The spiritual journey involves going beyond hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory, continually moving forward. The most important aspect of being on the spiritual path may be just to keep moving.
Pema ChodronRead
Ego could be defined as whatever covers up basic goodness. From an experiential point of view, what is ego covering up? It's covering up our experience of just being here, just fully being where we are, so that we can relate with the immediacy of our experience. Egolessness is a state of mind that has complete confidence in the sacredness of the world. It is unconditional well being, unconditional joy that includes all the different qualities of our experience.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Ego obscures our true state of being and awareness, preventing us from experiencing life fully and joyfully.
In this quote, Pema Chodron emphasizes that the ego acts as a veil that hides our inherent goodness and the richness of the present moment. By overcoming the ego, we can embrace a state of egolessness, which allows us to experience unconditional joy and well-being, recognizing the sacredness of the world around us. This perspective encourages us to acknowledge our experiences without the filters of ego, leading to a deeper connection to life and all its qualities.
Themes
EgoEgolessnessExperienceJoySacredness
In practice
Example use cases
During a meditation retreat, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of letting go of ego to experience deeper awareness.
More from Pema Chodron
All quotes →Without giving up hope—that there’s somewhere better to be, that there’s someone better to be—we will never relax with where we are or who we are.
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When we scratch the wound and give into our addictions we do not allow the wound to heal.
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It's said that when we die, the four elements - earth, air, fire and water - dissolve one by one, each into the other, and finally just dissolve into space. But while we're living, we share the energy that makes everything, from a blade of grass to an elephant, grow and live and then inevitably wear out and die. This energy, this life force, creates the whole world.
Pema ChodronRead
Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s the ground, that’s what we study, that’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.
Pema ChodronRead
We have two alternatives: either we question our beliefs - or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality- or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in staying open and curious - to train in dissolving our assumptions and beliefs - is the best use of our human lives.
Pema ChodronRead
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