In this book Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodron offers short, stand-alone readings designed to help us cultivate compassion and awareness amid the challenges of daily living.
More than a collection of thoughts for the day, Comfortable with Uncertainty offers a progressive program of spiritual study. Inspired by the Buddhist tradition of the 108-day retreat, the book leads the reader through essential concepts, themes, and practices on the Buddhist path.
Comfortable with Uncertainty does not assume prior knowledge of Buddhist thought or practice, making it a perfect introduction to Chodron's teaching. It features the most essential and stirring passages from Chodron's previous books, exploring topics such as loving-kindness, meditation, mindfulness, "nowness," letting go, and working with fear and other emotions.
Through the course of the book, readers will learn practical methods for heightening awareness and overcoming habitual patterns that block compassion.
Comfortable with Uncertainty, like a set of traditional prayer beads, strings together 108 gems that will guide and inspire us.
Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion, Pema Chodron, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 130 pages, $16.95
Ani Pema Chodron was born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in 1936, in New York City. She attended Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught as an elementary school teacher for many years in both New Mexico and California. Pema has two children and three grandchildren. While in her mid-thirties, Ani Pema traveled to the French Alps and encountered Lama Chime Rinpoche, with whom she studied for several years. She became a novice nun in 1974 while studying with Lama Chime in London. His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa came to Scotland at that time, and Ani Pema received her ordination from him. Pema first met her root guru, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. Lama Chime encouraged her to work with Rinpoche, and it was with him that she ultimately made her most profound connection, studying with him from 1974 until his death in 1987. At the request of the Sixteenth Karmapa, she received the full bikshuni ordination in the Chinese lineage of Buddhism in 1981 in Hong Kong.
Ani Pema served as the director of Karma Dzong in Boulder, Colorado until moving in 1984 to rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to be the director of Gampo Abbey. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche gave her explicit instructions on establishing this monastery for western monks and nuns. Ani Pema currently teaches in the United States and Canada and plans for an increased amount of time in solitary retreat under the guidance of Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. She is also a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the oldest son and lineage holder of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Ani Pema is interested in helping establish Tibetan Buddhist monasticism in the West, as well as continuing her work with western Buddhists of all traditions, sharing ideas and teachings. Her non-profit, The Pema Chodron Foundation, was set up to assist in this purpose.
She has written several books: The Wisdom of No Escape, Start Where You Are, When Things Fall Apart, The Places that Scare You, No Time To Lose, Practicing Peace in Times of War, How to Meditate, and Living Beautifully.
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CONTENTS: Comfortable with Uncertainty
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Editor's Preface
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xiii
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1.
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The Love That Will Not Die
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1
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2.
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The Healing Power of Bodhichitta
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2
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3.
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Comfortable with Uncertainty
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3
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4.
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The Wisdom of No Escape
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4
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5.
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Loving-Kindness: The Essential Practice
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5
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6.
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Loving-Kindness and Meditation
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6
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7.
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Why Meditate?
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7
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8.
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The Six Points of Posture
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8
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9.
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No Such Thing as a True Story
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9
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10.
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Sitting Meditation
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10
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11.
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Four Qualities of Maitri
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11
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12.
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The Root of Suffering
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12
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13.
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Weather and the Four Noble Truths
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13
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14.
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The Facts of Life: Impermanence
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14
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15.
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Not Causing Harm
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16
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16.
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The Dharma
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17
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17.
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The Practice of Mindfulness and Refraining
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18
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18.
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Relax as It Is
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19
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19.
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Working with Slogans
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20
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20.
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Slogan: "All activities should be done with one intention"
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21
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21.
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Turning Arrows into Flowers
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22
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22.
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Nothing Solid
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24
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23.
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The Facts of Life: Egolessness
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25
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24.
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Staying in the Middle
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26
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25.
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Slogan: "Of the two witnesses, hold the principal one"
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27
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26.
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Encountering the Edge
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28
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27.
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The Facts of Life: Suffering
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29
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28.
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Hope and Fear
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30
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29.
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Lighten Up (and Do Something Different)
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31
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30.
