Pema Chodron Others Quotations

Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.

Compassionate action involves working with ourselves as much as working with others.

In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves.

What you do for yourself, you're doing for others, and what you do for others, you're doing for yourself.

We work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves.

As we learn to have compassion for ourselves, the circle of compassion for others - what and whom we can work with, and how - becomes wider.

When we start out on a spiritual path we often have ideals we think we're supposed to live up to. We feel we're supposed to be better than we are in some way. But with this practice you take yourself completely as you are. Then ironically, taking in pain - breathing it in for yourself and all others in the same boat as you are heightens your awareness of exactly where you're stuck.