Showing results by narrator "Pema Chodron" in All Categories

We live in difficult times. Life sometimes seems like a roiling and turbulent river threatening to drown us. Why, in the face of that, shouldn’t we cling for safety to the certainty of the shore—to our comfortably familiar patterns and habits? Because, Pema Chödrön teaches, that kind of...

One of the best ways to bring meditation off the cushion and into everyday life is to practice lojong (or mind training). For centuries, Tibetans have used fifty-nine powerful mind-training slogans as a way to transform life’s ordinary situations into opportunities for awakening. In this audio program, Pema Chödrön presents her definitive audio teachings on lojong. She offers an overview of the practice and goes on to provide inspiring commentary on the slogans while paying special attention to how to apply them on the spot in our daily lives.

The reason we meditate, teaches Pema Chödrön, is because something's bothering us. Yet the root of suffering and the root of happiness are one and the same: the mind. On Working Directly with the Mind, she offers pith instructions on taming a wild mind, and becoming fully present with all of...

Heart-Centered Meditations for Opening to the Depths of All Your Experience Pain, loss, shame, sadness—suffering is an unavoidable part of being human. The practice of tonglen offers us a way to transform our relationship with suffering—our own and that which is all around us. In The Courage...

It’s one thing to hear a life-changing truth or to have a conceptual grasp on spiritual wisdom. But it’s another thing to “walk the walk”—or to put into practice the good advice we’ve been given. What does it mean to walk the walk in our everyday lives? According to Pema Chödrön...

Within the wisdom teachings of Buddhism, there are many stories that refer to its founder as the Supreme Physician, a healer of all illness—mental, physical, and spiritual. The Buddha understood suffering and its antidote, and his prescription and philosophy for right living led directly to a...

Four Keys to Courage, Strength, Spaciousness, and Joy What would happen if we looked with fresh eyes at the struggles and "impossible situations" that we face every day—and found there four gifts that changed everything? For decades, Pema Chödrön has brought clarity and heart to the core...

American-born Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön shares the gift of tonglen, a powerful breathing-based meditation practice for transmuting the suffering within ourselves and in those around us into the energy of compassionate awareness. It's one of the most effective ways to begin bringing the...

We reinforce addictions by giving in to them, but what is there to do when we get that "itchy" feeling? Learning to Stay Present shares insights for peacefully refraining from the "urge to scratch." In this recording from a live event with Pema Chödrön, she discusses the ineffable quality...

Shamatha-vipashyana is a profound form of meditation that illuminates and purifies the obstacles to spiritual realization. Tibetan Buddhists today regard it as both the foundation and the pinnacle of the awakened life. With Pema Chödrön, you'll learn the nuances of this subtle and deeply...

Fear and guilt are two of the greatest challenges we face on the spiritual path—but there is a way to transform these painful feelings into courageous self-acceptance. Here Pema Chödrön presents the five aphorisms for developing fearlessness that were given to Machig Lapdronma, one of Tibetan Buddhism's greatest female teachers.

Lojong is a powerful Tibetan Buddhist practice created especially for training the mind to work with the challenges of everyday living. It teaches our hearts to soften, reframes our attitude toward difficulty, and allows us to discover a wellspring of inner strength. In this recorded retreat, Pema Chödrön introduces the lojong teachings and explains how we can apply them to any situation in our life—because, as Pema says, "every moment is an opportunity for awakening."

Discover the Buddha's Six Keys to Greater Ease, Compassion, and Fulfillment We may tell ourselves that once our lives get on track—with a good career, a loving partner, and a better sense of security—then we'll be able to focus on our greater purpose here. Deep down, many of us have felt...

For 1,300 years, Tibetans have been practicing shamatha-vipashyana (peaceful dwelling-insight), a profound form of meditation that illuminates and purifies the obstacles to spiritual realization. Tibetan Buddhists today regard shamatha-vipashyana as both the fundamental and the most advanced...

How can human suffering become good medicine? Through tonglen: the ancient Tibetan meditation that transforms pain into compassion on the medium of your own breath. Pema Chödrön and Alice Walker in Conversation reveals the revolutionary power of tonglen through a dialogue between two hearts...

Happiness is your birthright—and it is readily available at any given moment, teaches Pema Chödrön. So why do we live in such suffering? The potential for happiness is not based on outer things— they come and go, causing us misery, she begins. We're always chasing after something, trying...

Where will we look when we are afraid? How do we find strength? In what can we place our trust? According to Tibetan Buddhism, there are four noble aspirations, known as the Four Great Catalysts of Awakening, which we can call on to cultivate strength and openness in any situation. From Fear to...

On the spiritual path we speak of enlightenment. But how do we reconcile the idea of enlightenment with what we see when we look in the mirror--when insecurities, doubts, and self-centered tendencies arise in our minds? Dzigar Kongtrül suggests that we need not feel "doomed" when these...

The best-selling author and beloved Buddhist teacher shares her insights on the practice of compassion and enlightened mind (bodhichitta). COMPASSION IS A SKILL. It’s not a special trait that we either have or don’t, but a practice that we can all nurture in our daily lives. And the benefits...

With war and violence flaring all over the world, many of us are left feeling vulnerable and utterly helpless. In this book Pema Chödrön draws on Buddhist teachings to explore the origins of aggression, hatred, and war, explaining that they lie nowhere but within our own hearts and minds. She...