Giving Our Best

The best-selling author and beloved Buddhist teacher shares her insights on the practice of compassion and enlightened mind (bodhichitta). COMPASSION IS A SKILL. It’s not a special trait that we either have or don’t, but a practice that we can all nurture in our daily lives. And the benefits are vast. It liberates our hearts from a narrow sense of self, expands our sense of well-being, and so much more. Of course, it’s not always easy. But when we learn to work with our adversities and fears, whatever it is that might be keeping us stuck, then we find that we gradually and naturally become more open, joyful, and free. And it is this very freedom that enlivens us and allows us to become truly available to the people around us. In this recorded retreat, Pema Chödrön reveals all the essentials for practicing compassion in our everyday lives, using a text that is very close to her heart: the Buddhist classic known as The Way of the Bodhisattva. Here she focuses on its first chapter and primary subject, the enlightened heart and mind (bodhichitta), showing us how this awakened state is available to us here and now, right where we are.