160 pages
English language
Published March 15, 1997
Facing difficulty, in meditative practice and in our relationships with ourselves and beyond. Turning towards and embracing feelings of insecurity, hopelessness, and pain as reminders of the "commitment to sanity" that groundless ego-less reality presents to us.
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.
