We base our lives on seeking happiness and avoiding suffering, but the best thing we can do for ourselves—and for the planet—is to turn this whole way of thinking upside down. Pema Chödrön shows us Buddhism’s radical side. On a very basic level all beings think that they should be happy. When life becomes difficult or painful, we feel that something has gone wrong. This [...]
Pema Chödrön on Waking Up — and Benefiting Others
Pema Chödrön offers her unique perspective on The Way of the Bodhisattva, Shantideva’s classic description of the Mahayana path. Here she addresses one of the most important of all spiritual questions—how to free ourselves from the powerful spell of the emotional afflictions. Rousing the bodhi heart means connecting with our longing for enlightenment, with the clear desire [...]
We Cry Out for Justice
There will only be social justice in America, says Jan Willis, when we see all people as our equals. She offers an ancient Buddhist meditation to help us do that. We have too often and for too long seen white men with guns take the lives of young, unarmed black men and do so with seeming impunity and without accountability. We cry out: Where is justice? When will human [...]
There Is No Blame
“There are no human enemies,” says Sylvia Boorstein, “only confused people needing help.” The instinctive, immediate response to our own fear is assigning blame to its presumed source. Blame is probably an adaptive response to situations of immediate physical jeopardy in which there is no time for reflection. Even in situations where there is no immediate peril, directing [...]
The Heart of the Buddha
Forget all the fancy meditation practices, says His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the real heart of Buddhism is complete commitment to others. In this commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva, he describes the awakened heart of the Buddha, which is his vow to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. In his famed text The Way of the Bodhisattva, Shantideva states [...]
Stay with the Soft Spot of Bodhichitta
Pema Chödrön on how to awaken bodhichitta—enlightened heart and mind—the essence of all Buddhist practice. The Bodhicharyavatara, or The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, is a teaching from the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism—the tradition of the bodhisattva, the compassionate warrior. In the Mahayana, the emphasis is on awakening—on thinking bigger—so that you can benefit other By [...]