Library Journal

American Buddhist nun Chodron, who was trained in the Tibetan tradition by the late Chgyam 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. Chdrn'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.

 

Amazon.com
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