A New Training for A New Year - Maitri and Being A Warrior.

A broken chain.
Taken on my New Year's Eve walk along the beach.

"In essence the practice is always the same: instead of falling prey to a chain reaction of revenge or self hatred, we gradually learn to catch the emotional reaction and drop the story lines."

"This complete acceptance of ourselves as we are is called Maitri, a simple, direct relationship with the way we are."

"Trying to change ourselves does not work in the long run because we are resisting our own energy. Self-improvement can have temporary results, but lasting transformation occurs only when we honor ourselves as the source of wisdom and compassion. We are, as the eighth-century Buddhist master Shatideva pointed out, very much like a blind person who finds a jewel burried in a heap of garbage. Right here in what we'd like to throw away, in what we find repulsive or frightening, we discover the warmth and clarity of bodhichitta."

"Only when we relate with ourselves without moralizing, withut harshness, without deception, can we let go of harmful patterns. Without maitri, renuniciation of old habits becomes abusive. This is an important point."

"The irony is that what we most want to avoid in our lives is crucial to awakening bodhichitta. These juicy emotional spots are where a warrior gains wisdom and compassion. Of course we'll want to get out of those spots far more often than we'll want to stay. That's why self-compassion and courage are vital. Staying with pain without loving-kindness is just warfare."

(All quotes are taken from Chapter Four and Five of "The Places that Scare You" by Pema Chodron.)