Pema Chödrön

It made me laugh to see that, just as I had so often said, making friends with our own demons and their accompanying insecurity leads to a very simple, understated relaxation and joy.

When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may be just the beginning of a great adventure.

When we become more insightful and compassionate about how we ourselves get hooked, we spontaneously feel more tenderness for the human race.

Awakeness is found in our pleasure and our pain, our confusion and our wisdom, available in each moment of our weird, unfathomable, ordinary everyday lives.

Trying to find absolute rights and wrongs is a trick we play on ourselves to feel secure and comfortable.

“The word for loving-kindness in Sanskrit is maitri. Maitri is also translated as unconditional friendliness.”

Now is the time. If there’s any possibility for enlightenment, it’s right now, not at some time in the future. Now is the time.

The best way to serve ourselves is to love and care for others.

These same... masters advised that we not procrastinate. They urged us to use these instructions immediately—on this very day in this very situation—and not say to ourselves, ‘I will try this in the future when I have a bit more time.’

Each moment is an opportunity to make a fresh start.

Without loving-kindness for ourselves, it is difficult, if not impossible, to genuinely feel it for others.

It’s up to us. We can spend our lives cultivating resentments and cravings or we can explore the path of the warrior—nurturing openmindedness and courage.

Difficult people are, as usual, the greatest teachers.

By becoming intimate with how we close down and how we open up, we awaken our unlimited potential.