Pema Chödrön: Dealing with Difficult Times

Oprah's Super Soul

Oprah

Society & Culture

4.6 • 32.9K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2017

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Born in New York City, Pema Chödrön is one of the first Western women to be fully ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. Pema explains how difficult times can be an opportunity for growth and change if you're willing to embrace the situation and the feelings that come with it. One of the basic Buddhist tenets, Pema says, is that change is constant. "Things are going to keep changing," she says. "If you're invested in security and certainty, then you're not going to feel good a lot of the time."

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Oprah Winfrey. Welcome to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. I believe that one of
0:07.5	the most valuable gifts you can give yourself is time, taking time to be more fully present.
0:16.1	Your journey to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right
0:23.1	now.
0:24.1	Today, she is a best-selling author and world-renowned Buddhist teacher, but for many years, Pemma
0:30.2	Children was simply known as Deirdre. Born in 1936, Deirdre Blumfeld Brown grew up on a farm
0:37.8	in New Jersey and lived what she calls a perfectly conventional life. With the help of scholarships,
0:43.6	she attended a prestigious prep school and college before marrying a lawyer and having two children.
0:49.6	While working toward her master's degree, her marriage crumbled, soon after she married her second
0:54.4	husband, a free spirit at writer. After eight years, that marriage also ended in a devastating
1:00.5	divorce that brought her to her knees. She tried different therapies at the time and spiritual paths
1:06.4	to heal, but nothing seemed to help until she began exploring Buddhism, which she says
1:12.1	spoke directly to her pain and suffering. In 1981, after years of study with Buddhist masters,
1:19.2	she became one of the first Western women to be fully ordained as a Buddhist done in the Tibetan
1:24.8	tradition. She changed her name to Pemma Children, which loosely translated means Lamp of the truth.
1:32.4	Today, Pemma teaches how ancient Buddhist principles can apply to our modern everyday life.
1:39.3	She has written many popular books, including one of my favorites, When Things Fall Apart,
1:45.5	Heart Advice for Difficult Times. So welcome, Ani Pemma Children. Thank you. Thank you so much.
1:53.2	I have to tell you that this book, When Things Fall Apart, Heart Advice for Difficult Times,
1:58.0	has been like a talisman for me. It's been a resource in many times to remind me to come back to
2:05.5	Center. And I know that your work in this book and in many teachings have been a stable force for
2:15.0	people. So I want to thank you for that. Thank you. So honored to be able to talk to you. Thank you.
	...

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