When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (original 1996; edition 1996)

by Pema Chodron

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3,379	58	4,145	(4.23)	26
New Age. Religion & Spirituality. Self-Improvement. Nonfiction. HTML:The beautiful practicality of her teaching has made Pema Ch�dr�n one of the most beloved of contemporary American spiritual authors among Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. A collection of talks she gave between 1987 and 1994, the book is a treasury of wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. Ch�dr�n discusses: � Using painful emotions to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and courage � Communicating so as to encourage others to open up rather than shut down � Practices for reversing habitual patterns � Methods for working with chaotic situations � Ways for creating effective social action.… (more)

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Member:	izze.t
Title:	When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Authors:	Pema Chodron
Info:	Shambhala (1996), Edition: 1st ed, Hardcover, 147 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	Non-Fiction

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When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön (1996)

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Recommended by [a:Matt Haig|76360|Matt Haig|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1296764418p2/76360.jpg].

Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Oct 18, 2024 |

Much the thing you would expect from her. I did find useful bits for fostering reflection and rethinking old patterns throughout the book. (

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vive_livre | Sep 27, 2024 |

the world does not need any more books written by white people, when there are plenty of good books on the same topic by people more qualified to talk on the subject. (

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EmberMantles | Jan 1, 2024 |

When we find ourselves in a mess, we don’t have to feel guilty about it. Instead, we could reflect on the fact that how we relate to this mess will be sowing the seeds of how we will relate to whatever happens next. We can make ourselves miserable, or we can make ourselves strong. The amount of effort is the same.

whilst i have a distinct and differing spiritual outlook in comparison to chödrön, i found her viewpoint to be informative and enlightening. though the book was often repetitive, the abstract natture of the ideas discussed meant this was a somewhat useful construction, and assisted in gaining more depth in my comprehension of what was discussed. i will note that, in contrast to the book's title, it deals far more with everyday difficulties (and some large-scale ones) as opposed to personal tragedy, which is what i was hoping for when i read it. (

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sylvarum | Oct 26, 2023 |

This is more a collection of essays than a cohesive whole. Pena Chodron says that the book came about as a collection of unrelated dharma talks she has given. Still, the central theme of all of them is facing pain rather than hiding from it. Using meditation, finding one's boddhicatta and converting pain to loving-kindness, one can face pain and convert it to compassion. Some chapters are stronger than others, and if you have time to read only one, make it chapter 10. I'd give this 3 and 1/2 stars if I could. It's not a strong enough book to warrant 4 stars. (

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dogboi | Sep 16, 2023 |

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Is contained in

The Pema Chodron Collection: The Wisdom of No Escape; Start Where You Are; When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön

Is abridged in

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (abridged edition) by Pema Chödrön

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Canonical title

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

Original title

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

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Original publication date

1996

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Walker, Alice

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English

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Wikipedia in English (3)

Gangshar Wangpo

Pema Chödrön bibliography

Terry Hu

▾Book descriptions

New Age. Religion & Spirituality. Self-Improvement. Nonfiction. HTML:The beautiful practicality of her teaching has made Pema Ch�dr�n one of the most beloved of contemporary American spiritual authors among Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. A collection of talks she gave between 1987 and 1994, the book is a treasury of wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. Ch�dr�n discusses:
� Using painful emotions to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and courage
� Communicating so as to encourage others to open up rather than shut down
� Practices for reversing habitual patterns
� Methods for working with chaotic situations
� Ways for creating effective social action.

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How can we go on living when things fall apart—when we are overcome by pain, fear, and anxiety? Pema Chödrön's answer to that question contains some spectacularly good news: there is a fundamental happiness readily available to each one of us, no matter how difficult things seem to be. To find it, according to traditional Buddhist teaching, we must learn to stop running from suffering and instead actually learn to approach it—fearlessly, compassionately, and with curiosity. This radical practice enables us to use all situations, even very painful ones, as means for discovering the truth and love that are utterly indestructible.

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