The book by Pema Chödrön shows readers how to escape negative life patterns and find a new feeling of happiness and freedom. Based on the Buddhist idea of shenpa, she assists readers in recognising behaviours that result in addiction, anger, blame, and self-loathing.
Through identifying these trends, readers may improve their lives. Finding the three fundamental human traits of warmth, openness, and intellect requires us to learn to be in the moment and to keep our hearts open.
Both individuals and others can benefit from these attributes, which are available to everyone. In order to awaken these traits, the book offers techniques and insights that encourage a new way of life that results in constructive change.
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About the Author
American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön is descended from Chögyam Trungpa. The first Tibetan monastery in North America founded for Westerners is Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, where she teaches as a resident instructor. In addition, she is the author of several novels and CDs, such as the best-selling Don’t Bite the Hook and When Things Fall Apart.
Review
Pema Chodron is a resident teacher at Gampo Abbey, the first Tibetan monastery in North America for Westerners, located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and the author of five books. On this page, she is listed as a Living Spiritual Teacher as well.
Chodron asserts in this compelling and topical book that it is time for everyone of us to make the decision to do our part to ensure the survival of the planet and the well-being of all living things.
However, we must first address the hurtful things we have said and done. It includes “making a commitment to let go of old grudges, to not avoid people and situations and emotions that make us feel uneasy, to not cling to our fears, our closemindedness, our hard-heartedness, and our hesitation.
By being honest with ourselves, we may start to discover three fundamental traits: openness, kindness, and intellect. Chodron believes that we may alter our behaviour and try something new if we deal with our emotions and patterns in an honest manner.
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Self-absorption and our fear of being present are the fundamental causes of all sorrow and unhappiness. We frequently resort to anger, numbing out, and pleasure seeking as a way to cope with life’s stresses. Chodron talks about the lessons Dzigar Kongtrul taught her about shenpa.
They are made up of mental patterns that are so energetically charged that they “hook” us and drive us to blame, rage, addiction, or self-loathing. Our plotline creates Shenpa, which has a perilous undertow and always has repercussions, many of which are unsatisfactory. Chodron offers a method for handling these feelings:
There is a structured method for transforming the poison of negative emotions into wisdom, which involves learning to stay with the energy of difficult feelings. Alchemy, the medieval process of turning basic metal into gold, is comparable to this.
The base metal is not discarded and replaced with gold; it is not disposed of. Rather, valuable gold comes from the raw metal itself. Tibetans frequently cite the example of the peacock that consumes poison and develops more colourful, shining tail feathers as an example.
According to Chodron, everything in Buddhism is feasible. We are preparing ourselves for the global crises that may face us in the future by making friends with our unpleasant feelings. Consider the anxiety that underlies the hatred that motivates harsh words or actions. The author urges us to stop, connect with the emotion’s energy, and experience its destructiveness.
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She advises trying gazing up at the sky the next time you’re feeling agitated by a set notion of wrath, hatred, or rage. Enjoy the wider view and the sense of openness that contrasts with a closed-minded mindset that is determined to remain unchanged.
By practicing tonglen with individuals who irritate and turn us off, we may prevent the process of running away from those we dislike. Chodron concludes by:
The desire for each of us to become happier is not the only reason for sharing this content. The main goal of this counselling is to help us prepare to see beyond our personal well-being and take into account the immense suffering of others as well as the precarious status of our planet.
We are transforming society at the same time as we are correcting our own dysfunctional behaviors. The enlightened society’s awakening is entwined with our own. The entire world will be happy if we can curb our own cravings for violence and addiction.
Summary
This book provides us with practical methods and insights to help us awaken these fundamental traits in our life. Pema Chödrön’s kind and supportive approach enables us to take a daring step toward a new way of living that will benefit both our troubled planet and ourselves.
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Top-selling Pema Chödrön uses the Buddhist idea of shenpa to illustrate how some mental patterns have a way of “hooking” us and keeping us mired in feelings of rage, guilt, self-loathing, and addiction. The good news is that as soon as we start to identify these patterns, they immediately start to lose their power over us, and we can start making positive changes in our lives.
According to Pema, “this path entails uncovering three basic human qualities.” “They are openness, friendliness, and intellect that come naturally. Every person on the planet possesses these attributes and may use them to benefit herself and other people.