Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears (11 page)

I want to express my gratitude to the women who helped me bring this book to fruition. My thanks go to Eden Steinberg for envisioning the book, to Glenna Olmsted and Angela Rose for their secretarial support, to Martha Boesing for her insightful comments, and especially to Sandy Boucher, my friend and editor, who so beautifully shaped the transcripts into their final form.

R
ELATED
R
EADINGS

Brach, Tara.
Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha
. New York: Bantam Books, 2003.

Chödrön, Pema.
No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva
. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2005.

Kongtrül, Dzigar.
It’s Up to You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path
. Boston and London: Shambhala Publications, 2005.

———.
Light Comes Through: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening to Our Natural Intelligence
. Boston and London: Shambhala Publications, 2008.

Masters, Jarvis Jay.
Finding Freedom: Writings from Death Row
. Junction City, Calif.: Padma Publishing, 1997.

Nagler, Michael N.
The Search for a Nonviolent Future
. Novato, Calif.: New World Library, 2004.

Shantideva,
The Way of the Bodhisattva
. Translated by Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997.

Trungpa, Chögyam.
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior
. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1984, 1988.

———.
Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala
. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1999.

R
ESOURCES

For information about meditation instruction or to find a practice center near you, please contact one of the following:

Shambhala International

1084 Tower Road

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Canada B3H 2Y5

phone: (902) 425-4275

fax: (902) 423-2750

website:
www.shambhala.org

Shambhala Europe

Kartäuserwall 20

D50678 Köln, Germany

phone: 49-221-31024-00

fax: 49-221-31024-50

e-mail:
[email protected]

Karmê Chöling

369 Patneaude Lane

Barnet, Vermont 05821

phone: (802) 633-2384

fax: (802) 633-3012

e-mail:
[email protected]

Shambhala Mountain Center

4921 Country Road 68C

Red Feather Lakes, Colorado 80545

phone: (970) 881-2184

fax: (970) 881-2909

e-mail:
[email protected]

Gampo Abbey

Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia

Canada B0E 2P0

phone: (902) 224-2752

e-mail:
[email protected]

Naropa University is the only accredited, Buddhist-inspired university in North America. For more information, contact:

Naropa University

2130 Arapahoe Avenue

Boulder, Colorado 80302

phone: (303) 444-0202

e-mail:
[email protected]

website:
www.naropa.edu

Audio and video recordings of talks and seminars by Pema Chödrön are available from:

Great Path Tapes and Books

330 East Van Hoesen Boulevard

Portage, Michigan 49002

phone: (269) 384-4167

fax: (415) 946-3475

e-mail:
[email protected]

website:
www.pemachodrontapes.com

Kalapa Recordings

1084 Tower Road

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Canada B3H 2Y5

phone: (902) 420-1118, ext. 19

fax: (902) 423-2750

e-mail:
[email protected]

website:
www.shambhalashop.com

Sounds True

413 S. Arthur Avenue

Louisville, CO 80027

phone: (800) 333-9185

website:
www.soundstrue.com

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

Pema Chödrön is an American Buddhist nun in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa, the renowned Tibetan meditation master. She is resident teacher at Gampo Abbey, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery in North America established for Westerners. She is the author of several books including the best-selling
When Things Fall Apart
and
The Places That Scare You
.

T
HE
P
EMA
C
HÖDRÖN
F
OUNDATION

All of the author’s proceeds from the sale of this book go to The Pema Chödrön Foundation. The Pema Chödrön Foundation supports Pema’s own monastery, Gampo Abbey, and the development of the monastic tradition in the West. Monastic life is based on training within a community of others who have committed themselves to the goal of awakening the dignity and wisdom that is the human inheritance of all.

For more information, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please visit
www.pemachodronfoundation.org/how-to-help
. Donations can also be sent to:

The Pema Chödrön Foundation

P.O. Box 770630

Steamboat Springs, CO 80477

B
OOKS AND
A
UDIO BY
P
EMA
C
HÖDRÖN

BOOKS

Always Maintain a Joyful Mind: And Other Lojong Teachings on Awakening Compassion and Fearlessness

In this book Pema Chödrön introduces fifty-nine pith teachings (called
lojong
in Tibetan) and offers guidance on how to make them part of our everyday lives. The book also features a forty-five-minute audio program entitled “Opening the Heart,” in which Pema Chödrön offers in-depth instruction on
tonglen
meditation, a powerful practice that anyone can undertake to awaken compassion for oneself and others.

Awakening Loving-Kindness

Selected readings from
The Wisdom of No Escape
, presented in a small pocket-sized edition, perfect for carrying along in a purse, briefcase, or coat pocket. A portable book of inspiration on how to remain wholeheartedly awake and use the abundant material of daily life as your primary teacher and guide.

Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion

This book offers short, stand-alone readings designed to help us cultivate compassion and awareness amid the challenges of daily living. More than a collection of thoughts for the day,
Comfortable with Uncertainty
offers a progressive program of spiritual study, leading the reader through essential concepts, themes, and practices on the Buddhist path.

No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva

In this book Pema Chödrön presents the traditional Buddhist teachings that guide her own life: those of
The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara)
, a text written by the eighth-century sage Shantideva. This treasured Buddhist work is remarkably relevant for our times, describing the steps we can take to cultivate courage, caring, and joy—the keys to healing ourselves and our troubled world.

The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times

We always have a choice, Pema Chödrön teaches: We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us and make us increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder. Amid our difficulties, wisdom is always available to us, but we usually block it with habitual patterns rooted in fear. Beyond that fear lies a state of openheartedness and tenderness. This book teaches us how to awaken our basic goodness and connect with others, to accept ourselves and others complete with faults and imperfections.

The Pocket Pema Chödrön

Here is a treasury of 108 short selections from the bestselling books of Pema Chödrön, the beloved Buddhist nun. Designed for on-the-go inspiration, this collection offers teachings on becoming fearless, breaking free of destructive patterns, developing patience, kindness, and joy amid our everyday struggles, and unlocking our natural warmth, intelligence, and goodness.

Practicing Peace in Times of War

“War and peace begin in the hearts of individuals,” declares Pema Chödrön. She explains that, remarkably, the way in which we as individuals respond to challenges in our everyday lives can mean the difference between perpetuating a culture of violence or creating a new culture of compassion. In this book Pema Chödrön insists that our world will begin to change when each of us, one by one, begins to work for peace at the level of our own behavior, our own habits of thought and action. It’s never too late, she tells us, to look within and discover a new way of living.