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The Pocket Pema Chodron
A collection of short inspirational readings by “one of the world's wisest women” and author of When Things Fall Apart (O, the Oprah Magazine)
Pema Chödrön, beloved Buddhist nun and best-selling author, offers this treasury of 108 short selections from her more than four decades of study and writings. Here she presents teachings on breaking free of destructive patterns; developing patience, kindness, and joy amid our everyday struggles; becoming fearless; and unlocking our natural warmth, intelligence, and goodness. Designed for on-the-go inspiration, this is a perfect guide to Buddhist principles and the foundations of meditation and mindfulness.
The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.
Pema Chödrön, beloved Buddhist nun and best-selling author, offers this treasury of 108 short selections from her more than four decades of study and writings. Here she presents teachings on breaking free of destructive patterns; developing patience, kindness, and joy amid our everyday struggles; becoming fearless; and unlocking our natural warmth, intelligence, and goodness. Designed for on-the-go inspiration, this is a perfect guide to Buddhist principles and the foundations of meditation and mindfulness.
The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.
146 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 9, 2008
561 people are currently reading
3419 people want to read
About the author
Pema Chödrön
189 books5,465 followersAni Pema Chödrön (Deirdre Blomfield-Brown) is an American Buddhist nun in the Tibetan tradition, closely associated with the Kagyu school and the Shambhala lineage.
She attended Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught as an elementary school teacher for many years in both New Mexico and California. Pema has two children and three grandchildren.
While in her mid-thirties, she traveled to the French Alps and encountered Lama Chime Rinpoche, with whom she studied for several years. She became a novice nun in 1974 while studying with Lama Chime in London. His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa came to England at that time, and Ani Pema received her ordination from him.
Ani Pema first met her root guru, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. Lama Chime encouraged her to work with Trungpa, and it was with him that she ultimately made her most profound connection, studying with him from 1974 until his death in 1987. At the request of the Sixteenth Karmapa, she received the full bikshuni ordination in the Chinese lineage of Buddhism in 1981 in Hong Kong.
Ani Pema served as the director of the Karma Dzong, in Boulder, CO, until moving in 1984 to rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to be the director of Gampo Abbey. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche gave her explicit instructions on establishing this monastery for western monks and nuns.
Ani Pema currently teaches in the United States and Canada and plans for an increased amount of time in solitary retreat under the guidance of Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.
She attended Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught as an elementary school teacher for many years in both New Mexico and California. Pema has two children and three grandchildren.
While in her mid-thirties, she traveled to the French Alps and encountered Lama Chime Rinpoche, with whom she studied for several years. She became a novice nun in 1974 while studying with Lama Chime in London. His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa came to England at that time, and Ani Pema received her ordination from him.
Ani Pema first met her root guru, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. Lama Chime encouraged her to work with Trungpa, and it was with him that she ultimately made her most profound connection, studying with him from 1974 until his death in 1987. At the request of the Sixteenth Karmapa, she received the full bikshuni ordination in the Chinese lineage of Buddhism in 1981 in Hong Kong.
Ani Pema served as the director of the Karma Dzong, in Boulder, CO, until moving in 1984 to rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to be the director of Gampo Abbey. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche gave her explicit instructions on establishing this monastery for western monks and nuns.
Ani Pema currently teaches in the United States and Canada and plans for an increased amount of time in solitary retreat under the guidance of Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
October 4, 2009
I wanted to post a random message from this wonderful little book so I closed my eyes and opened the book to any page. Here is the message:
Every day we could think about the aggression in the world, in New York, Los Angeles, Darfur, Iraq, everywhere.
All over the world, everybody always strikes out at the enemy, and the pain escalates forever.
Every day we could reflect on this and ask ourselves, "Am I going to add to the aggression in the world?"
Every day, at the moment when things get edgy, we can just ask ourselves,
"Am I going to practice peace, or am I going to war?"
Every day we could think about the aggression in the world, in New York, Los Angeles, Darfur, Iraq, everywhere.
All over the world, everybody always strikes out at the enemy, and the pain escalates forever.
Every day we could reflect on this and ask ourselves, "Am I going to add to the aggression in the world?"
