Pema Chodron is a Buddhist nun for regular folks. Having raised a family of her own, she doesn't shy away from persistent troubles and the basic meatiness of life. In fact, in Start Where You Are, Chodron tries to get us to see that the faults and foibles in each of us now are the perfect ingredients for creating a better life. No need to wait for a quieter time or a more settled mind. The trick Chodron says is to repattern ourselves, to transform bad habits into good by first opening ourselves to the groundlessness of existence. When the cliff dissolves beneath our feet, fear has a way of actually lessening. Fearlessness opens the way to recognizing our pushy egos and that rather than being cursed with original sin, we are blessed with an original soft spot--the squishy feeling inside that we all have, that is the seat of true compassion, and that we all do our best to armor over. Chodron is the kind of teacher who has seen it all and keeps pushing us back into ourselves until there's no one left to wrestle with but a certain recalcitrant image in the mirror. --Brian Bruya


From Publishers Weekly
"This book is about awakening the heart," writes the American Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chodron. "If you have every wondered how to awaken your genuine compassionate heart, this book will serve you as a guide." This is a broad and simple statement, and those unfamiliar with When Things Fall Apart or other titles by Chodron may rightfully fear that a volley of nonsensical fuzzballs is on the way. Good bedtime reading, perhaps, but in the decade since its original 1994 publication, there seems to be even less grounds to claim that all humans are innately capable of openness, clarity and compassion (or "bodhichitta"). What follows, however, is a savvy, down-to-earth contemporary version of an old Tibetan Buddhist technique for mind training, or "lojong," supported by instructions in basic sitting meditation practice (to cultivate tranquility and insight) and "tonglen"—a meditative technique that involves taking in the dark, heavy, negative emotions and sending out an attitude of light, compassionate embrace, a warm spaciousness, in its place. Chodron supplies a pithy contemporary analysis for each of 59 "slogans" that make up the teaching behind this practice. "There is a saying that is the underlying principle of tonglen and slogan practice: ‘Gain and victory to others, loss and defeat to myself,’" she writes. Far from being as masochistic as this may sound to Western ears, however, the aim is get people to unclench the heart and mind, to dare to taste defeat. Although far from easy, Chodron’s humane, incisive approach can help any sincere reader learn to relate to fear and pain and pleasure and joy in a way that will open their hearts to the richness of their own lives and all life. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Library Journal
American Buddhist nun Chodron, who was trained in the Tibetan tradition by the late Chogyam Trungpa, provides a book of meditative insights and instructions based on the 59 Tibetan Buddhist slogans for developing compassion, e.g., "When we find that we are holding back, here is instruction on how to give." While some of the slogans depend on Buddhist teaching, many-such as "be grateful to everyone"-are widely applicable. Chodron's teachings are supported by personal reflections, clear explanations, and an attention to how one may achieve the goal of compassion. Useful both for Buddhist meditators and those wanting to understand Buddhist spirituality, this is recommended for large public and academic libraries.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


About the Author
Pema Chödrön is an American Buddhist nun and one of the foremost students of Chögyam Trungpa, the renowned meditation master. She is the author of The Wisdom of No Escape, Start Where You Are, and The Places That Scare You, and she is resident teacher at Gampo Abbey, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery in North America established for Westerners.

ANNOTATION

With insight and humor, the author of The Wisdom of No Escape presents down-to-earth teachings on how we can work with our own suffering as well as with the suffering of others. This is only possible, says the author, if we "start where we are" and embrace the painful aspects of our lives.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal