Scan barcode
saratellmanveloz's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
I have read many Pema Chodron books across my adult life and each has resonated with me in a unique way based on my spiritual fitness (or lack there of) at the time of the reading. She deepens and nourishes me, and I will return to this book again as I do her others.
velievakari's review
5.0
Šis, jaunais gads, pagaidām ir bijis piepildīts ar lielu tumsu. Šī grāmata, ko klausījos, nevis lasīju, man deva mieru un iedrošināja uzticēties iekšējai sajūtai, sapnim par laipnu esamību. Galvā skan atgādinājums, ka mēs visi vēlamies dzīvot un darīt to bez ciešanām. Pieturēšos pie šī gaismas stara.
yamherrera's review against another edition
5.0
El Buda enseñó que todos nosotros, en nuestra esencia, somos buenos y amorosos. Debido a esta bondad básica, de forma natural queremos estar ahí para los demás, especialmente para aquellos que están más cerca de nosotros y para aquellas que se encuentran en mayor necesidad. Somos muy conscientes de que los demás nos necesitan y de que nuestra sociedad y el planeta en su conjunto nos necesitan, especialmente ahora. Queremos hacer lo que podamos para aliviar el miedo, la ira y la dolorosa falta de fundamento que tantos de nosotros experimentamos en estos días. Pero lo que a menudo sucede cuando tratamos de ayudar es que nos encontramos con nuestra propia confusión y nuestras tendencias habituales se interponen en el camino...¿te ha pasado?
En este maravilloso libro la maestra Pema Chödrön una monja budista nos guía en el camino para desarrollar nuestra -bodichita- el corazón despierto, que tiene como punto de partida el deseo de liberarse de todo lo que se interpone en nuestro camino de ayudar a los demás, comprendiendo que en función de cómo podamos superar nuestras neurosis y nuestros hábitos también podemos estar más disponibles para los demás.
Encontrarás herramientas, meditaciones y una explicación fresca, simplificada y sincera de algunos de los conceptos más elevados del budismo como la impermanencia y la vacuidad, y comprenderás cómo llevarlo a tu vida diaria, aprender a usar el humor para tu despertar espiritual y cómo ser una fuente de amor y de consuelo para quiénes más amas
Un libro imperdible seas o no practicante del budismo, se los recomiendo con todo mi corazón #meditacion #budismo #reseña #mindfulness #pemachödrön #espiritualidad #amor
En este maravilloso libro la maestra Pema Chödrön una monja budista nos guía en el camino para desarrollar nuestra -bodichita- el corazón despierto, que tiene como punto de partida el deseo de liberarse de todo lo que se interpone en nuestro camino de ayudar a los demás, comprendiendo que en función de cómo podamos superar nuestras neurosis y nuestros hábitos también podemos estar más disponibles para los demás.
Encontrarás herramientas, meditaciones y una explicación fresca, simplificada y sincera de algunos de los conceptos más elevados del budismo como la impermanencia y la vacuidad, y comprenderás cómo llevarlo a tu vida diaria, aprender a usar el humor para tu despertar espiritual y cómo ser una fuente de amor y de consuelo para quiénes más amas
Un libro imperdible seas o no practicante del budismo, se los recomiendo con todo mi corazón #meditacion #budismo #reseña #mindfulness #pemachödrön #espiritualidad #amor
cheriekg's review
challenging
slow-paced
4.0
It took me an embarrassing amount of time to get through this, mostly because I kept saving it until I needed it. When anxiety was keeping me awake, I'd dip in and soon feel better. My one complaint is that Chodron mostly focused on individual upsetting times. Given the current state of the world, I needed more guidance on how to deal with societal upset. But this was still very helpful.
bookishgurl's review
5.0
I received a complimentary ARC copy of Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World by Pema Chodron from NetGalley and Shambhala Publications, Inc. in order to read and give an honest review.
“…is a brilliant yet challenging read and one I know I will read again…”
I recently became a fan of Pema Chodron after reading Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears and was so pleased to hear she had a new book coming out. Just beginning my journey toward Bodhisattva, I appreciate her down–to–earth and non-intimidating approach to Buddhist teachings.
In Welcoming the Unwelcome Chodron offers us wisdom on how to face the often overwhelming and uncomfortable aspects of life, embracing our emotions about those aspects while fostering a sense of peace by putting things in perspective. Each chapter discusses a particular practice with stories of others as well as personal insight about her journey. The overall message to me was learning to see both the positives and negatives in ourselves in order to foster a level of understanding of our vulnerabilities and to help us to gain insight and compassion towards others.
