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A review by rponzo
Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion by Pema Chödrön
3.0
Have you ever heard the adage, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
This book is like that for me. I have had it for a few months now, and dipped into its very very short chapters from time to time. But recently I read it fully and it lifted a blind in my window.
Of course I had to get past the “Four truths of enlightenment” and the “Six beliefs of compassion” and the “Three ways of feeling pain“. The trite phrase “be here now” that I see in management training seminars and the seemingly obvious “start where you are“. But this book is not selling anything, and it starts to make some sense.
The ideas are simple but not easy…..they are free but not cheap. The need to forgive. The wretchedness of life--not explained, but not our fault. Stop avoiding things, just accept.
I started to absorb this philosophy of life from my Joe, from not only his cheerful personality, but also that we treasure our time together, knowing we don’t have the illusion of an endless future. But, until I read this book, I did not realize how much of my time is waiting to get to the next point in time. I don't want to waste time like that, I just had to see it.
I’m really glad I read it.
“Everything in our lives has the potential to wake us up or to put us to sleep. Allowing it to awaken is up to us.” (p. 39)
"One of the most powerful Buddhist teachings is that as long as you are wishing for things to change, they never will." (p. 149)
"...The more you can be completely now, the more you realize that you're always standing in the middle of a sacred circle. It's no small affair, whether you're brushing your teeth or cooling your feed or wiping your bottom. Whatever you're doing, you're doing it now. " (p.116)
"When you are feeling grief, you can look right into somebody's eyes because you feel you haven't got anything to lose--you're just there."
(p.195)
This book is like that for me. I have had it for a few months now, and dipped into its very very short chapters from time to time. But recently I read it fully and it lifted a blind in my window.
Of course I had to get past the “Four truths of enlightenment” and the “Six beliefs of compassion” and the “Three ways of feeling pain“. The trite phrase “be here now” that I see in management training seminars and the seemingly obvious “start where you are“. But this book is not selling anything, and it starts to make some sense.
The ideas are simple but not easy…..they are free but not cheap. The need to forgive. The wretchedness of life--not explained, but not our fault. Stop avoiding things, just accept.
I started to absorb this philosophy of life from my Joe, from not only his cheerful personality, but also that we treasure our time together, knowing we don’t have the illusion of an endless future. But, until I read this book, I did not realize how much of my time is waiting to get to the next point in time. I don't want to waste time like that, I just had to see it.
I’m really glad I read it.
“Everything in our lives has the potential to wake us up or to put us to sleep. Allowing it to awaken is up to us.” (p. 39)
"One of the most powerful Buddhist teachings is that as long as you are wishing for things to change, they never will." (p. 149)
"...The more you can be completely now, the more you realize that you're always standing in the middle of a sacred circle. It's no small affair, whether you're brushing your teeth or cooling your feed or wiping your bottom. Whatever you're doing, you're doing it now. " (p.116)
"When you are feeling grief, you can look right into somebody's eyes because you feel you haven't got anything to lose--you're just there."
(p.195)