Every day, at the moment when things get edgy, we can just ask ourselves,
"Am I going to practice peace, or am I going to war?"
June 26, 2009
bought this from the bookstore in darlinghurst a couple of weeks ago, and it's stayed on my person ever since - it really is small enough to fit in the actual pocket of my winter coat.
pema chödrön's writing is the perfect thing to read in these little pieces - it's dense with insight even as it's simple and easily grasped, & after i started reading it i felt my attention shifting in interesting ways.
this is the thing i read a couple of years ago that stuck with me & made me think it might be a good idea to buy this little book:
"But loving-kindness, or maitri, towards ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change ourselves. Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already."
pema chödrön's writing is the perfect thing to read in these little pieces - it's dense with insight even as it's simple and easily grasped, & after i started reading it i felt my attention shifting in interesting ways.
this is the thing i read a couple of years ago that stuck with me & made me think it might be a good idea to buy this little book:
"But loving-kindness, or maitri, towards ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change ourselves. Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already."
February 20, 2018
This delightful collection has some of the best of Pema's teachings, little nuggets that, as the title suggests, you can carry in your pocket. Well, I carry it in my purse, but I have a feeling that this will quickly become my go-to book to understanding the groundlessness of fear, the scrutiny of embracing life as it is, and the relentless path to forgiveness and understanding.
The short passages here are perfect to have any time during the day, and that's how I intend to dip into this again. Like cups of tea on a warm snowy morning.
The short passages here are perfect to have any time during the day, and that's how I intend to dip into this again. Like cups of tea on a warm snowy morning.
May 10, 2025
*** 5/10/25 *** Really a wonderful pocket guide to staying grounded in the here and now, accepting what life throws at us. *And how to write succinctly and powerfully!* I love this introduction to practical Buddhist practices by an American woman. It is a book I may buy a physical copy of to refer to, and I read nearly exclusively digital. 5-star, recommended.
*** 4/21/25 *** I saw this book mentioned on one of my social medias and reserved it at the library, not knowing anything about it. Picked it up this past weekend after it came off my holds list, and I'm blown away. It is a series of short, typically 2-page, writings with a message connecting author Pema Chodron's Buddhist learning with life. The messages are nothing short of stunning. Highly recommend and will fully review upon completion.
*** 4/21/25 *** I saw this book mentioned on one of my social medias and reserved it at the library, not knowing anything about it. Picked it up this past weekend after it came off my holds list, and I'm blown away. It is a series of short, typically 2-page, writings with a message connecting author Pema Chodron's Buddhist learning with life. The messages are nothing short of stunning. Highly recommend and will fully review upon completion.
August 1, 2012
Pema Chodron , a Buddhist nun, writes about spirituality in everyday terms, in a way that’s practical, simple and applicable. The book is comprised of 108 short selections for on-the-go inspiration. And inspire it does. Since its purchase, I've made reference to it a few times rereading passages that struck a chord. .For instance, on page 60, in entry #38 (called ‘No Happy Ending’) she quotes her teacher once saying to her “I don’t know why you came here, but I want to tell you right now that the basis of this whole teaching is that you’re never going to get it all together.” This made me laugh with a giddy sense of relief every time I read it.
These insights don’t upset me – they un-hinge me – in a really good way. They make me feel so free. I’m not perfect (well, perfectly imperfect). My life is not perfect and the world is certainly not perfect(!?) & I’m NEVER going to “get it all together” (or, if I do ever feel as though everything is pretty darn cool, it never seems to last for longer than about 10 minutes). P.Chodron effectively teaches us to soften our hearts towards ourselves and to others and to make friends with our own selves. Huh? Make friends with MY rough edges? What a relief!! As I absorb her words, anxiety and judgments change like the weather into ease and acceptance. Such wisdom has awakened my heart a bit more.
These insights don’t upset me – they un-hinge me – in a really good way. They make me feel so free. I’m not perfect (well, perfectly imperfect). My life is not perfect and the world is certainly not perfect(!?) & I’m NEVER going to “get it all together” (or, if I do ever feel as though everything is pretty darn cool, it never seems to last for longer than about 10 minutes). P.Chodron effectively teaches us to soften our hearts towards ourselves and to others and to make friends with our own selves. Huh? Make friends with MY rough edges? What a relief!! As I absorb her words, anxiety and judgments change like the weather into ease and acceptance. Such wisdom has awakened my heart a bit more.
