Pema Chödrön - Compassion Quotes

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Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allowing ourselves to move gently toward what scares us.

Pema Chödrön
Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.

Pema Chödrön
When we practice generating compassion, we can expect to experience our fear of pain. Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allow ourselves to move gently toward what scares us. The trick to doing this is to stay with emotional distress without tightening into aversion, to let fear soften us rather than harden into resistance.

Pema Chödrön
True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings.

Pema Chödrön
Compassion isn't some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we're trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don't even want to look at.

Pema Chödrön
As we learn to have compassion for ourselves, the circle of compassion for others - what and whom we can work with, and how - becomes wider.

Pema Chödrön
This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion. It can humble us when we're arrogant and soften us when we are unkind.

Pema Chödrön
We give it up and just look directly with compassion and humor at who we are. Then loneliness is no threat and heartache, no punishment.

Pema Chödrön
If we begin to get in touch with whatever we feel with some kind of kindness, our protective shells will melt, and we'll find that more areas of our lives are workable. AS we learn to have compassion for ourselves, the circle of compassion for others-what and whom we can work with, and how-becomes wider.

Pema Chödrön