4.33

5

Sep 13, 2008

I read this book over and over again. I LOVE her and her simple, straightforward way of talking about really deep spirituality. What initially attracted me to this book is kind of a funny story actually, I was going through a rough breakup and happened to be wandering through the stacks at the ICPL. I pulled this book off the shelf, just by chance.

So she begins the book by telling the story of how her marriage ended, when her husband drove up to their house one day and announced that he had met I read this book over and over again. I LOVE her and her simple, straightforward way of talking about really deep spirituality. What initially attracted me to this book is kind of a funny story actually, I was going through a rough breakup and happened to be wandering through the stacks at the ICPL. I pulled this book off the shelf, just by chance.

So she begins the book by telling the story of how her marriage ended, when her husband drove up to their house one day and announced that he had met someone else, had been having an affair and their marriage was over. I was feeling rather bitter that day because of my own situation and remember thinking, oh great. She's going to go on about how Buddha Lovingkindness flooded her soul at that moment and she just released the whole thing and her soul became lighter and a chorus of Tibetan angels started chanting and it was so great blahblah (like I said, I was bitter). But instead she said she was still for a moment, and it was one of those moments where you can't for the life of you tell if it was a second long or an hour long, and then she picked up a rock and threw it at him. It was then that I knew that this was my kind of nun, and decided to read on.

Needless to say, she doesn't keep throwing rocks at people. She actually finds many brilliant ways to cope with pain and ego and loss and all that stuff through Buddhist teaching, and then articulates practical ways for regular non-nuns like myself to deal with pain and ego and loss in their own life. I've since bought and loved a lot more of her books, and I highly recommend this one to anyone who is dealing with something difficult or just curious about Buddhism in general. Very good stuff. ...more

5

Sep 26, 2007

My therapist recommended this book when I was dealing with the end of my 11-yr relationship. She introduced it to me saying that often, when things seems the darkest, it just means we on the verge of breakthrough. I was like "OK, that makes some sense." Then it sat on my book shelf for 8 YEARS! Then my roommate Anya read it and told me it was a MUST READ. So I did. Wow! No, really ... WOW!

I have never heard Buddhist philosophy laid out so clearly and accessibly for the Western mind. And you My therapist recommended this book when I was dealing with the end of my 11-yr relationship. She introduced it to me saying that often, when things seems the darkest, it just means we on the verge of breakthrough. I was like "OK, that makes some sense." Then it sat on my book shelf for 8 YEARS! Then my roommate Anya read it and told me it was a MUST READ. So I did. Wow! No, really ... WOW!

I have never heard Buddhist philosophy laid out so clearly and accessibly for the Western mind. And you don't have to be Buddhist. And you DON'T have to be falling apart. (Though if you feel like you are it can help a lot.) So many goodies!

The title refers to the suffering brought about by CLINGING to fragile security-blankets that give us the illusion of immutability in a universe where impermanence is the inevitable human experience. Accepting the impermanence of our own worldly existence, she says, opens our hearts to the vast beauty of the sacred. When we are on the verge of such acceptance, it seems like the world is falling apart, when, in fact, it is just our illusions that are facing imminent dissolution.

She describes meditation as the practice of pure compassion -- first for yourself (when you first attempt the deceptively and frustratingly difficult practice of meditation, and later when meditation provides more insight into self), and then for loved ones, and all humanity, ...

Brilliantly accessible. It just makes sense.
...more

5

Apr 04, 2012

It was divine intervention that I found & read this book. I had just hurriedly packed a trailer full of stuff & moved out of my house. I was in a bad place. I lost my job. My marriage was a huge disaster. And at age 30, I had to move in with my parents along with my son, 12. I was so wrecked, I often went into the bathroom to cry. I didn't want my son to see me in this state. Broken. I stayed in a depression for months. Seeing this, my mom suggested we go to Half Price Books to get out It was divine intervention that I found & read this book. I had just hurriedly packed a trailer full of stuff & moved out of my house. I was in a bad place. I lost my job. My marriage was a huge disaster. And at age 30, I had to move in with my parents along with my son, 12. I was so wrecked, I often went into the bathroom to cry. I didn't want my son to see me in this state. Broken. I stayed in a depression for months. Seeing this, my mom suggested we go to Half Price Books to get out of the house. I had no money to buy a book. I really had no desire to read anything. At the store, I browsing thru the shelves, I saw this book spine. "What a load of crap," I thought before I opened it. But when I read the first section in the store, I felt better. Hmmm, maybe there is something to this. I bought it with a credit card. If you asked me now how I got thru that difficult time, I can honestly answer, "this book was instrumental." I read the book that day. Then I reread it over & over. Then after, I used this time off of work to figure out where I wanted to go & hatched a plan to help get me there. I don't know who said it, but it's true, when you find yourself in a very dark place, use this time to reshape yourself like a butterfly does in its cocoon. And when you come out, you will be something different, something better. This book was not only a HUGE turning point, it was life saving. If I could write this out this in 100-point bold type, I would. ...more

5

Apr 22, 2013

Pema Chodron is one of the first Buddhist writers I found as I began to explore Buddhist philosophy, along with Tara Brach and Thich Nhat Hanh. These are writers who understand the disconnection of Western culture.

She writes and talks primarily about dealing with both the subtle undercurrent of fear and the rushes of fear from turbulent events that we all face in life from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective. This is my favorite book by her of the 4 or 5 that I own, and I've read it at least 10 Pema Chodron is one of the first Buddhist writers I found as I began to explore Buddhist philosophy, along with Tara Brach and Thich Nhat Hanh. These are writers who understand the disconnection of Western culture.

She writes and talks primarily about dealing with both the subtle undercurrent of fear and the rushes of fear from turbulent events that we all face in life from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective. This is my favorite book by her of the 4 or 5 that I own, and I've read it at least 10 times in the past 4 years.

I could pick any number of quotes from the book to summarize its purpose and premise. Here's one: "To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again."

Pema teaches about dealing with the ups and downs of life. The Buddhist perspective on this is to face them and let them be as they are. Through 22 short chapters, Pema eloquently progresses from laying out the problem, which is that shit happens and we squirm, to teaching that the solution is to let everything be as it is to teaching several techniques for doing that. It's a true discipline to not reach for entertainment, distraction, or medication and to just let things be.

She writes: "As human beings, not only do we seek resolution, but we also feel that we deserve resolution. However, not only do we not deserve resolution, we suffer from resolution. We don't deserve resolution; we deserve something better than that. We deserve our birthright, which is the middle way, an open state of mind that can relax with paradox and ambiguity."

In another chapter, she writes: "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." ...more

4

Aug 01, 2015

This book has come up multiple times in conversation in the last year so I decided to get it from the library. This will be a book I will buy to keep in my collection, to pull off the shelf and read bits of when I'm having a rough time. I actually wish I had it a couple of years ago when things really did fall apart for a while. More typically, life is full of moments where minor things go wrong, when you get angry or sad about a particular situation, or when you get bogged down with the This book has come up multiple times in conversation in the last year so I decided to get it from the library. This will be a book I will buy to keep in my collection, to pull off the shelf and read bits of when I'm having a rough time. I actually wish I had it a couple of years ago when things really did fall apart for a while. More typically, life is full of moments where minor things go wrong, when you get angry or sad about a particular situation, or when you get bogged down with the shoulds. This book addresses the bigger difficulties as well as the daily ones.
“To stay with that shakiness - to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge - that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic - this is the spiritual path.”
Despite the fact that I'm proclaiming I will buy this right away, I still am giving it only four stars. I am not Buddhist and don't have a glossary of Buddhist lingo in my head. I struggled in some chapters with remembering the meanings of some of those words, and it interrupted the flow for me. I would rather have had the ideas presented in simple language than feel like I was being Instructed in Buddhist Precepts (and that there would be a quiz at the end.)

The general concepts boil down to that we can learn to live with discomfort, with pain, with dark times, because they are a part of life. And if we can be compassionate with ourselves we will be able to pay more attention to our own thoughts and feelings, while also extending it outward to other people and our community. If that's Buddhism, sign me up. :) ...more

3

May 21, 2012

This is the sort of book that enters your life precisely when you need it, when you're living the title and not much else. Or, more precisely, this is the sort of book you don't pick up until you need it — when your husband hands you his copy, your mother extols the virtues of the author and your best friend nods sagely from the other side of the world because if there's no wisdom in love, where are you going to find it? Take another look.

There's so much to admire in Buddhism, and so little, This is the sort of book that enters your life precisely when you need it, when you're living the title and not much else. Or, more precisely, this is the sort of book you don't pick up until you need it — when your husband hands you his copy, your mother extols the virtues of the author and your best friend nods sagely from the other side of the world because if there's no wisdom in love, where are you going to find it? Take another look.

There's so much to admire in Buddhism, and so little, I've always thought, of Buddhism in me. I have no desire to be without desire, to embrace suffering or settle for hopelessness — and I know that statement reflects a lack of understanding, but I am too close to hope right now to set it aside. Still, Pema Chödrön writes so elegantly and eloquently about pain, grief and anger that it's nigh impossible to read her words without being changed by them: last night I dreamt a nightmare and turned toward the fear instead of running away from it. On the surface, nothing happened. Whatever had frightened me became an inky fog that enveloped a suddenly-much-less-worried dream-self and, eventually, became these words.

When Things Fall Apart contains twenty-two chapters that will ask a lot of you. You'll need to approach them with honesty, openness, patience and gentleness. You'll have to be willing to hold a mirror up to yourself and not only accept what it shows you, but love that reflection. It's easy to read these brief meditations in moments of stillness and sense the rightness they contain; much more challenging is the act of practicing in the midst of despair or joy or distraction. But practice is exactly what they demand, and what we need. Neither indulging obsessive thoughts that aren't doing anyone any good, least of all those of us nurturing them, nor suppressing uncomfortable feelings that we might deal with later, if by "later" we mean "never." What good will never do if we fail to experience now, which is always available to us? ...more

2

May 23, 2018

As a practicing Buddhist, this certainly fell apart for me.
Did I learn anything new, see something from a different perception? The simple answer is, no. Personally I thought the author preached and was rather detached in the deliverance of her wisdom, it verged on the depressing rather than uplifting optimum I was expecting.
Disappointing.

4

Aug 15, 2015

A thought-provoking book about embracing pain and approaching our struggles with openness and curiosity. Similar to Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach, When Things Fall Apart encourages us to accept our fears to better understand them, instead of running away from our doubts or distracting ourselves in unhealthful ways. As someone who has had his fair share of traumas and heartbreaks - as well as joys and privileges - I loved Pema Chodron's continued emphasis on appreciating times of pain as A thought-provoking book about embracing pain and approaching our struggles with openness and curiosity. Similar to Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach, When Things Fall Apart encourages us to accept our fears to better understand them, instead of running away from our doubts or distracting ourselves in unhealthful ways. As someone who has had his fair share of traumas and heartbreaks - as well as joys and privileges - I loved Pema Chodron's continued emphasis on appreciating times of pain as well as times of prosperity. I also enjoyed her focus on recognizing impermanence and how we all try to cling to notions of forever, when in reality everything comes to an end: so cherish every moment, and make the good ones last. While this book contains a steady stream of wisdom (more free-flowing and less applied than Brach's Radical Acceptance), I will share two specific, wonderful quotes to end my review.

On letting there be room: "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 they 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."

On being fully alive: "To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again."

For more insight, check out When Things Fall Apart. ...more

5

Jan 06, 2009

Quite possibly the most impacting book I have ever read in my life. I picked this up when I thought things were going wonderfully. I had no idea how much more there was in life. "As I become more wholehearted in my journey of gentle honesty, it comes as quite a shock to realize how much I've blinded myself to some of the ways I've caused harm. My style has been so ingrained that I've not heard when others have tried to tell me, either kindly or rudely that I am causing harm by the way I am or Quite possibly the most impacting book I have ever read in my life. I picked this up when I thought things were going wonderfully. I had no idea how much more there was in life. "As I become more wholehearted in my journey of gentle honesty, it comes as quite a shock to realize how much I've blinded myself to some of the ways I've caused harm. My style has been so ingrained that I've not heard when others have tried to tell me, either kindly or rudely that I am causing harm by the way I am or the way I relate with others. I've become so used to the way I do things that somehow I thought that others were used to it too." Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Heart advise for difficult times, intimacy without fear... I honestly avoided this book because of the Buddhist perspective. Instead, it was a beautiful LIFE perspective, not a book on Buddhism. Coming from a thick Christian perspective, I found this book to have a healthy, fertile journey of what everyone who wants fullness, peace, healing. Absolutely the most wonderful book I have ever read. ...more

0

May 15, 2018

A pessimistic message but a very honest one. I don’t know how to rate it tho... I guess if you’re able to extract one single thing from it and apply it to your life that’s a success itself and it deserves all the stars. But I’m very divided here because were these Buddhist advices helpful? Well, I’m not sure about it. I don’t know if I can deal better with pain or death now than before reading it but it was interesting enough to keep me invested and make me think a bit, and that’s always a good A pessimistic message but a very honest one. I don’t know how to rate it tho... I guess if you’re able to extract one single thing from it and apply it to your life that’s a success itself and it deserves all the stars. But I’m very divided here because were these Buddhist advices helpful? Well, I’m not sure about it. I don’t know if I can deal better with pain or death now than before reading it but it was interesting enough to keep me invested and make me think a bit, and that’s always a good thing even if the thinking is about how ephemeral everything is.

But the main reason I’m not rating it, is the fact that I’ve read the Spanish version of it and the translation was... how could I put it nicely? Well, bad. It was bad. At times, even difficult to read and understand the idea. And I don’t get this kind of things, not for any book but less with international best sellers as this one is.

So...I hope this book helps you if you read it. No, no, scratch that, I hope you won’t have the need to read it BUT IF you do, I wish you will find in its pages what you’re looking for.

Reviews for Book Lovers ...more

5

Apr 21, 2012

I was just finishing this book in September 2001 when the events of 9-11 turned the world upside down, and things truly fell apart. There suddenly were all the vulnerable feelings that Pema Chödrön encourages us to embrace: fear, sorrow, loneliness, groundlessness. And in the days of shock and grief that followed, there was that brief and abundant display of "maitri," or loving kindness, which emerged in waves of generosity and compassion for one another. For a while, we were in the world that I was just finishing this book in September 2001 when the events of 9-11 turned the world upside down, and things truly fell apart. There suddenly were all the vulnerable feelings that Pema Chödrön encourages us to embrace: fear, sorrow, loneliness, groundlessness. And in the days of shock and grief that followed, there was that brief and abundant display of "maitri," or loving kindness, which emerged in waves of generosity and compassion for one another. For a while, we were in the world that she points to as an alternative to the everyday routine of getting, spending, and constant activity.

It is nearly impossible to summarize or characterize this fine book. In some 150 pages it covers more than a person could hope to absorb in many years, if not a lifetime. We may know the Buddha's famous insight that human pain and suffering result from desire and aversion. But few writers have been able to articulate as well as Chödrön the implications of that insight in ways that make sense to the Western mind. As just one example from this book, her discussion of the "six kinds of loneliness" (chap. 9) illustrates how our desires to achieve intimacy with others are an attempt to run away from a deep experience of ourselves. Our continuing efforts to establish security for ourselves are a denial of fundamental truths, which prevents our deep experience of the joy of living. Our reluctance to love ourselves and others shrivels our hearts.

Chödrön invites us to be fascinated, as she is, by paradox. On hopelessness and death (chap. 7) she writes: "If we're willing to give up hope that insecurity and pain can be exterminated, then we can have the courage to relax with the groundlessness of our situation. This is the first step on the path." She gets us to acknowledge our restlessness (even our spiritual restlessness) for what it is, something we do instead of simply paying attention to ourselves in the moment and to what happens next, without judgment or preconceptions.

In addition to this book, I recommend acquiring one or more of her audio tapes and hearing her voice as she speaks before audiences. For all the high-mindedness that may come across in descriptions like the one above, or what you might take away by reading the cover of her book, Chödrön is down to earth and unpretentious, speaking in her American accent (don't let the appearance of her name fool you) and with a self-effacing sense of humor. Her message is in her manner, as much as it is in what she says.

This is a book to buy and read, and reread at intervals, for it is always new, always speaking to you exactly where you are, right now. ...more

5

Dec 10, 2013

In this book, Chodron calls us to "an unconditional relationship with reality".

Here are two quotes that capture this book's essence for me.

"When we are training in the art of peace, we are not given any promises that, because of our noble intentions, everything will be ok. In fact, there are no promises of fruition at all. Instead, we are encouraged to simply look deeply at joy and sorrow, at laughing and crying, at hoping and fearing, at all that lives and dies. We learn that what truly heals In this book, Chodron calls us to "an unconditional relationship with reality".

Here are two quotes that capture this book's essence for me.

"When we are training in the art of peace, we are not given any promises that, because of our noble intentions, everything will be ok. In fact, there are no promises of fruition at all. Instead, we are encouraged to simply look deeply at joy and sorrow, at laughing and crying, at hoping and fearing, at all that lives and dies. We learn that what truly heals is gratitude and tenderness".

She also says "Every time we give, every time we practice discipline, patiences or exertion, it's like putting down a heavy burden".

I will keep Chodron's wisdeom close by always.



...more

5

Aug 30, 2013

This book was recommended to me because during this time, I lost my dad and I was grieving. I am not familiar with the teaching of Buddha. I never read or study it. When Things Fall Apart is not the kind of book I would normally read. But I was curious and I respect and admire the person that recommended it.

The book goes against the grain of what we are taught about suffering and pain. Chodron says that life is suffering and that through suffering we get closer to enlightenment. I don't know, This book was recommended to me because during this time, I lost my dad and I was grieving. I am not familiar with the teaching of Buddha. I never read or study it. When Things Fall Apart is not the kind of book I would normally read. But I was curious and I respect and admire the person that recommended it.

The book goes against the grain of what we are taught about suffering and pain. Chodron says that life is suffering and that through suffering we get closer to enlightenment. I don't know, suffering and pain hurt. I habitually try to avoid pain, distract myself, repressed it and do everything to avoid pain. She said do the opposite. And it took me to the end of the book to finally , gradually agree with her. I dont want it embrace the pain but I am not going to struggle with it- like a wave , I am not going to swim against it but rather let it take me to where ever it will take me. That is hard for me. But I am willing to try it.

My takeaway from this book are: I love the analogy of YOU ARE HERE in maps of places. That is actually a piece of reality, we are delusional when we think we have plenty of time-we don't. The only time that exist is- You Are Here X in life. I like the meditation part, although I never meditated. She talks about breathing in , the negatives not just for you but for all the people that are feeling the negative energy and breathe out the light, the positive. I tried it , I felt better. Chodron talks a lot about loving yourself, be compassionate with yourself, all parts, find the beauty in you and be kind with your flaws.

I will end that Chodron says when you stuck stop doing the same things you done in the past, unstuck yourself by letting go and go into new paths. Do things differently from your past. ...more

4

May 29, 2012

This was my first Buddhist-related read for a decade, now, and I was able to reflect on how large chunks of my overall attitude toward life was shaped by the few sources I read back then. Reading this now not only helped that sink in, but also provided much needed advice for difficult times, as advertised by the subtitle.


Useful read. It was recommended by and borrowed from my therapist (reading some reviews, I see at least one other person who got the same recommendation from his). I did not This was my first Buddhist-related read for a decade, now, and I was able to reflect on how large chunks of my overall attitude toward life was shaped by the few sources I read back then. Reading this now not only helped that sink in, but also provided much needed advice for difficult times, as advertised by the subtitle.


Useful read. It was recommended by and borrowed from my therapist (reading some reviews, I see at least one other person who got the same recommendation from his). I did not care much for many of the specific personal anecdotes related to her main teacher, Trungpa Rinpoche, since I ended up reading a bit about him prior to starting the book and found what I read to be a bit too cult-like and off putting.

On the other hand, descriptions of the process of practicing unconditional love, especially toward yourself, as well as resisting the urge to react and do the same thing you typically end up doing to resolve a crisis and instead let it all sink in, were well developed and well presented. Suffering is as much a part of life as joy, trying to shield yourself from it is shielding yourself from life itself. Life will always continue to offer both suffering and joy (and a myriad of other things) in unexpected ways, so there's no point in trying to cling on to a (false) sense of security, or be addicted to hope for some better future - both lead to a cycle of unnecessary (avoidable) let downs of not facing the truths of the human condition: fallibility and impermanence being pretty high up there.

And as Vonnegut eloquently put it: "There's only one rule that I know of, babies — God damn it, you've got to be kind." ...more

0

Mar 15, 2008

This is one of those great keepers you read, reread and then loan to friends in times of need. Though I was baptized an Episcopaelian, I appreciate the philosophy and spirituality of most religions. This I first read after my mom was killed before Christmas the year I got my B.A., when I devoured everything from Thich Nhat Hanh to Mother Teresa to Gandhi and the Bible and even Dr. Phil. The great message is remembering that we need to learn to live with this sort of groundlessness, when the This is one of those great keepers you read, reread and then loan to friends in times of need. Though I was baptized an Episcopaelian, I appreciate the philosophy and spirituality of most religions. This I first read after my mom was killed before Christmas the year I got my B.A., when I devoured everything from Thich Nhat Hanh to Mother Teresa to Gandhi and the Bible and even Dr. Phil. The great message is remembering that we need to learn to live with this sort of groundlessness, when the world pulls the rug, even the earth, from beneath our feets and nothing is ever the same again. This is life--unfair, even brutal at times, but oh-so-beautiful and magical if you just hang on long enough to make it through the darkness. Next to Wolfelt's books, this is one of the best books I read in the throes of my deepest grief and return to anytime I am confused or overworked, or simply stressed out. It balances me. ...more

4

Apr 29, 2007

this book was a refreshing look at how we deal with the not-so-good things in life, and what tools we have within ourselves to help navigate those times. one of the most important things i came to understand is that things like sadness, anger, frustration, feelings of instability, etc. are not inherently bad things. rather, they are challenging. they can present themselves as obstacles. but in reality, they are incredible teachers within our own personal experience that help us to grow. this book was a refreshing look at how we deal with the not-so-good things in life, and what tools we have within ourselves to help navigate those times. one of the most important things i came to understand is that things like sadness, anger, frustration, feelings of instability, etc. are not inherently bad things. rather, they are challenging. they can present themselves as obstacles. but in reality, they are incredible teachers within our own personal experience that help us to grow. sometimes in the darkest of times, we achieve the greatest clarity. i let myself wrap my mind around this perspective that was so different from traditional western mores of achieving happiness and avoiding pain. in this way, i started to feel a new sense of peace and serenity about the difficult things faced in life. what i loved about this book was that she didn't write it to help readers solve their problems but rather to look at their "problems" as incredibly valuable, illuminating devices to open their minds and hearts to grow and deepen. a great book, i recommend it to anyone who is willing to open up to a change in thinking. ...more

5

Jul 23, 2016

This is easily one of the most important books I've ever read. I've been dealing with a lot of stress lately and I think somehow this book found me at just the right time. Chödrön explores an incredible number of useful lessons in empathy, compassion, and patience in such a short number of pages. This is one of those books you could read a chapter of every day for the rest of your life and you would always find something new, something useful to help you live your life in a better way. She talks This is easily one of the most important books I've ever read. I've been dealing with a lot of stress lately and I think somehow this book found me at just the right time. Chödrön explores an incredible number of useful lessons in empathy, compassion, and patience in such a short number of pages. This is one of those books you could read a chapter of every day for the rest of your life and you would always find something new, something useful to help you live your life in a better way. She talks a lot about appreciating the present moment, that what we consider problems are often opportunities, and that we shouldn't strive to make everything perfect, because life isn't perfect. Simply put, this is an amazing book about the power of being mindful, of letting go, and about the importance of introspection.

"Some of us can accept others right where they are a lot more easily than we can accept ourselves. We feel that compassion is reserved for someone else, and it never occurs to us to feel it for ourselves." ...more

5

May 12, 2014

This was wonderful. Pema Chodron expresses Buddhist ideas in such a joyful, irresistible way. Everyone should read this book.

5

Apr 30, 2014

Chodrun's writings challenge me to approach my practice and life situation with more humor and kindness than I believed possible. Her words are simple but powerful.

I don't know what else to say about this book except: read it. And may you and all beings be free from suffering.

0

Oct 08, 2019

Buddhism is just so not my jam. It's a language which I simply don't understand.

3

Dec 18, 2011

With everything that's happened in my life this year, my mom found this book and thought it would be a good read for me. And indeed, the title was very very fitting, however, actually applying what is in this book could prove to be very difficult.

Pema Chodron is an American Buddhist and as such, this book is mainly about Buddhism and its practices. And maybe its just because I know barely anything about Buddhism, but I found this to be a very high level book. She talks about using dharmas, With everything that's happened in my life this year, my mom found this book and thought it would be a good read for me. And indeed, the title was very very fitting, however, actually applying what is in this book could prove to be very difficult.

Pema Chodron is an American Buddhist and as such, this book is mainly about Buddhism and its practices. And maybe its just because I know barely anything about Buddhism, but I found this to be a very high level book. She talks about using dharmas, loneliness, meditation and other ways of looking at the world. The prevailing theme is that things that make us uncomfortable should be examined instead of ignored. We shouldn't be scared of loneliness, despair, and loss but rather should examine them and accept them. She offers tips for how to do this and shares stories about the ways other people have found to live this way. And she odes warn that it is a struggle.

As said before I found this book to be very high level. In fact, I really didn't understand most of what she was talking about. Which I wasn't prepared for from the cover and the back cover description. It seemed like something that would be more for everyone. But I would highly recommend someone knowing a little something about Buddhism and its terms before reading this book. Otherwise, they may be just as lost as I was. That's not to say I didn't understand everything though. There were a few passages that spoke to me and that I could relate to. In particular, she talks about how we as humans build sandcastles and guard them jealously, even though in the end we know they'll be swept away by the sea and we're ok with that. She says that kind of nonattachment is healthy and something we should strive for. And that makes sense.

I also was quite fond of a quote found in there. "Honesty without kindness, humor, and goodheartedness can be just mean." This really spoke to me because in my last relationship, all the nasty things that were said to me by him were excused by him as just being "brutally honest." But is it good to be honest when the only outcome is to hurt someone? I don't think so, and I like Chodron's theory that honesty involves incorporating kindness as well. It is not noble to always tell the truth with no thought of the consequences. I'm in no way advocating lying, but there is a way to tell the truth with compassion. And one person's truth is not always anothers.

Definitely not the book I thought it was going to be, and I think if I had been educated further on Buddhism I would have enjoyed it a lot more. As such, there was just too much that was really only geared towards practitioners of Buddhism and hard to understand for the rest of us. But there are some valuable lessons to take away from this book even without that knowledge.

When Things Fall Apart
Copyright 1997
146 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2011

More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com ...more

5

Dec 26, 2009

I was first introduced to Pema Chödrön's work when I was on the road, traveling from Toronto to Vancouver via Recreational Vehicle with five other travelers. It was a trip full of lessons but I'll save that story for another time.

Recently I was dealing with the challenges of letting go, an attachment. I'm still working through it. So it was timely that I came upon this work and weeks after placing it on hold at my local library I finally got a hold of it. It is well written and I like how I was first introduced to Pema Chödrön's work when I was on the road, traveling from Toronto to Vancouver via Recreational Vehicle with five other travelers. It was a trip full of lessons but I'll save that story for another time.

Recently I was dealing with the challenges of letting go, an attachment. I'm still working through it. So it was timely that I came upon this work and weeks after placing it on hold at my local library I finally got a hold of it. It is well written and I like how Chödrön teaches Buddhist principles in an easily accessible way using her own learnings as examples.

"Impermanence is the essence to everything" says Chödrön, and whether we choose to accept that or not we're constantly reminded of it. What if we didn't have to run or hide when we're faced with those uncomfortable reminders? What if instead of running away, like we normally do, we choose to run towards our fear? What would happen then? Would we experience what it is to truly live?

Pema Chödrön does a skillful job of leading the reader through difficult times in this important book.

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3

Dec 17, 2013

Don't worry, I'm not going through "difficult times" right now, but despite this book's title, it had a lot of good insight for not-falling-apart lives, too. I was less interested in some of her discussions of meditation, so I skimmed some parts.

This is where the review ends and my shamefully public journaling begins.

One of the ideas that I want to remember - maybe get tattooed? - is the idea of life situations as sand castles. Chodron talks about how we might put a lot of time and pride into Don't worry, I'm not going through "difficult times" right now, but despite this book's title, it had a lot of good insight for not-falling-apart lives, too. I was less interested in some of her discussions of meditation, so I skimmed some parts.

This is where the review ends and my shamefully public journaling begins.

One of the ideas that I want to remember - maybe get tattooed? - is the idea of life situations as sand castles. Chodron talks about how we might put a lot of time and pride into something - a job, a relationship, a sense of security - but like a sand castle, the tide will eventually come in and demolish it. This doesn't mean we shouldn't spend time building the sand castles, but we should accept the impermanence of them.

Another thing in the book I found helpful was her discussion of compassion and generosity. I deal with The Public at work, which is normally fine-to-good, but occasionally I deal with people who externalize their issues. I put up a post-it at work with the attitudes "kindness, humor, and good-heartedness," which hopefully will help equip me for the crazos.

I also appreciated what she says about disappointment: "When there's a big disappointment, we don't know if that's the end of the story. It may be just the beginning of a great adventure." I feel like everything good I have in my life right now - my opportunities and relationships - couldn't have happened if it weren't for other doors closing. And I know these good things in my life will end some day, and that will be a good even if it's painful.

Finally, some quotes:

"We cannot be in the present and run our storylines at the same time."
"When you have made good friends with yourself, your situation will be more friendly, too."
"Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over again to annihilation can that which is indestructable be found in us."
"But the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart."
"The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell. In fact that... is what keeps us miserable."
"Right now - in that very instant of groundlessness - is the seed of taking care of those who need our care and of discovering our goodness."
"Instinctively I knew that annihilation of my old dependent, clinging self was the only way to go."
"Rather than realize it takes death for there to be birth, we just fight against the fear of death."
"We can learn to meet whatever arises with curiosity and not make it such a big deal." ...more

2

Jun 05, 2008

I couldn't more strongly disagree with a lot of Chodron's "teachings." For example, that if you'll just accept that theism is a crock and accept hopelessness as the "proper motivation for an insightful and compassionate life," you'll be much calmer and happier. Poppycock. There is a whole lot of focus on how all of us are afraid of death and that we will do anything to "ward off the sense of death, no matter what." Making blanket statements about the fear of all humanity is pretty off-putting to I couldn't more strongly disagree with a lot of Chodron's "teachings." For example, that if you'll just accept that theism is a crock and accept hopelessness as the "proper motivation for an insightful and compassionate life," you'll be much calmer and happier. Poppycock. There is a whole lot of focus on how all of us are afraid of death and that we will do anything to "ward off the sense of death, no matter what." Making blanket statements about the fear of all humanity is pretty off-putting to me. I have never had a fear of death. I think about it fairly often in the context of, "If I were to die today, would I be ready?" The idea of death does not strike fear into my heart at all. She really does her best and wholeheartedly believes in what she's sharing. The first section is a lot about meditation. I think meditation is a necessary and healthy thing, but I believe that breathing patterns aren't as important as focusing on your relationship with God and where you stand with Him. I believe hope is also a essential and healthy thing. It was definitely difficult to scare up enough stamina to finish a book that teaches precepts to which my whole life has been lived in direct opposition. It's not that I'm offended by her opinions, but I'm really baffled by her all-encompassing statements about the human family and how we all supposedly think and feel. If you buy what she says, it would have been impossible for me to have lived any sort of content life. However, I have lived a happy life. With hope, with God, etc. She says we "don't deserve resolution, but just an open state of mind to paradox and ambiguity." Again, I am all for resolutions, but along with resolution, I accept responsibility. I must do what I can to find resolution. I better quit my rant there. It makes me sad - the idea that anyone could pick this up and accept it as the end-all, be-all for finding happiness. She does have some good things to say about serving others and helping to release their pain. She has a lot of focus about kindness to others, which I appreciated. There's just a lot more to life than sitting and breathing properly, accepting defeat and thereby being at ease with hopelessness. ...more

5

Jul 21, 2018

The revelation of this book is how powerful it is to embrace and experience uncertainty and difficulties as opportunities to grow.

These moments have mystery and purpose. And running from them only means we miss that experience.

There is a sense of urgency. An emphasis on the idea that we do not have all the time we think we do. It's a true approach to meditation, which on the surface seems passive.

This is because if you live life as a present moment person you begin to see every moment as The revelation of this book is how powerful it is to embrace and experience uncertainty and difficulties as opportunities to grow.

These moments have mystery and purpose. And running from them only means we miss that experience.

There is a sense of urgency. An emphasis on the idea that we do not have all the time we think we do. It's a true approach to meditation, which on the surface seems passive.

This is because if you live life as a present moment person you begin to see every moment as impermanent; impermanence breeds a desire to experience the present moment, no matter its quality, as fully as possible. As if we will lose our eyesight tomorrow so we must observe everything today so we remember it.

Chodron urges us to "do everything as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered, while at the same time knowing that it doesn't matter at all". We experience everything while recognising each day is a new day. Not an easy task.

However buddhism isn't meant to be easy. It's about changing old habits. Not doing what we've always done but rather to be open to new ways.

This book is life changing, and challenging. And one of the best books on how to be resilient I've read. It changed my perspective on the way to live with life being uncertain and even chaotic. Doing this as a society can change the world.


A+
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