"If we approach the wildness of the mind like a horse whisperer — using gentleness, compassion, and kindness — we return to our natural state of expansiveness that is always available to us," states Pema Chodron, resident teacher at Gampo Abbey monastery in Nova Scotia and a devoted student of the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Dzigar Kongrul Rinpoche. On this eight-and-one-half hour workshop on seven CDs, she explains the insights and practices from the teachings of the eighth-century Buddhist classic Shantideva's The Way of the Bodhisattva.
Taming the mind brings true liberation. The bodhisattva is a person who seeks not only to alleviate his or her own suffering but the suffering of all beings. Now more than ever, we need sensitive souls who are willing to set aside the "me first" thinking that is the source of so much alienation, violence, and separation. Chodron gives examples of people who have moved beyond a preoccupation with their own comfort and safety in order to help others.
How can we walk the bodhisattva path? We can free ourselves from the emotional reactivity that comes from self-absorption. Chodron dispenses effective teachings on patience, enthusiasm, meditation, and emptiness. For example, she recommends that we rejoice in the good fortune of others — especially those we dislike — instead of succumbing to envy or resentment. There are so many practices here that you could spend the whole year trying them in your everyday life.
