweater can take you there. At the subtlest level, we feel a tightening, a tensing, a sense of closing down. Then we feel a sense of withdrawing, not wanting to be where we are. That's the hooked quality. That tight feeling has the power to hook us into self-denigration, blame, anger, jealousy and other emotions which lead to words and actions that end up poisoning us. Remember the fairy tale in which toads hop out of the princess's mouth whenever she starts to say mean words? That's how being hooked can feel. Yet we don't stop—we can't stop—because . . . more >>
Pema Chodron Vids
Do you know Pema Chodron's work?
Who's Sonia?
I'm a parent, a meditator, a marketer by trade and a writer by nature, a smartass and a complete goofball, an addict to systems and master of none, a being struggling with suffering and with resistance to suffering, a person who is trying to put one foot in front of the other and make as many good ripples in the pond as I can.I invite you to come see me over on remarkable communication, where I blog about making connections and ethical business and that kind of thing.
Sit down, have a cup of tea, let me know what you're thinking
technocrone wrote...
Great lens on a great teacher, a woman who is a real inspiration to those of us struggling toward enlightenment and so often stuck in the mire and mess of real life. I'm especially drawn toward Chodron's teachings on tonglen practice and have found them very helpful. Thanks for creating this fine lens. *technocrone*
Posted October 31, 2008
eccles1 wrote...
I'm so happy that I watched all the videos wow I really love listening to her! lensrolled it to 'women that know' thank you so much!!
Posted September 24, 2008
poutine wrote...
Thanks for introducing her. I honestly had never heard of her.
Poutine
Posted August 09, 2008
cablebrit
I've read most of Pema's books and was first introduced to her by audio tapes and CD's. Since she has a soothing voice and a lot of wisdom, she is a great support system to have - like during the time I had to decide who to layoff.
Since then I have seen her speak at a retreat here in Colorado. She got everyone's attention by making it a silent retreat - a lot of silent grumbling but a very powerful learning experience.
Posted July 21, 2008
mindfulobserver wrote...
Hey all,
If you're looking for more stories by Pema, she has written a lot over the years for the Shamabhala Sun Magazine. Check out Pema Chodron's stories at the Shambhala Sun
Posted July 15, 2008
Starving_Artist wrote...
wonderful author, speaker and person glad to see a lens about her and that you support a good cause.
Posted May 20, 2008
Believer wrote...
Wonderful lens for a person who deserves the recognition. Pema's gentleness and down to earth wisdom draw you right in. I first saw her on Bill Moyers, then took an on-line course on Spirituality and Practice devoted to her books. Wonderful stuff.
Posted May 20, 2008
Kislanya wrote
I first heard of Pema in a book called 'Re-Enchantment'. Can't remember who wrote it but the author devoted a chapter to her. When I read that she had spent 13 years high up in a cave in the snowy mountains, I was immediately fascinated. Here was someone whose words I could respect as she lived them under incredible deprivation.
I am so pleased to find your lens here about her. She is hardly known and yet has managed to touch the world quietly.
Wonderful site....thank you.
Posted March 16, 2008
zoezuniga wrote...
What a lovely lens. I just finished listening to a pod cast by Eckhart Tolle this afternoon so I was "in the zone", so this was a nice way to end the afternnon.
Posted March 08, 2008
PatinKC wrote...
I love to listen to Pema and love the quote. Please join my Buddhism Group
Posted March 08, 2008
busyblogger wrote...
Nice to see a nice, simple, and Zen lens on Pema Chodron. "When Things Fall Apart" offers a straightforward introduction to fundamental Buddhist principles in a way that's open to any spiritual or religious approach. Sometimes life just needs to be broken down into its simplest units of truth. Pema Chodron does just that exceptionally well.
Posted February 26, 2008
Graceonline wrote...
I especially love your quote of Pema telling the story of the Gary Larson insect cartoon. I hope I can remember always to look upon those I fear as someone in need of help. Excellent article on shenpa, too. Beautifully done lens. Most deserving of the lens of the day. A much belated congratulations.
Posted February 08, 2008
In reading "Awakening Loving-kindness", I really like the Meditation on Precision, Gentleness, and Letting Go. I love her suggestion to accept all the parts of oneself with gentleness to help us re-discover that we have everything we need. It reminds me of an article I read many years ago by Alan Watts called "The Myth of Self-improvement". I'm just beginning to learn more about Pema. Her wisdom speaks to me.
Posted January 21, 2008
Really deriving much fruit from an abriged version of "The Wisdom of No Escape" (1991) called "Awakening Loving-Kindness" (Shambhala Publications). I'm looking forward to returning to learn more about Pema. I rated this as a five star sight. Fabulous Lens. Thank you so much for putting together all this wonderful information. Fabulous!!! With Loving-kindness, Robert
Posted January 21, 2008
meetyourgreensdating wrote...
Oh its so cool to see a lens about Pema Chodron. I recently read her book, 'The Places That Scare You'. Powerful stuff!
Posted January 18, 2008
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