August 7, 2017
There are times in our lives when we feel a little bit anxious and we can say a prayer or our rosary and we can get going again. There are other times when we feel so overwhelmed with anxiety that we can't act. That is the time I bring out Pema Chodron. She looks fear and anxiety square in the eye and she isn't the one who blinks.
April 1, 2020
For me this book is a little treasure, on my kindle and ready to be opened at any moment that I need to hear the words of timeless wisdom from this woman of such inner beauty.
Currently reading
February 26, 2009Now is the right time for me to absorb and truly understand the teachings of Buddhism. Its emphasis on mindfulness, becoming friends with yourself, and learning to not cause suffering by trying to avoid pain and struggle, but rather to work with it and be in each moment as life comes, in every form. Truly truly enlightening for me. I am not preaching or trying to tell anyone else to read this, but it is doing wonders for me, because it is truthful for me.
October 31, 2015
Only parts of this book provided food for thought upon my first read, but I can see it as a reference I will come back to over and over and find something new to think about given the constantly changing circumstances. The collection covers a wide range of topics sorted into short excerpts--you may not connect to every page, but there is bound to be something in there that can help you heal and let go of a current stress or worry.
April 2, 2016
I love this pocket edition. Great to carry around for a little pick me up.
December 29, 2024
I’ve read this at least 12 times.
4 times this year. Gotta meet that reading goal 😌🙏🏼
4 times this year. Gotta meet that reading goal 😌🙏🏼
November 12, 2019
I’ve reviewed a couple of Pema’s previous books. The present book is a compendium of small extracts from her various works.
Pema is an American Buddhist nun who studied with the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa.
What is different about her writings is that she writes not as though she is enlightened but a person just like us with everyday problems and negative feelings.
Pema tells us that we already have everything we need and are “one blink of an eye away from being fully awake.”
Whether we are violent, depressed, addicted or jealous, or even hate ourselves, these are good places to start – just where we are.
We should accept ourselves completely as we are.
Difficulty is inevitable. We cannot escape the reality of death, and there are also the realities of “aging, of illness, of not getting what we want, and of getting what we don’t want”.
What causes misery is always trying to avoid pain and seek happiness.
When we feel” depressed, lonely, betrayed, or any unwanted feelings, this is an important moment on the spiritual path. This is when real transformation can take place.”
We are never separated from enlightenment, never alienated from the awakened state.
Loving-kindness, or maitri, doesn’t mean getting rid of anything. “The point is not to try to change ourselves. --- it’s about befriending who we are already.”
Everything that occurs is actually the path itself. We can use everything as the means for waking up.
The root of aggression and suffering is ignorance. We ignore our kinship with others. “One reason we train as warrior-bodhisattvas is to recognize our interconnectedness – to grow in understanding that when we harm another, we are harming ourselves.”
“In cultivating loving-kindness, we train first to be honest, loving and compassionate toward ourselves.”
As we train in opening our hearts, “we gradually feel more joy, the joy that comes from a growing appreciation of our basic goodness”.
“The key is to be here, fully connected with the moment, paying attention to the details of ordinary life.”
We learn that we should never have expectations for other people, just be kind to them.
We must allow ourselves to feel what we feel and not push it away. This means accepting every aspect of ourselves, even the parts we don’t like.
Life is both glorious and wretched. Wretchedness softens us up considerably. "Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.”
The above will give you an impression of Pema’s teachings. This little book is well worth reading, but I admit I prefer to read the full versions of her books.
I’ll leave you with a final quote: “Enlightenment is not the end of anything. Enlightenment, being completely awake, is just the beginning of fully entering into we know not what.”
Pema is an American Buddhist nun who studied with the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa.
What is different about her writings is that she writes not as though she is enlightened but a person just like us with everyday problems and negative feelings.
Pema tells us that we already have everything we need and are “one blink of an eye away from being fully awake.”
