About the Author
Pema Chödrön is a beloved spiritual teacher known for her teachings on mindfulness, compassion, and meditation. Born in New York City in 1936, Chödrön began her spiritual journey as a Zen Buddhism student before discovering Tibetan Buddhism’s teachings.
Chödrön has become one of the most influential Buddhist teachers in the West.Her approach is practical, compassionate, and rooted in the challenges of everyday life.
She encourages her students to develop a mindful awareness of their thoughts and emotions.One of Chödrön’s core teachings is the practice of “tonglen,” a Tibetan word that means “giving and taking.She is a strong believer of peace and social justice. Along with that she is also an envoirmental activist.
When Things Fall Apart Summary
A spiritual book that helps you on coping with the challenges and uncertainties of life. The book is about the idea that we all experience pain and suffering.
The only way to overcome it is to face it!!
We often try to avoid or escape our difficulties. However this only perpetuates our suffering. We should embrace our struggles and use them as opportunities for growth and transformation.
The key concept is “groundlessness”. We often try to cling to stability and certainty, but this is an illusion. Life is uncertain and we must learn to accept this reality. We can develop a sense of openness and curiosity that allows us to explore new possibilities and experiences.
Other important aspect highlighted is mindfulness. It is defined as “paying attention to the present moment without judgment”. We can learn to be live more in present and develop a greater appreciation for the beauty and richness of our experiences.
Throughout the book, Chodron presents a number of practical tools and techniques for developing these qualities. These include meditation, mindfulness practices, and exercises for cultivating compassion and empathy. She also shares personal stories to illustrate these teachings and show how they can be applied in everyday life.
When Things Fall Apart is a powerful and inspiring book. It has a perspective on the challenges and opportunities of life.
If you are struggling with a difficult situation or trying to understand the world around you, this book has something to offer.
When Things Fall Apart Quotes
“Could we just settle down and have some compassion and respect for ourselves? Could we stop trying to escape from being alone with ourselves? What about practicing not jumping and grabbing when we begin to panic? Relaxing with loneliness is a worthy occupation.″
″Not causing harm obviously includes not killing or robbing or lying to people. It also includes not being aggressive – not being aggressive with our actions, our speech, or our minds. Learning not to cause harm to ourselves or others is a basic Buddhist teaching on the healing power of nonaggression.″
″For those who want something to hold on to, life is even more inconvenient.″
″Whoever got the idea that we could have pleasure without pain? It’s promoted rather widely in this world, and we buy it. But pain and pleasure go together; they are inseparable. They can be celebrated. They are ordinary. Birth is painful and delightful. Death is painful and delightful. Everything that ends is also the beginning of something else. Pain is not a punishment; pleasure is not a reward.″
″Whenever we’re feeling good, our thoughts are usually about things we like – praise, gain, pleasure, and fame. When we’re feeling uncomfortable and irritable and fed up, our thoughts and emotions are probably revolving around something like pain, loss, disgrace, or blame.″
″We might think, as we become more open, that it’s going to take bigger catastrophes for us to reach our limit. The interesting thing is that, as we open more and more, it’s the big ones that immediately wake us up and the little things that catch us off guard. However, no matter what the size, color, or shape is, the point is still to lean toward the discomfort of life and see it clearly rather than to protect ourselves from it.″
″Not causing harm obviously includes not killing or robbing or lying to people. It also includes not being aggressive – not being aggressive with our actions, our speech, or our minds. Learning not to cause harm to ourselves or others is a basic Buddhist teaching on the healing power of nonaggression.″
“So the next time you encounter fear, consider yourself lucky. This is where the courage comes in. Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is that they are intimate with fear.”
″There’s no way to benefit anybody unless we start with ourselves.″
″All addictions stem from this moment when we meet our edge and we just can’t stand it. We feel we have to soften it, pad it with something, and we become addicted to whatever it is that seems to ease the pain. In fact, the rampant materialism that we see in the world stems from this moment. There are so many ways that have been dreamt up to entertain us away from the moment, soften its hard edge, deaden it so we don’t have to feel the full impact of the pain that arises when we cannot manipulate the situation to make us come out looking fine.″
“Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that.The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”
″There’s no certainty about anything. This basic truth hurts, and we want to run away from it.″
When Things Fall Apart Review
To begin with, When Things Fall Apart offers a compassionate and non-judgmental perspective on our struggles. The strengths of the book is its accessibility The writing style is warm and conversational, making the teachings easy to understand and apply.
This emphasizes toughness and resilience at the expense of self-care.
However some may find the Buddhist philosophy and terminology difficult to understand. Also the book’s focus on personal growth and self-improvement is abit more.
Overall it is a good read that will add values.
