Pema Chödrön: A Lion’s Roar Collector’s Edition
From the publishers of Lion’s Roar
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[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none” top_padding=”20″]This July marks the 80th birthday of Pema Chödrön, one of America’s most beloved Buddhist teachers. This special collector’s edition, produced by Lion’s Roar, is a celebration of her life and her teachings.
Features include an exclusive interview with Pema Chödrön, conducted by Lion’s Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod at Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Learn more about this special edition below.[/text_block]
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”center” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″]96 pages, perfect-bound on premium stock $11.99 USD[/text_block]
I just got my copy of the SPECIAL EDITION of Lion’s Roar Magazine celebrating Pema’s 80th birthday! It is FABULOUS! Filled with so many photos of Pema that I have never seen, stories, articles, quotes and heartfelt tributes. It is a wonderful read about how Pema became Pema. It is a keepsake, that’s for sure! Thank you Lion’s Roar for celebrating Pema’s life in such an awesome way!
-Margie, Pema Chödrön Foundation Facebook Page Admin
Inside our Pema Chödrön special edition
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- The Magic of Pema: A heartfelt appreciation by Buddhist teacher and friend Judy Lief
- The Teachings of Pema Chödrön: A selection of her most profound and helpful Buddhist teachings
- Our Exclusive Interview: An intimate discussion with Pema Chödrön by Lion’s Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod
- Becoming Pema: Journalist Lindsay Kyte tells Pema Chödrön’s inspiring life story
- Fascinating Conversations: Pema Chödrön shares wisdom and insight with some of today’s leading spiritual and cultural figures
- How Pema Changed My Life: First-person stories of how Pema Chödrön’s teachings and example have helped people deal with the challenges of life
- 4 Keys to Waking Up: Visit a Pema Chödrön program with journalist Andrea Miller
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The buzzword “keepsake” is all too often used to describe publications. However, this one is truly deserving of the name. Excellent, excellent work and a wonderful, inspirational tribute!
– S. Bingham
The Most Important Thing in Life
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”16″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”bold” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]From Pema Chödrön’s teaching, “The Most Important Thing in Life,” from the Lion’s Roar collector’s edition:[/text_block]
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]One of the most effective things we can do when we see the gathering storm of our habitual tendencies is the practice of pausing, or creating a gap. We stop and take three conscious breaths, and the world has a chance to open up to us in that gap. We allow space into our state of mind.
Meditation practice itself is a way to create gaps. Every time you realize you are thinking and you let your thoughts go, you are creating a gap. Every time the breath goes out, you are creating a gap. If you don’t fill up your practice time with worrying and obsessing and all that kind of thing, you have time to experience the blessing of your surroundings. You can just sit there quietly. Then silence will dawn on you and the sacredness of the space will penetrate.[/text_block]
Reading it cover to cover … twice at least and probably more. I LOVE Pema Chodron and how she has affected my life and outlook on life.
– G. Sanders
The Ordinary Magic of Pema Chödrön
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]“There is a magical timeliness to Pema’s teaching. Although she is a nun, and steeped in a particular spiritual tradition, Pema’s approach is not mystical or esoteric.
“She is down to earth and meets people eye to eye. She is not a guru peddling false promises and she does not simply pacify people or make them feel comfortable. She presents the dharma straight and true in a way that connects to ordinary people. Pema knows who she is and where she is coming from, which inspires others to be more accepting of who they are. She does not pretend that life is easy, and she is a living example of the warmth and humor that can arise when we stop pretending otherwise.”[/text_block]
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”16″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”bold” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]—Buddhist teacher Judy Lief from the Introduction to our special publication honoring Pema Chödrön.[/text_block]
I too just received my copy of this commemorative book, and I find it brilliant.
– T. Voelker
Pema Chödrön On How To Enjoy Life
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The Collector’s Edition features an exclusive interview with Pema, conducted at her home, Gampo Abbey, in Nova Scotia. Read a preview of that conversation, in which Pema talks about what it means — and why it’s important — to enjoy our lives.
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[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]I notice there’s a sign in the entrance to Gampo Abbey that says “Enjoy Your Life.” We don’t usually think of that as a spiritual teaching, but as we noted in a recent issue of Lion’s Roar, enjoying your life is really a transformative practice. But it’s hard for many of us to do.
It’s a great sign to have in a Buddhist monastery. Right away, it presents a paradox: Aren’t you here to escape all that hedonism? Aren’t you here not to seek enjoyment from outer things?
The answer is yes, that is why you’re here. So in that case, what does “enjoy your life” mean, if it doesn’t mean getting your pleasure and sense of wellbeing from external things, including people and relationships as well as material goods?[/text_block]
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]You know who said it best? Leonard Cohen. He meditated all those years at Mt. Baldy Zen Center, often for twelve hours at a time. In an interview, he said his storyline just wore itself out. He got so bored with his dramatic storyline. And then he made the comment, “The less there was of me, the happier I got.”[/text_block]
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]That’s the answer to how to enjoy your life. It’s to show up and have a sense of curiosity about whatever might appear that day, including it all in your sense of appreciation of this precious human birth, which is so short. I don’t want to call it delight, although it can feel like that. It’s more curiosity. Some people say, I know what’s going to show up today—the same old thing. But it’s never really the same old thing. Even in Groundhog Day, every day was a different experience for Phil, until finally he learned that caring about people was the answer.[/text_block]
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]This is actually a big point, because the less there is of you, the more you’re interested in and curious about other people. Who you live with and who you rub up against and who you share this world with is a very important part of enjoying your life.[/text_block]
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” font_size=”18″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal” font_color=”%23000000″ font_shadow=”none”]Sartre said, “Hell is other people,” but this is the other view of that. When people irritate you, when they get your goat, when they slander you, whatever it might be, you still have a relationship with them. It’s interesting that of all the billions of people on the earth, they’re the particular ones who came into your world. There’s respect for whatever happens, and this is only really possible if you’re not rejecting whole parts of your experience.[/text_block]
[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”center” font_size=”14″ font_font=”Asap” font_style=”normal”]Lion’s Roar Foundation is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in the United States, and a not-for-profit, charitable organization in Canada. We are mission-driven and community-supported.[/text_block]