Whether we are violent, depressed, addicted or jealous, or even hate ourselves, these are good places to start – just where we are.
We should accept ourselves completely as we are.
Difficulty is inevitable. We cannot escape the reality of death, and there are also the realities of “aging, of illness, of not getting what we want, and of getting what we don’t want”.
What causes misery is always trying to avoid pain and seek happiness.
When we feel” depressed, lonely, betrayed, or any unwanted feelings, this is an important moment on the spiritual path. This is when real transformation can take place.”
We are never separated from enlightenment, never alienated from the awakened state.
Loving-kindness, or maitri, doesn’t mean getting rid of anything. “The point is not to try to change ourselves. --- it’s about befriending who we are already.”
Everything that occurs is actually the path itself. We can use everything as the means for waking up.
The root of aggression and suffering is ignorance. We ignore our kinship with others. “One reason we train as warrior-bodhisattvas is to recognize our interconnectedness – to grow in understanding that when we harm another, we are harming ourselves.”
“In cultivating loving-kindness, we train first to be honest, loving and compassionate toward ourselves.”
As we train in opening our hearts, “we gradually feel more joy, the joy that comes from a growing appreciation of our basic goodness”.
“The key is to be here, fully connected with the moment, paying attention to the details of ordinary life.”
We learn that we should never have expectations for other people, just be kind to them.
We must allow ourselves to feel what we feel and not push it away. This means accepting every aspect of ourselves, even the parts we don’t like.
Life is both glorious and wretched. Wretchedness softens us up considerably. "Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.”
The above will give you an impression of Pema’s teachings. This little book is well worth reading, but I admit I prefer to read the full versions of her books.
I’ll leave you with a final quote: “Enlightenment is not the end of anything. Enlightenment, being completely awake, is just the beginning of fully entering into we know not what.”
April 24, 2019
This book was interesting and I did learn a lot from it. I really wasn't familiar with Buddhism and I think this was a good way to dip a toe.
Pema seems very focused on suffering and becoming okay with it. In many ways, there's a lot of great advice. I just personally felt she focused a bit too much on getting your mental state right with suffering, as opposed to actually working towards fixing the aspects of your life that cause you to suffer. I think there's a push and pull. On the one hand, you need mental resilience and acceptance to live through the pain life puts your through, but on the other hand, I think it's incredibly important to take life by the reins and change the things that make you unhappy. Pema seems much more focused on the first, and not at all focused on the second. She is a very privileged woman who's been able to travel the world and study with monks around the globe. There isn't anything wrong with that, but sometimes I feel like she doesn't really get what life is like for a lot of people.
I'm glad I read the book. If you're dealing with suffering or you're looking for ways to feel better instantly, I think this is a great book :)
Pema seems very focused on suffering and becoming okay with it. In many ways, there's a lot of great advice. I just personally felt she focused a bit too much on getting your mental state right with suffering, as opposed to actually working towards fixing the aspects of your life that cause you to suffer. I think there's a push and pull. On the one hand, you need mental resilience and acceptance to live through the pain life puts your through, but on the other hand, I think it's incredibly important to take life by the reins and change the things that make you unhappy. Pema seems much more focused on the first, and not at all focused on the second. She is a very privileged woman who's been able to travel the world and study with monks around the globe. There isn't anything wrong with that, but sometimes I feel like she doesn't really get what life is like for a lot of people.
I'm glad I read the book. If you're dealing with suffering or you're looking for ways to feel better instantly, I think this is a great book :)
December 18, 2014
Love, love, loved this one! She's very down to earth and human and her writing is very relatable. I appreciate that she reminds us that just because we're seeking enlightenment and on this path to awakening to life and knowing ourselves that it won't be perfect and that we'll still have pain and suffering and difficulty. It's not like we can just follow these specific steps and we'll be all fixed and happy and enlightened. It's always going to be a learning process and we hopefully just learn how to react/not react to things better.
I also appreciate reading a woman's perspective since, as in most other aspects of everything, it's generally men's voices being heard; men doing the writing/teaching.
