Free Downloads The Wisdom Of No Escape And The Path Of Loving-Kindness
This book is about saying yes to life in all its manifestations—embracing the potent mixture of joy, suffering, brilliance, and confusion that characterizes the human experience. Pema Chödrön shows us the profound value of our situation of "no escape" from the ups and downs of life.
Paperback: 110 pages
Publisher: Shambhala (August 21, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1570628726
ISBN-13: 978-1570628726
Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.4 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (126 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #17,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Tibetan #48 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Worship & Devotion > Meditations #146 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Alternative Medicine > Meditation
This book came to me after suffering a severe Gout attack. My life was a mess, manifesting itself in my poor dietary habits. After limping home from the hospital, I scanned my bookshelves for something to read, as I convalesced. The Wisdom of No Escape sat on my bookshelf for a few years. Everytime I would see the title, I'd think, "sounds depressing". Well, it's not. It is a very honest and straight forward guide book for the human creature. It basically tells you that life is hard and it's that hardness that makes it worth living. I also got the impression that the author believes that Heaven and Hell and reincarnation are all part of everyone's daily experience. Everytime something repeats itself in your life, you are experiencing a living reincarnation. The key seems to be in keeping it all new and fresh.
This was the first Pema Chodron book I'd ever read and it was transforming! I was familiar with Buddhist teachings prior to reading this, but found that her book made those sometimes complex teachings very accessible. Don't be scared off if you're not Buddhist, however. The principles here give one a different perspective on life--it's a psychological approach rather than a religious approach. Pema Chodron's THE WISDOM OF NO ESCAPE gave me an excitement about exploring my inner world and helped me to see that wherever I'm at in life is okay--I don't have to struggle against the process of Life. It's a book I've returned to time and again.
i have read many books on spirituality over the years, and this has been one of my top two that most memorably changed my life. (the other one being 'autobiography of a yogi'. it is not that others have not shaped me, but this one was a dramatic shift in thinking for me. i have referred several people to it, quoted from it at times, and would love to see this being read by more, and it is already fairly well known and is in a new cover.i call pema the goddess of hard times. this book for me was everything i wished that 'when things fall apart' would have been for me. thankfully i didn't stop at that book, and found this one. when things fall apart was forgettable for me. this one was my favorite, and 'start where you are' i found to be good, but i don't seem to quote from it, nor have the fond memories like i do of wisdom of no escape.pema is a great asset to buddhists and people all around the world seeking more compassion and a greater sense of humanity in their souls. this book is her greatest work as far as i am concerned. well worth a read, well worth 'practicing' not just reading. the concepts are best experienced, not just intellectualized. intellectually they are counter intuitive, and a few friends have reacted without really getting the essence of it which is the practice and inner transformation available.
This is my favorite Pema Chodron book! You can open its pages anywhere, any time, in any frame of mind, and receive wide benefit to mind and heart. It is spiritual teaching of the only useful kind, practical teaching deliberately intended not to implant, but rather to unsheathe what is already native, but hidden. Pema Chodron leaves one to oneself -the very best teaching!- and by the faintest strokes of wisdom, insight, and practiced sensibilities leaves one higher, deeper, and more able to live freely within oneself. I think she is an extraordinary teacher, in the very best tradition of Western Buddhist training. If Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia is fortunate indeed to be gifted with this extraordinary woman, likewise are we. It seems I open that amazing turquoise cover (a more illustrious blue than even the fine photo on this page indicates!) several times a week. It is a book one gratefully lives with. I have given it to friends, family, and even a few strangers! I recommend it with confidence, compassionate purpose, and indeed a great deal of joy.
This is the best book from any spiritual tradition that I've ever read, especially as it applies to everyday life. It brought me kindness, joy, and enormous inspiration, entirely without judgment. Pema Chodron believes we are all essentially good people, here to offer kindness to ourselves and others as a way of life. She invites us to learn to open to ever more challenging situations as a way of living life more fully, and she shows us how. She guides us to focus not on perfection, but the beauty of life lived just as it is. Pema Chodron is a great teacher and role model, and I am deeply grateful to her for writing this book. I will read it again and again.
Pema Chodron has a wonderful way of making the complex seem simple. In a gentle, non-parochial, non-confrontational manner, the author transmits, explains, and supports basic Buddhist principles so as to make them understandable to Westerners not versed in Tibetan assumptions, cosmologies, mythologies, etc. For example, her explication of Tonglen (sending and receiving) is presented in relation not only to Bodhicitta (universal compassion) but also in terms of personal development, mindfulness and presence, and acceptance of life's challenges as challenges (not restrictions or compulsions). Her chapter on renunciation is a classic as are other of her talks to her month-long meditation retreat class (which totally comprise this volume). It's difficult to escape the comprehensive wisdom of this book. It's one of her best which is saying a lot.
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