The Pema Chodron Collection: The Wisdom of No Escape: Start Where You Are: When Things Fall Apart

by Pema Chödrön

"This edition was especially created in 2003 for One Spirit by arrangement with shambhala Publications, Inc. This edition xonpyright (c) 2003 by Bookspan."

Very nice copy with bookmark.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Self Help, Philosophy, Audiobook, Meditation

149 pages, Hardbound

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Ani 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.

Reviews

[R.K. Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each Buddhist teacher seems to emphasize different things. Pema Chodron talks a lot about the difficult but important work of making your soul ready for the hard things of life, and how to do that. A great instructional book for people who are going through hard times, or for people who are ready to do the hard work to really change who they are, to change their life.

[Jie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book is a Christmas present and I am half way into it now. I can't put it down as it's so easy and enjoyable to read. I can relate what she says all the time from those simple but profound words. It's like a fireplace you want to be around in a cold and dark day. It's like water that quenches your thirst after the sun in the dessert. It's a cool and refreshing medicine after the exhaustion of your long march. Her wisdom has been a guiding light for me and my wanting soul.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pema Chodron is a wonderful teacher in the Shambalah Buddhist tradition. Down-to-earth, straightforward, but never dilutes core teachings or precepts.

Funny, engaging, and moving -- all at once.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great wisdom in not being able to escape.

[Halle]

Pema's writing is equisite and clear. She allows a reader to connect to her writing and concepts on a level that is applicable to life and beyond.

[Jeroen_c. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing clarity and wisdom. So practical and down to earth. Comforting humanity and heart and mind opening wisdom is shared in this collection.

[Jack Sloop · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made me quite uncomfy, felt like a different flavor of the same culty shit I was raised with. The author worships a guru that turns out to be a rapist (revealed after the time of writing). He’s insulated in a cult of personality, while the author promotes obsession with losing one’s self, etc etc. Not for me.

[Joe Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the Preface: “The talks in this book were given during a one-month practice period (dathun) in the spring of 1989…. Early each morning these talks were presented. They were intended to inspire and encourage the participants to remain wholeheartedly awake to everything that occurred and to use the abundant material of daily life as their primary teacher and guide.” I found the readings helpful…most fairly short…titles like “Satisfaction,” “Finding Our Own True Nature,” “Precision, Gentleness, and Letting Go,” “Not Too Tight, Not Too Loose,” “Sticking to One Boat,” “Inconvenience.”

[Amy Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book entered my life when I needed it most. It's funny how that seems to happen with me and books. My father was going through chemo and I was riding back and forth between the Eastern Shore and JHU to take him to chemo. My life was turned upside down and this book was a life vest for me. When Things Fall Apart is one of the life changing books that I had the pleasure of reading. Pema is a buddhist and puts the buddhist concepts that deal with suffering so perfectly in perspective that I have read many of her books and then reread them.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the spirit of Sogyal Rinpoche's The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, the great Buddhist Nun Pema Chödrön's collection of three slim volumes were a companion for me during a time of extraordinary hardship. It actually started by an audio cassette recording a very dear friend sent of Pema reading from When Things Fall Apart, which prompted me to buy that volume as well as the others.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never made this statement about a book before, but I believe this one changed me on a very significant level. Indeed, much of what Chodron speaks about within this collection resonated with me to such a profound level, at times it was startlingly familiar - a sense of 'coming home', that I have ordered several more books on buddhism. Perhaps this is the answer I have sought for forty years.

[frank ciccarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title says it all: when our best laid plans go awry, when we've weaved too many tangled webs ... it's time to get back to basics. That's what this book does; it reminds me about what's REALLY important, what's truly essential, what we can't live without ...

[Christopher Mocella · Rating 2 out of 5]

In brief: I found it hard to follow along. It's more a collection of Chodron's old talks and musings, not really a cohesive book. There are good points and interesting ideas in here, but it's just not as engaging as, say, a Kornfield's work.

[Krissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books and philosophies are fabulous if you're ready for them. Very insightful and helpful. Can be redundant and philosophies seem a little unattainable in our western society, but take what you can from it.

[Klgg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pema Chodron is a Buddhist nun who shares her understanding of finding the sacred within the human experience.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me some things to think about. I'm always searching for helpful ways to view myself and my place in the world.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

can be dry if you're not in the mood but absolutely essential if you're having a rough time

[Elizabeth]

Gift from Carrie

[Kkeyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Buddhist with spunk! If I ever quit my day job and dedicate my life to mediation, I see myself like Pema. Totally accessible and meaningful...even without the practice.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I go back to this one over and over again. Love Pema's wisdom and way of telling.

[Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pema Chodron makes sense of the world for me. She's just fantastic. I prefer her to the Dalai Lama.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book after the death of my husband. It was extremely comforting and helpful.

[Joseph Boquiren]

Insightful and candid.

[Julie Iles · Rating 4 out of 5]

open your mind and your eyes

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I did read this book, hearing her on the DVD deepens its impact. Her voice--always seeming to have a gentle chuckle beneath--serves as a tonic and balm to soothe our restless ways. She reminds Americans, I believe, of the ridiculous perspective (undergirded by an under-identified belief) that we should be happy all the time by having what we want. She talks about going down the mountain to be with your schizophrenic sister, instead of trying to use Western religion to transcend our life situations. She preaches the gospel of sinking into our situations and getting our hands and feet dirty in the work of this life, instead of trying to rise above, or escape them. Her book's title says it all.

I'm not sure in which of her many books I've read, she remonstrated, "We are all on our way to becoming homeless." We seem to always want more ground beneath our feet, and to be desperately holding onto what we insist we can't do without, or pushing away what seems undesirable according to our expectations. She helps us learn how to get comfortable with profound discomfort.

[Cecelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of three of this American Buddhist nun's spiritual writings is a keeper-by my bedside as the last inspiration to end the day. I've listened to recordings of Pema Chodron's teachings, and many of her wise books. She remains a guiding star in my navigation of life, modeling kindness, compassion, and the humor in life. This collection is good for my soul.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

8/50 for 2021. My first experience with Pema Chodron. It will not be last.

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, practical Buddhist help.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!

[Ames McLoughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the foundation of my world view. Life affirming and life changing wisdom.