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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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