meditation

start where you are: pema chodron

I've given away at least a dozen copies of this book. I've given away my last tattered treasured copy, saying, "You must have this, go now." And then gone out immediately to replace my copy because my book shelf feels anemic without it. Needless to say, Pema Chodron's Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living, would be one of my stranded-on-an-island book picks.

The heart of the book is Buddhist mind training "slogans."
Divine dictums like:

• Examine the nature of unborn awareness.
• Don't ponder others.
• Abandon any hope of fruition.
• All activities should be done with one intention.
• Don't expect applause.

As Chodron puts it, "The basic notion is that we can make friends with what we reject, what we see as 'bad' in ourselves and in other people. At the same time, we could learn to be generous with what we cherish, what we see as 'good'. If we begin to live this way, something in us that may have been buried for a long time begins to ripen."

Juicy cosmic fruit.

 

The Point of Existence, A. H. Almaas

 

The Pearl Beyond Price, A. H. Almaas

 

No Time to Lose, Pema Chodron

 

Gift Of Peace, Frances Vaughan