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The Four Reminders
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32
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31.
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Heaven and Hell
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33
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32.
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The Three Futile Strategies
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34
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33.
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The Opposite of Samsara
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35
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34.
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Cultivating the Four Limitless Qualities
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36
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35.
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The Practice of Loving-Kindness
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38
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36.
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Cultivating Compassion
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40
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37.
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The Practice of Compassion
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41
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38.
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Cultivating the Ability to Rejoice
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42
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39.
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The Practice of Equanimity
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44
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40.
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Thinking Bigger
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45
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41.
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Be Where You Are
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46
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42.
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Tonglen and Fearlessness
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47
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43.
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Tonglen: The Key to Realizing Interconnectedness
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48
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44.
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The Four Stages of Tonglen
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50
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45.
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Start Where You Are
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51
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46.
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Getting to Know Fear
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52
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47.
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Recognize Suffering
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53
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48.
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Slogan: "Change your attitude, but remain natural"
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54
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49.
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Loving-Kindness and Tonglen
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55
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50.
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Slogan: "If you can practice even when distracted, you are well trained"
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56
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51.
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Deepening Tonglen
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57
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52.
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The Empty Boat
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58
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53.
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The Three Poisons
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59
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54.
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On-the-Spot Tonglen
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60
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55.
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Start Where You Are (Again and Again)
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61
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56.
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Experience Your Life
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62
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57.
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See What Is
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63
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58.
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The Buddha
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64
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59.
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Nowness
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66
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60.
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The Heart of Everyday Life
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67
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61.
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Widening the Circle of Compassion
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68
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62.
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Inconvenience
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69
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63.
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Widening the Circle Further
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70
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64.
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What Is Karma?
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71
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65.
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Growing Up
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72
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66.
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Slogan: "Don't expect applause"
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73
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67.
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Six Ways of Compassionate Living
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74
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68.
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Prajna
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75
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69.
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Generosity
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76
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70.
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Discipline
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77
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71.
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Patience
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78
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72.
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Joyous Exertion
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79
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73.
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Meditation
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80
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74.
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Letting the World Speak for Itself ("Don't Misinterpret")
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81
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75.
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Meditation and Prajna
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82
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76.
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Plan to Stay Open
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83
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77.
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Slogan: "Abandon any hope of fruition"
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84
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78.
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Cool Loneliness
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86
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79.
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Slogan: "Practice the three difficulties"
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87
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80.
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Communicating from the Heart
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88
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81.
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The Big Squeeze
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89
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82.
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Curiosity and the Circle of Compassion
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90
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83.
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Take Tonglen Further
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91
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84.
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Slogan: "Be grateful to everyone"
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92
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85.
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Obstacles as Questions
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93
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86.
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Six Ways to Be Lonely
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94
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87.
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Thoroughly Processed
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95
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88.
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Commitment
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96
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89.
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Three Methods for Working with Chaos
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97
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90.
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On-the-Spot Equanimity
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98
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91.
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The Truth Is Inconvenient
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99.
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92.
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Abiding in the Fearless State
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100
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93.
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The Essential Paradox
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101
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94.
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Nothing to Hold on To
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102
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95.
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Slogan: "Drive all blames into one"
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103
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96.
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This Very Moment Is the Perfect Teacher
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104
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97.
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Inviting Your Unfinished Business
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105
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98.
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Four Methods for Holding Your Seat
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106
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99.
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Cultivating Forgiveness
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107
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100.
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Containing the Paradox
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108
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101.
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The Sangha
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110
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102.
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Just Like Me (On-the-Spot Compassion)
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111
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103.
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Slogan: "Practice the five strengths, the condensed heart instructions"
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112
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104.
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Reversing the Wheel of Samsara
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113
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105.
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The Path Is the Goal
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114
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106.
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Heightened Neurosis
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115
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107.
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Compassionate Inquiry
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116
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108.
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Slogan: "Always maintain only a joyful mind"
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117
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Dedication of Merit
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119
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Glossary
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121
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Bibliography
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125
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Resources
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129
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