Happy 88th Birthday to Pema Chödrön! 🙏🏼

bows of gratitude for her life, practice, teaching, & many books that have benefited multitudes – including me.

from her book, “Practicing Peace in Times of War”:

“War and peace start in the hearts of individuals…We can talk about ending war and we can march for ending war, we can do everything in our power, but war is never going to end as long as our hearts are hardened against each other…there will never be peace until somebody softens what is rigid in their heart…So the solutions have to come from a change of heart, from softening what is rigid in our hearts and minds.”

so it seems to me our challenge in our time is to work on ourselves – the delusion, aggression, & violence w/in ourselves – while also pointing to & calling out what is harmful in our world, standing w/ those who are targets of harm & oppression, working to dismantle institutional harm, & being instruments of healing, while not adding to the harm & destruction we are bearing witness to.

silence is certainly not the answer in the face of harm or danger of harm.

rather, we can speak from our open hearts w/ clarity, compassion & wisdom, for the benefit of all.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#PemaChodron #peace #war #nonviolence #OpenHeart #path #practice #JinpaLhaga

📷: Pema Chodron Foundation