Throughout the book, Chodron offers us spiritual teachings to awaken us and assist us through our journey towards enlightenment. Although the practices are discussed in detail in each chapter, she has been kind enough to include a detailed outline of the practices at the back where they are mentioned in a more direct “how-to” approach. This book is a brilliant yet challenging read and one I know I will read again learning more each time I read it.
“…is a brilliant yet challenging read and one I know I will read again…”
I recently became a fan of Pema Chodron after reading Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears and was so pleased to hear she had a new book coming out. Just beginning my journey toward Bodhisattva, I appreciate her down–to–earth and non-intimidating approach to Buddhist teachings.
In Welcoming the Unwelcome Chodron offers us wisdom on how to face the often overwhelming and uncomfortable aspects of life, embracing our emotions about those aspects while fostering a sense of peace by putting things in perspective. Each chapter discusses a particular practice with stories of others as well as personal insight about her journey. The overall message to me was learning to see both the positives and negatives in ourselves in order to foster a level of understanding of our vulnerabilities and to help us to gain insight and compassion towards others.
Throughout the book, Chodron offers us spiritual teachings to awaken us and assist us through our journey towards enlightenment. Although the practices are discussed in detail in each chapter, she has been kind enough to include a detailed outline of the practices at the back where they are mentioned in a more direct “how-to” approach. This book is a brilliant yet challenging read and one I know I will read again learning more each time I read it.
leafyshivers's review
3.0
Pema's writing is both delightful and, I am finding, tragically antiintellectual. Not that that is so surprising. It is what the general audience comes looking for, or at least a lot of the ones with money. But I don't know why ya gotta be like that, Western Buddhist :((
koreanlinda's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Another super helpful book by Pema Chodron. I also recommend "The Places That Scare You," and "When Things Fall Apart." Here I share a list of quotes that I wanted to remember.
- p.5: Putting so much effort into protecting our hearts from pain hurts us over and over again. Even when we realize it’s unhelpful, this is a hard habit to break. It’s a natural human tendency. But when we generate bodhichitta, we go against the grain of this tendency Instead of shying away, we arouse the bravery to take a direct look at ourselves and the world. Instead of being intimidated by phenomena, we come to embrace all aspects of our inexhaustibly rich lives.
- p.8: This awakening to our true nature doesn’t happen overnight. And even as we begin to awaken and find ourselves more and more able to help others, we have to accept that there’s not always something we can do — at least not immediately. Without making excuses of succumbing to indifference, we have to acknowledge that this is just how things are. Countless people and animals are suffering at this very moment, but how much can we do to prevent that? … maybe all we can do in the moment is to not turn away and to let the unfolding tragedy deepen our bodhichitta. Then we can let ourselves become curing about what causes people to hurt animals in the first place.
- p.9: When we arouse bodhichitta, it’s important to understand that we’re in it for the long haul. We will have to stick around for a long time and apply tremendous effort and patience. The supreme vision of bodhichitta is to help every single living being awaken to their true nature. Our only shot at accomplishing this is by first attaining enlightenment ourselves. Along the way, we can take one step at a time, doing our best to keep our longing and commitment going during the ups and downs of our lives.
- p.25: Polarization is at its most problematic when we dehumanize people — when we forget that the people we judge, criticize, and disagree with are actually as fully human as we are.
- p.28: Having compassion doesn’t mean we can’t take a stand. It’s important to speak up when we’ve been hurt, when we see others being hurt, and when we observe or experience examples of abuse of power.
- p.37: When any unwanted feeling comes up, the first step is to feel it as fully as you can at the present moment… Hold the rawness of vulnerability in your heart. Breathe with it, allow it to touch you, to inhabit you—open to it as fully as you currently can. Then make that feeling even stronger, even more intense…. Do this until the filing becomes so heavy you could hold it in your hand. At that point, grab the feeling. And then just let it go. … Let it float out and out into the universe, dispersing into smaller and smaller particles, which become inconceivably tiny and distant.
- p.61: The interesting thing is that the more willing you are to step out of your comfort zone, the more comfortable you feel in your life. Situations that used to arouse fear and nausea become easier to relax in. On the other hand, if you stay in the comfort zone all the time, it shrinks. … The more you try to wall off the danger, the more afraid you become of everyone. And the older you get, the more threatened you feel.
Review by Linda (she/they) in April 2022
Twitter @KoreanLindaPark
Letter writer at DefinitelyNotOkay.com