Being present to the now.

This selection of quotes from Pema Chodron’s teachins contains wisdom on compassion and being with things as they are in an open and non judgmental way on our path of healing. I hope they speak to you.

OUR PREDICAMENT IS WORKABLE

The dharma can heal our very ancient wounds that come not from original sin but from a misunderstanding so old that we can no longer see it. The instruction is to relate compassionately with where we find ourselves and to begin to see our predicament as workable. We are stuck in patterns of grasping and fixating, which cause the same thoughts and reactions to occur again and again and again. In this way we project our world. When we see that, even if it’s only for a second every three weeks, then we’ll naturally discover the knack of reversing this process of making things solid, the knack of stopping the claustrophobic world as we know it, putting down our centuries of baggage, and stepping into new territory. If you ask how in the world we can do this the answer is simple. Make the dharma personal, explore it wholeheartedly and relax.

AN OPEN ENDED APPROACH

The basic ground of compassionate action is the importance of working with rather than struggling against… working with your own unwanted, unacceptable stuff, so that when the unacceptable and unwanted appears out there, you relate to it based on having word with loving kindness yourself. Then there is no condescension. This non dualistic approach is true to the heart because it’s based on our kinship with each other. We know what to say, because we have experienced closing down, shutting off, being angry, hurt, rebellious, and so forth, and have made a relationship with those things in ourselves.

This is not about problem resolution. This is a more open ended and courageous approach. It has to do with not knowing what will happen. It has nothing to do with wanting to get ground under your feet. It’s about keeping your heart and mind open to whatever arises, without hope of fruition. Problem solving is based first on thinking there is a problem and second on thinking there is a solution. The concepts of problem and solution can keep us stuck thinking that there is an enemy and a saint or a right way and a wrong way. The approach we’re suggesting is more groundless than that.

THE PATH IS UNCHARTERED :

The path is unchartered. It comes into existence moment by moment and at the same time drops away behind us. We can’t see where we are headed, only where we’ve been. This is a very encouraging teaching because it says that the source of wisdom is whatever is going to happen to us today. The source of wisdom is whatever is happening to us right at this very instant

NOW IS THE TIME

When something hurts in life we often do not think of it as the path, or as the source of wisdom. in fact, we think that the reason we are on the path is to get rid of this painful feeling. In this way we naively cultivate a subtle aggression against ourselves.

However the fact is that anyone who has used the moments, days and years of his or her life to become wiser, kinder and more at home in the world has learned from what’s happening right now. We can aspire to be kind right in this moment, to relax and open our heart and mind to what is in front of us right in the moment. Now is the time. If there’s any possibility for enlightenment, it’s right now, not at some future time.

All quotes taken from The Pocket Pema Chodron, Shambala Publications, Inc.