Paperback, 176 pages
English language
Published Aug. 20, 2001 by Shambhala Publications.
Start Where You Are is an indispensable handbook for cultivating fearlessness and awakening a compassionate heart. With insight and humor, Pema Chödrön presents down-to-earth guidance on how we can "start where we are"—embracing rather than denying the painful aspects of our lives. Pema Chödrön frames her teachings on compassion around fifty-nine traditional Tibetan Buddhist maxims, or slogans, such as: "Always apply only a joyful state of mind," "Don't seek others' pain as the limbs of your own happiness," and "Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment."
Working with these slogans and through the practice of meditation, Start Where You Are shows how we can all develop the courage to work with our inner pain and discover joy, well-being, and confidence.
Slogans, koans, a 12-step program that rails against 12-step programs. Chödrön always has much to say, but I felt constricted by the format she chose for this book. The structure seemed stifling. But that's me today. I'll try this one again in a few years, and until then will just reread a few of her others.
