Living Beautifully: with Uncertainty and Change Author: Pema Chodron | Language: English | ISBN:
B009KSQZOS | Format: EPUB
Living Beautifully: with Uncertainty and Change Description
Is it possible to live well when the very ground we stand on is shaky? Yes, says everyone's favorite Buddhist nun, it's even possible to live beautifully, compassionately, and happily on shaky ground—and the secret is: the ground is always shaky. Pema shows how using a traditional Buddhist practice called the Three Vows or Three Commitments is a way to relax into profound sanity in the midst of whatever non-sanity is happening around us. Just making these simple aspirations can change the way we look at the world and can provide us with a lifetime of material for spiritual practice.
The three commitments are three methods for embracing the chaotic, uncertain, dynamic, challenging nature of our situation as a path to awakening. The first of the commitments, traditionally called the Pratimoksha Vow, is the foundation for personal liberation. This is a commitment to doing our best to not cause harm with our actions or words or thoughts, a commitment to being good to each other. It provides a structure within which we learn to work with our thoughts and emotions, and to refrain from speaking or acting out of confusion. The next step toward being comfortable with groundlessness is a commitment to helping others, traditionally called the Bodhisattva Vow. It is a commitment to dedicate our lives to keeping our hearts and minds open, and nurturing our compassion with the longing to ease the suffering of the world. The last of the three commitments, traditionally known as the Samaya Vow, is a resolve to embrace the world just as it is, without bias; a resolve to see everything we encounter, good and bad, pleasant and painful, as a manifestation of awakened energy. It is a commitment to see everything and anything as a means by which we can awaken further.
- File Size: 248 KB
- Print Length: 128 pages
- Publisher: Shambhala Publications; 1 edition (October 9, 2012)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B009KSQZOS
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,431 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #7
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Religion & Spirituality > Buddhism > Tibetan - #93
in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism - #98
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Self-Help > Personal Transformation
- #7
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Religion & Spirituality > Buddhism > Tibetan - #93
in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism - #98
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Self-Help > Personal Transformation
Using as the basis of this book the idea that all of our suffering comes from our fear of uncertainty, Chodron presents her path to freedom from this suffering. She presents the notion of "living by vows." Now, we're not talking head-shaved monastery living. Nor the drop-out (if enlightened) approach of
I Walked to the Moon and Almost Everybody Waved. No, this book is for spiritual people committed to living in the modern, secular world. It's for laypeople. So these are meant more as guideposts than strict practices.
The three vows are:
- Pratimoksha. Commitment to personal liberation and doing no harm.
- Bodhisattva. Selfless service and alleviation of the suffering of others.
- Samaya. Accept reality as it is -- "awakened energy."
If this sounds intriguing, provocative, or helpful to you, I recommend this book.
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Pros: Communicates a reassuring message that we can be free from fear. Also about the essential goodness of humanity, and the fact that no failure is final. Has plenty of practical teaching.
Cons: You may have run across some of this material before. Like many spiritual teaches, Chodron tends to repeat herself. So while there is new material here, there's much that won't surprise you if you're a seasoned Chodron reader.
---7/19/13 Edit/Addition: I'm just about done reading
Extraordinary Zen Masters: A Maverick, a Master of Masters, and a Wandering Poet and finding it a subtly inspiring book. I highly recommend it for anyone on the Buddhist or spiritual path. It won't wow you at first, but it grew on me as I appreciated it's quiet--bumps and all--interesting profiles of three historically important Zen masters.
A distinctive compilation on the beauty of continuous change in everyday life, Pema Chödrön - once again - clearly and effortlessly shows her reader how to live a committed life within the present moment. Chödrön displays this approach to life by providing an educational framework concerning three forms of commitment. These "Three Commitments" entail embracing the fundamental groundlessness or impermanence in life, and the prevention of intentional harm to oneself and others; taking on the courage and responsibility to embrace others as oneself; and embracing the world just as it is. Through this framework, Chödrön provides her reader with the tools to progressively see the underlying stories that construct the ego, which - in turn - allow the mind's clouds (i.e. thought and emotion) to gradually dissipate, and eventually leave a clear mind of unconditional, non-judgmental, self-acceptance. With this clearing mind in progress, one is free to live beautifully with endless change and embrace life simply as it is.
By Sapio Waters
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