I also appreciate reading a woman's perspective since, as in most other aspects of everything, it's generally men's voices being heard; men doing the writing/teaching.
October 19, 2019
I love Pema Chodron's style and approach. This book has some great excerpts from her books, but some of them don't work well out of context. Some would be super confusing if I was not already used to her style and Buddhism. I do like that they give the resource for every saying though, so if there is one that interests or confuses you, you can go read the full context. With that said though, the ideas skip around and I don't understand how they were organized, if at all. It feels like someone just put a whole bunch of quotes in a jar and then pulled them out randomly and inserted them into the book.
This feels more like a quick reference for certain ideas than anything else.
This feels more like a quick reference for certain ideas than anything else.
June 11, 2020
I got a lot out of this little book. I’m a Pagan, not a Buddhist, so there were a number of passages that differed from my own philosophy - it’s more in my nature to hope and to manifest my will than to surrender - but it definitely showed me some different ways of thinking about things. I imagine I will come back to this occasionally to be reminded.
May 21, 2011
Very enlightening and inspiring. Great little book, packed full of wonderful lessons!
December 29, 2017
First time reading Pema. She's fantastic. Especially when life causes you heartache/anxiety.
“The more we make friends with ourselves, the more we can see that our ways of shutting down and closing off are rooted in the mistaken thinking that the way to get happy is to blame somebody else.”
“The more we make friends with ourselves, the more we can see that our ways of shutting down and closing off are rooted in the mistaken thinking that the way to get happy is to blame somebody else.”
June 2, 2024
There really isn’t a “finished” with this book. I read a random passage here and there. The book always seems to open to a relevant passage.
March 18, 2022
If you're of a certain age you might remember those Dianetics commercials back in the day. "Open to any page..." (Then you might find it at a bookstore and randomly open the book and it didn't make a lick of sense.)
Now this book? Any of the 170-ish pages you decide to flip it open to has the potential to completely upend your way of thinking and living thanks to the indelible morsels of wisdom from the Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön.
Incredible. Inspiring. This book is powerful and dangerous in all the right ways.
"The path is uncharted. It comes into existence moment by moment and at the same time drops behind us. It's like riding in a train sitting backward. We can't see where we're headed, only where we've been."
"When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often think that somehow they're going to improve, which is a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are."
Now this book? Any of the 170-ish pages you decide to flip it open to has the potential to completely upend your way of thinking and living thanks to the indelible morsels of wisdom from the Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön.
Incredible. Inspiring. This book is powerful and dangerous in all the right ways.
"The path is uncharted. It comes into existence moment by moment and at the same time drops behind us. It's like riding in a train sitting backward. We can't see where we're headed, only where we've been."
"When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often think that somehow they're going to improve, which is a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are."
November 7, 2013
I love Pema ( my pocket Pema too.) Her words are introspective and even if one is not a practicing Buddhist, she speaks both eloquently and practically in a way that presents living life with all its nuance and its hugeness a little bit differently....
May 23, 2009
I carry this around in my pocket, and read from it regularly. It's a wonderful little thing, keeps my feet on the ground.
June 19, 2015
Nothing gets better than Pema - except a POCKET-SIZED PEMA!!
October 29, 2014
Simply fabulous.
December 20, 2015
Lots of quick quotes from Pema; perfect for the Buddhist beginner, but for someone who reads all of her books, there will be lots of repetition.
March 18, 2024
“On the other hand, wretchedness—life’s painful aspect—softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. When you are feeling a lot of grief, you can look right into somebody’s eyes because you feel you haven’t got anything to lose—you’re just there.”
Will definitely be re-reading highlighted sections daily for a while <3
Will definitely be re-reading highlighted sections daily for a while <3
December 7, 2017
I read it straight through (slowly) from beginning to end, but it's the kind of book you can pick up at random anytime, read a few pages and have your day enriched. Now that I've read it once, I'm sure I will do just that, and often! The short passages make for great bedtime reading too.
February 24, 2021
I will keep this in all my pockets to read again and again.
October 25, 2023
I really enjoyed this little book, I always look to it for advice and life lessons :)
July 20, 2017
Beautiful, gentle, everyday wisdom from a master.....
Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews