Pema Chodron "This Lousy World"

[aek1928]

You all have (including this lady rapped in cloth) a long, long way to go before you even start using analogies and even more so even longer to be like the Great Hellenes! I won't even dare make the comparison.

[mikefiftynine]

new age cult

cesspoolofmadnesscom

[SkyJamMusicVideos]

it's based on the stream of constant thought and what we attend to in our own minds

[PhysiologicAli]

Thank you.

[oneirishpoet]

"Want to know my secret? ...I don't mind what happens!" ~ J. Krishnamurti

[anyplace4u2]

my putting leather on the glass, u also allow the other person to walk through... that's why i can never be a buddhist, when there is unjust in the world, everyone is resposible to to speak out and to stop it.

[jxms74b]

@anyplace4u2 I understand your good point. I believe the point being made relates to how we as imperfect humans try to make the world conform to our ideas of comfort, instead of seeking equanimity and working on ourselves to cultivate a heightened, more flexible perspective on life. We cannot control everything, nor should we seek to. Sometimes, what may make a situation comfortable for you is at odds with the well-being of another. Is it still justified to make such an action? 

[jxms74b]

@anyplace4u2 Much of what Pema Chodron writes about is based on compassion, so I don't believe she would endorse ignoring injustice at all. This, at least to my eyes and ears, is a call to cultivating personal strength and endurance amid the inevitable trials of life, rather than covering them up or living in denial. That inner strength can then be used to enter situations honestly with a clear, compassionate heart and mind, rather than focusing on creating personal "comfort".

[Loribeandancingqueen]

1,000 deep bows, precious teacher, and guru venerable trungpa rinpoche. thanks for devoting your lives to "this lousy world".

[deepseaelk]

I bet I can press more than Pema.

[Tsadik6251]

Is it that we perceive so many A** in the world is direct correlation to the A** moments we have left inside us? Are the "so many A** in the world" the teachers; the reflections we see in our mirror? Then, how do we stop being aware of the A** in the world? What do we do with "our world"; with the "me"?

[JAMESMCCULLA]

i'd hit her. babe.

[HigherPlanes]

Doesn't change the fact that this world is filled with assholes. Don't get me wrong, I like her teachings and I wish I was strong enough to put this into practice, but can someone tell me the difference between denying there is a problem and what she's teaching? In other words, how is what she's teaching any different than tricking your mind into believing that the problem isn't there? And according to Jung, the only way we can grow is by facing our problems. I'm looking for honest feedback.

[ahantu]

@HigherPlanes I'm not qualify of answering all your questions. But regarding your statement of "Trick your mind" isn't the what I understand. What I understand is why so many A** in this world is because of all the negativity thoughts in their brains. If your mind react to positive thoughts, would you have be so anal ? This isn't tricking the mind, but to realize that is the problem isn't outside, how your brain thinks.

[ahantu]

@HigherPlanes So, what is meant by facing the problem? It's understanding How your brain/mind thinks right ? Your mind will dictate how you act and affect rge outside world. Including me, you're also part of those a** that contribute our problems to our surroundings. Action, then consequences. That's how I understand it. Sorry if you don't think I make any senses.

[taijihitman]

@HigherPlanes ok whta is she really recommending denying? what we are advised to do is not react negativly to things and change what you can. You cannot change anyone (try it and see). you can whinge about our society but that doesnt change it either. accept your situation-not deny, you have taken birth in a world of duality, you will suffer at times and degrees according to your karmas, do what good you can in your life and help where and when you can, do good karmas. sounds pretty simple to me

[lgarvey]

@HigherPlanes Shakespeare wrote in one of his plays "Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so", and Epictetus, the ancient stoic philosopher said "men are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take on things." It isn't about denying the problem but rather realising that the "problem", which causes you suffering, only exists only in your mind.

[pnasr]

This is the analogy that made me love Pema.

[taijihitman]

@pnasr i think its one of milarepa's books

[pnasr]

@taijihitman Great. Thanks. I'll try to find it. 

[Nightsurf59]

She is actually re-stating a teaching admonition by the great Shantideva.

[dietfreeman42718]

Wow! This really made cents to me. I've just know of this woman and her words really help me.

[bobjfs]

Are not some things intolerable, though, like oppression of Tibet by China? The Dali Lama would agree, I think.

How does changing the way we think about this make it less oppressive? Do I instead regard oppression as a day at the beach, the tear gas a gentle wave lapping up on the shore, the policeman's baton a gentle breeze hitting my face?

See my point?

Surely there is a point beyond which oppression is intolerable regardless of mental perspective. What is that point? What do we do?

[SALVATl0N]

@bobjfs wait until your next life.

[sports9696]

@bobjfs

training the mind to go beyond this perspective of fighting with reality, whatever that reality may be =o), does not somehow rid the mind of its sensitivity and intelligence. yes there is a lot of awful forms of oppression happening - and yes we should do something about this. but even if we were the oppressed, our perspective becomes how we deal with that oppression, incl. what we do to help heal the situation. think Ghandi. fighting a "hostile" reality breeds a more "hostile" reality.

[tangenss]

Sorry, but none loves mosquitoes

[jigme911]

she has great sense of humour, for real

[luyendao]

Haha so true...that's the kind of mind I have, always complaining!

[Sockmonklet]

Mountains left to climb. And climb again.

[TwothirteenTV]

Too this, too that, too skinny, too fat, too here, too there-y, too beardy, too hairy, too will-be, too has-been, too twelve --- too thirteen

see my video reponse 'baby's cold'

thanks pema

x

john

[emuvio]

Love pema!

Oxxxx

[peacemaker2020]

Very nice,,

labeed Abdal

[peacemaker2020]

very nice thoughts...

labeed abdal

[sophieoscarmilo]

These lousy people who just don't understand me. Especially those supposedly enlightened ones. I'm going to make sure that everyone understands my situation and commiserates with it. Then I will be a very happy, content person.

[authoryourlife]

You are really going against the cocoon of life. And you are right you are unveiling this pattern of comfort zone, and it has to be solved inside, not on the outside level. It is a projection issue, after all.

[SandiAnne]

Absolutely spot on. It's the truth said in a compassionate way..Thank you x

[sandwich451]

cool

[devcordj]

Wow! This is why the world is in the mess it's in. For pete's sakes, be sure you get offended and totally miss the point that is trying to be made. So she's not POLITICALLY CORRECT, and maybe she made a mistake by mentioning people with allergies . . .

Did you ever think that there are people out there who complain to be people like you, but are not? Those are the folks she speaks of. Those folks who just want to bitch and pretend they have a serious problem, but actually don't. Hello!?

[luyendao]

I think folks here are missing the point, she's not talking about some kind of total impotence where you don't do anything about things that bother or harm others. It's just coming to the realization of how much the "bothering" part comes from your own mind, and how much is fact are two different things.

I don't say this in a critical way, but the fact that some, and that includes me, are bothered by things on youtube is case in point.

[thecrystalkid]

i like mosquitos, the ants can come in my house, i talk to the 50 or so spiders i live with, seeing as i've barely had physical social interaction in many years, i aint got much choice atm :), but i don't wish to control my enviroment anymore than i have to. bugs n bacteria get free reign in my house cos i don't wish to control my enviroment using chems that are much more harmful than they are, still, i can't be near folks with perfumes, i don't moan about it, but its still a fact.

[thecrystalkid]

i understand what she's saying about folk wanna control stuff n how they can't, but doesn't that include controlling how they smell using toxic scents and wouldn't it make more sense to point out the idiocy of this in with everything else rather than say folk who don't like perfumes are just moaners who create their own misery, which i question is the case. surely its a good thing to find such things physically disgusting cos thats what they are. mcs will ultimately be a great teacher imo.

[thecrystalkid]

maybe next life eh pema?

[LovingKindness1000]

As part of the chemically sensitive community, I apologize for all of the people who are suffering so much that they feel a need to attack you because of their "perceptions" of the real unenlightened. May they learn to live mindfully and be free from suffering on their road to bodhisattva.

[jkott22]

very sad that a supposedly enlightened teacher would trivialize another human beings very real disability. mcs is a recognized disease, not a chosen inconvenience. her insensitivity disgusts me.

[rainjustice38]

avesraggiana, do u have a disability?

[digitalaardvarks]

she has a disability of the heart and is passive aggressive

[avesraggiana]

Everything you say about me could only ever be a direct reflection of whatever you believe about yourself right now...it's called Projection, just in case you need someone as spiritually evolved as myself to remind you of that.

[thecrystalkid]

is there such a thing as spiritual evolution? or is there only the ending of sorrow, pain etc. surely anyone can love at any stage and either you love or you don't, there is no degree of love or evolution. as for projection, which i agree is a fact, do you not also see your own, as i see mine right now. maybe the first step is to know your travesty and not invent gratifying ideas of being spiritually evolved, or are you just trying to get a rise with that comment?

[luyendao]

it might be "true" in a sense to state something like that, but pointing yourself as "spiritually evolved" speaks a lot, directly about what you think of yourself! That's your own mirror, not anybody elses' ! hehe

[rayrosen]

It's ironic, Pema's teachings have actually brought me a great deal of peace in dealing with the trauma of being disabled by MCS myself. I trust, since Pema considers herself to be a scientific thinker, an objective observer, that she can do some research. (continued above)

[WaldFee707]

continued from below

There is NO excuse for this attitude and Pema should publicly recant what she said in this video, it is ignorant to refuse to accommodate and act as if a disability is within a person's control. thanks for the wisdom pema. i'll just go tell my friend in the wheelchair that we're removing the ramp and she should overcome her mental issues and get up the stairs by levitating.

[digitalaardvarks]

thank you, there is NO excuse. makes me feel better after avesraggiana's horrible comments.

[WaldFee707]

continued from below

It's a symptom of poisoning. pema's attitute undermines the efforts of many practitioners and meditation centers to move towards a fragrance free policy that would accommodate (ACCOMMODATE as in these people are DISABLED) people with multiple chemical sensitivity.

[WaldFee707]

Reacting to perfume is hardly just a part of life's simple vexes; for many people with chemical sensitivity, it can be life threatening-not merely a mind attitude that can ruin a sunny day. It is simply not an option to try and treat this as a symptom of the critical overthinking mind because it isn't.

[WaldFee707]

I have multiple chemical sensitivity. it is a disabiliity. i react to toxic chemicals in perfumed products. i have many buddhist friends who go to meditation retreats and have to sit outside the meditation hall in order to attend the retreat. Otherwise, they will suffer from headaches, inability to cogitate, inability to breathe, and multiple other sometimes life threatening symptoms.

[rainjustice38]

cont from below

It is not a mental condition or a vexation it is a physical disability, serious organ injury, there's nothing we can do but try to survive given the lack of support & compassion we receive.

[rainjustice38]

cont from below

It's just so sad that there's such deep misunderstanding about this condition. Again I use the wheelchair metaphor, it wld not be acceptable for her 2 dismiss those needing ramps. For us, its about getting recognition, being treated w/ respect, gaining accessibility so we can be part of the world again. just as i'm sure u desire 2 be part of yr community fully, we do as well.

[digitalaardvarks]

the lack of respect here is searing and i especially cannot take it from the supposedly enlightned.

[rainjustice38]

i would do anything not to be separate from the world. i am forced into separation because of this illness. i have lost everything. my home, employment, friends and the ability to see most of my family, and yet i still find peace and joy in everyday life. it's not about that. before having mcs, i was a spiritual leader in MY community, a musician, an activist, a community builder. I am STILL all of these things but mostly virtually because I can not attend events.

[digitalaardvarks]

shame on you for poking fun at people with chemical sensitivities. you should be held hostage in a vat of cologne until you succumb too. isn't being spiritual having some sensitivities to the suffering of others? i guess not in your case which makes you a cruel fraud, sham.

[avesraggiana]

I think you're overlooking the whole point of what she's saying. She's using the example of chemical sensitivity to make her point about our need to make everything correct and right before we can allow ourselves to be happy. That she got a laugh out of it was probably unintended. She could have used any example of any number of life's daily vexations to have made the point that we will do anything to maintain our separateness from the rest of the world, and be CONDITIONALLY happy.

[digitalaardvarks]

people with mcs can be very happy but when they're made ill by perfume and other chemicals, um, not so much. it's a serious and life-threatening illness, not a vexation and you could succumb next. people with mcs suffer loneliness and depression because of other peoples right to use toxic chemicals. they do NOT want to be separate. so please be happy in your ignorance whether CONDITIONAL or unconditional.

[avesraggiana]

Oh I will, and thank you. You do the same.

[digitalaardvarks]

it must be nice to be so enlightened. do u worship people who make fun of people with cancer and ms too?

