Pema Chodron vs. Self-Help.
“When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often think that somehow they’re going to improve.” ~ Pema Chodron
Maitri: loving-kindness toward ourselves.
Click here for video.
You’re basically good. So am I. We all are.
The Cosmic Joke is, of course, when we stop thinking so much about ourselves, we do improve—life becomes more vivid and genuine:
“We work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves.”
^
This is why we call our Religion / Spirituality / Philosophy department “Non New Agey Spirituality.” Yes, we’d be fine with a more elegant term. But I appreciate the humor and precision of what it’s called, now, too.
And:
“When we start out on a spiritual path we often have ideals we think we’re supposed to live up to. We feel we’re supposed to be better than we are in some way. But with this practice you take yourself completely as you are.
Then ironically, taking in pain – breathing it in for yourself and all others in the same boat as you are – heightens your awareness of exactly where you’re stuck.”
Cosmic Joke, via Trungpa Rinpoche:
The attempt to confirm our solidity is very painful. Constantly we find ourselves suddenly slipping off the edge of a floor which had appeared to extend endlessly. Then we must attempt to save ourselves from death by immediately building an extension to the floor in order to make it appear endless again. We think we are safe on our seemingly solid floor, but then we slip off again and have to build another extension. We do not realize that the whole process is unnecessary, that we do not need a floor to stand on, that we have been building all these floors on the ground level. There was never any danger of falling or need for support. In fact, our occupation of extending the floor to secure our ground is a big joke, the biggest joke of all, a cosmic joke. - Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Incorrect source, offensive, or found a typo? Or do you want to write for Elephant?
God, I love that quote from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Cosmic joke indeed
Great post Waylon.
Awww Pema such a nice old lady…gotta love her
Enjoyed this one a lot, Waylon. Thanks.
This is precisely WHY I love Pema Chodron.
Good quote from CTR… where's it from? Love to use this in a talk sometime.
[...] much. God, so much. Not waste time beating myself up. Repair the relationship with him the best I can with my skills. This definitely doesn’t [...]
[...] [...]
[...] So many spot-on quotes: “…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.” ~ Pema Chödron [...]
[...] There is no need for self-improvement. [...]
[...] in. We’re reading because we are interested in living compassionately. We must start with maitri. We must start by extending compassion to ourselves and being fully present instead of trying to [...]
[...] Self. Improvement. Doesn’t. Work. [...]
[...] we can be still and not act out or run away, we start to awaken. We are able to really understand what maitri is and how to treat ourselves gently. When we start to awaken to these things in ourselves, then we [...]
I have seen the term 'Not New Agey Spirituality' many times, and it gives me the impression that it is something to avoid. But I don't know what it means, can anyone put me straight, what does 'New Agey' mean, I am in the UK so perhaps it is an American term.
It is always a joy to read what Pema has to say.
[...] wars on the internet. It probably has more to do with letting go of anger. Or being grateful. Or being compassionate to yourself and others. Or realizing that all of this isn’t something to take seriously—so let’s [...]
[...] to make us “better.” But what we need to do is shift from the idea of becoming better, or of self-improvement, to becoming [...]
[...] In small doses that kind of thinking is fine. It’s good to push yourself after all, to raise the bar in steady increments; you get better that way. That’s the way you attain your goals. [...]
[...] “When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often th…. Share this:Like this:LikeBe the first to like this. This entry was posted in Uncategorized by brantredux. Bookmark the permalink. [...]
[...] Helping others had become a way of life for me, as I continuously and simultaneously pursued my own healing; I had studied psychology and nursing during the years of my son’s absence, determined to make a better life for myself, to not let life take me to my knees and was very familiar with the grieving process after years of psychotherapy working through the loss of my son. [...]