Our personal attempts to live humanely in this world are never wasted.
Choosing to cultivate love rather than anger just might be what it takes to save the planet from extinction.
What is it that allows our goodwill to expand and our prejudice and anger to decrease?
This is a significant question.
Traditionally it is said that the root of aggression and suffering is ignorance.
But what is it that we are ignoring?
Entrenched in the tunnel vision of our personal concerns, what we ignore is our kinship with others.
One reason we train as warrior-bodhisattvas is to recognize our interconnectedness—to grow in understanding that when we harm another,
we are harming ourselves.
So we train in recognizing our uptightness.
We train in seeing that others are not so different from ourselves.
We train in opening our hearts and minds in increasingly difficult situations.
~ Pema Chodron, “Loving-Kindness” from The Places That Scare You
Our personal attempts to live humanely in this world are never wasted.
Choosing to cultivate love rather than anger just might be what it takes to save the planet from extinction.
What is it that allows our goodwill to expand and our prejudice and anger to decrease?
This is a significant question.
Traditionally it is said that the root of aggression and suffering is ignorance.
But what is it that we are ignoring?
Entrenched in the tunnel vision of our personal concerns, what we ignore is our kinship with others.
One reason we train as warrior-bodhisattvas is to recognize our interconnectedness—to grow in understanding that when we harm another, we are harming ourselves.
So we train in recognizing our uptightness.
We train in seeing that others are not so different from ourselves.
We train in opening our hearts and minds in increasingly difficult situations.
~ Pema Chodron, “Loving-Kindness” from The Places That Scare You
[emphasis + formatting, mine]
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Author: t scott-miller
ancestor-guided. liberation-minded.
curator × co-conspirator of safe(r) sacred space × soul care × liberation × legacy work.
teacher of contemplative tools to cultivate embodied self-awareness, healing + transformation.
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dhamma for mama* 
Reblogged this on 3 jewels yoga and commented:
Timeless wisdom from Pema Chödrön that invites us to shine the light on habit energies arising in the form of emotions, thought patterns, and ensuing behaviors. How do we tend to our aggression, preferences, and prejudices? Do we investigate or ignore? Do we test the validity of our thoughts/stories/beliefs against the present moment circumstances? Do we remain steadfastly “entrenched” in our perspectives and standard mode of operation? If so, how does it serve us? What do we sacrifice and what do we save when we stick to our patterns? #KissYourBrain #CradleYourHeart
I love Pema Chodron’s work – I always turn to her for clarity and inspiration! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for reading!
So incredibly profound ♥
Pema’s view on the Dharma rings so clear and true for me!