[avesraggiana]

I don't worship anyone, but you seem to - the "God of Taking Offence when someone makes light of My Own Personal Debilitating Condition...". Give it a rest. You're maintaining your own separateness by shaming another human being for only apparently not honouring and respecting your own particular condition. And I AM enlightened, as are you. We're both just choosing to overlook it right now.

[digitalaardvarks]

speak for yourself, i actually don't know how you live with yourself and i would like to stop speaking to you

[avesraggiana]

Oh I will, and thank you. You do the same.

[thecrystalkid]

i'm sorry for you that my extreme sensitivty to all chemicals gives you a laugh and rise. i have read the perennial wisdom & understand the fact that a sick society is a reflection of sick heart and mind and that that must be addressed first to have a lasting affect, but knowing that does not automattically make it all go away & berating sufferers as idioits who need to snap out of it in condescending tone shows that all this is just an idea to you & not a daily living, parrot fashion preaching.

[rainjustice38]

(cont. from below) in this time, we need 2 recognize the planet, what we do 2 it, what we do 2 each other. that's the enlightenment we need. enuf of this mind stuff, if u can't honor the body.

[rainjustice38]

there r people who r seriously devastatingly disabled by chemicals, inc. perfumes, & need 2 avoid them. They r excluded from public places b/c of this kind of misunderstanding. In this case laughed at! one w/ this disability (not allergy!) wd not b able 2 safely attend an event like this 2 hear a so called "enlightened master" speak. wd it b acceptable 4 her 2 say, "o wheel chair people, get over it, just drag urself up the stairs, stop asking for ramps, use yr mind!")i don't think so.

[taufactor]

She communicates with such an open and down-to-earth language and voice. A wonderful speaker and teacher.

[CatalystYogi]

Sat Nam, (reverent greetings)

great video - there is nothing wrong there is nothing right - it is our mind that decides this - change your thought and you will change your perception !

peace and love to all !

[Leorandom]

I love listening to Pema Chodron -- she's very inspiring, very wise and yet very human.

[chamisali]

Thank you for posting this! I love her.

[nyundergroundmuseum]

She's so adorable.

[felixbaby100]

So good to find a spiritual leader who makes sense.

[Aubrightnovel]

Love her books, they gave me a constructive way to meditate, even though the practice was inherent in my upbringing, it took an addiction and a good friend with a book of hers to understand what it really meant. Nearly five years now and I have never felt a need to go back on any of it.

[cobrajitsu]

There's is no happiness without sorrow. How would you even know you're happy? How would you know you like something without disliking something else? The world is NOT torment and suffering for without suffering, bliss would just fade away and happiness will not ever be.

[belovedideas]

This was the perfect video to go with my blog today! (TheSkinnyOnline). I needed something to go with a lesson of patience and learning to give up control. Thank you!!

[mjmwiz]

This creature seems 2be some sort of Hans Moleman/Janet Reno/Harry Potter hybrid.

[foobarsnow]

tnx for upload

[coolioto]

covering the ground in leather. that's kinkytastic

[MichaelCarlucci]

funny.

[gundabalf]

it's a woman!!

[holyrattlesnakes]

This is going to help me with work. There are people I don't like but why should I blame THEM for my unhappiness. I need to look within my own mind and be responsible for my own actions.

[themediamongr]

I needed to hear this. Thank you.

[powrxplor69]

I Love Her.....

It's always like she's talking to me

personally, embarransingly enough

[thewayoutisin]

Anyone who is in conflict with life and with themselves should read Pema's books and listen to her audios. I have been practicing her teachings and reading most of her books for many times. I am not a person I am today without her wisdom. Pema is like my beloved grandmother who taught me unconditional love. God bless your heart Pema Chodron. Thank you.

[KudzuRunner]

I love Pema! I think, though, that the video description--"Pema tells us how our suffering inclines us to blame others and the external world rather than change our relationship with our suffering by wearing leather shoes"--says the opposite of what she actually says in the video. She's gently poking fun at people who seek to "cover everything with leather"--i.e., remove all potential sources of pain in their lived environment--rather than transform their ways of thinking so as to allow pain

[cwalwanis]

How could anyone not love Pema?

[schmendriks]

@cwalwanis its easy, primitive desert cultures for example, who hate women who are not their fucktoy without a voice or brain

[jigme800]

I love this teaching. It's great the way she explains things for everyone to understand.

[Gandimot]

Pema Chödron has such an extraordinary way of looking at things. Thanks for posting this video.

[Twanger73]

I love this, words of wisdom!