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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 essentila 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 heighteni9ng 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 , Pema Chodron, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 218 pages, $14.95
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. Chgyam 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.
Editor's Preface xiii
1. The Love That Will Not Die 1
2. The Healing Power of Bodhichitta 3
3. Comfortable with Uncertainty 5
4. The Wisdom of No Escape 7
5. Loving-Kindness: The Essential Practice 9
6. Loving-Kindness and Meditation 11
7. Why Meditate? 12
8. The Six Points of Posture 15
9. No Such Thing as a True Story 17
10. Sitting Meditation 19
11. Four Qualities of Maitri 21
12. The Root of Suffering 23
13. Weather and the Four Noble Truths 25
14. The Facts of Life: Impermanence 27
15. Not Causing Harm 29
16. The Dharma 31
17. The Practice of Mindfulness and Refraining 33
18. Relax as It Is 35
19. Working with Slogans 37
20. Slogan: "All activities should be done with one intention" 39
21. Turning Arrows into Flowers 40
22. Nothing Solid 43
23. The Facts of Life: Egolessness 45
24. Staying in the Middle 47
25. Slogan: "Of the two witnesses, hold the principal one" 49
26. Encountering the Edge 51
27. The Facts of Life: Suffering 53
28. Hope and Fear 55
29. Lighten Up (and Do Something Different) 57
30. The Four Reminders 59
31. Heaven and Hell 61
32. The Three Futile Strategies 63
33. The Opposite of Samsara 65
34. Cultivating the Four Limitless Qualities 66
35. The Practice of Loving-Kindness 68
36. Cultivating Compassion 71
37. The Practice of Compassion 73
38. Cultivating the Ability to Rejoice 75
39. The Practice of Equanimity 77
40. Thinking Bigger 79
41. Be Where You Are 81
42. Tonglen and Fearlessness 83
43. Tonglen: The Key to Realizing Interconnectedness 85
44. The Four Stages of Tonglen 87
45. Start Where You Are 89
46. Getting to Know Fear 91
47. Recognize Suffering 93
48. Slogan: "Change your attitude, but remain natural" 95
49. Loving-Kindness and Tonglen 97
50. Slogan: "If you can, practice even when distracted, you are well trained" 99
51. Deepening Tonglen 101
52. The Empty Boat 103
53. The Three Poisons 105
54. On-the-Spot Tonglen 107
55. Start Where You Are (Again and Again) 109
56. Experience Your Life 111
57. See What Is 112
58. The Buddha 113
59. Nowness 115
60. The Heart of Everyday Life 117
61. Widening the Circle of Compassion 119
62. Inconvenience 121
63. Widening the Circle Further 123
64. What Is Karma? 124
65. Growing Up 125
66. Slogan: "Don't expect applause" 127
67. Six Ways of Compassionate Living 129
68. Prajna 131
69. Generosity 133
70. Discipline 135
71. Patience 137
72. Joyous Exertion 139
73. Meditation 141
74. Letting the World Speak for Itself ("Don't Misinterpret") 143
75. Meditation and Prajna 145
76. Plan to Stay Open 147
77. Slogan: "Abandon any hope of fruition" 149
78. Cool Loneliness 151
79. Slogan: "Practice the three difficulties" 153
80. Communicating from the Heart 155
81. The Big Squeeze 157
82. Curiosity and the Circle of Compassion 159
83. Take Tonglen Further 161
84. Slogan: "Be grateful to everyone" 163
85. Obstacles as Questions 165
86. Six Ways to Be Lonely 167
87. Thoroughly Processed 169
88. Commitment 171
89. Three Methods for Working with Chaos 173
90. On-the-Spot Equanimity 175
91. The Truth Is Inconvenient 177
92. Abiding in the Fearless State 179
93. The Essential Paradox 181
94. Nothing to Hold on To 183
95. Slogan: "Drive all blames into one" 185
96. This Very Moment Is the Perfect Teacher 187
97. Inviting Your Unfinished Business 189
98. Four Methods for Holding Your Seat 191
99. Cultivating Forgiveness 193
100. Containing the Paradox 195
101. The Sangha 197
102. Just Like Me (On-the-Spot Compassion) 199
103. Slogan: "Practice the five strengths, the condensed heart instructions" 201
104. Reversing the Wheel of Samsara 203
105. The Path Is the Goal 205
106. Heightened Neurosis 207
107. Compassionate Inquiry 209
108. Slogan: "Always maintain only a joyful mind" 211
Dedication of Merit 212
Glossary 213
Bibliography 216
Resources 219
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