07.10.2026 3 Teachings from Pema Chödrön American Buddhist nun and teacher Pema Chödrön teaches that if we just open ourselves up to the world — leave a gap in our storyline, take a pause from our thoughts — we can see more, hear more, taste, and feel more. The reason why we stay cocooned in our head, the reason why we aren’t open, is because we’re trying to protect ourselves from pain. “Once you open, you’re open to the whole thing — both the sorrow and the beauty,” she said to me once at a retreat. “This does require courage — to allow yourself to feel what you feel and be with yourself. But it connects you with humanity; you realize your interconnectedness with other people. It’s a whole different experience of being alive.” In our special publication honoring Pema’s 90th birthday, Pema Chödrön: A Life of Wisdom & Compassion, readers will learn how to open themselves to the world, find fearlessness in such uncertain times, and live with courage. For four-plus decades, Lion’s Roar has been a trusted source for anyone who’s wanted to learn more about the important figures in the world of Buddhism.  Below, you’ll find three of Pema’s teachings featured in this special issue. We’re honored to share her teachings with you. —Andrea Miller, Editor, Lion’s Roar magazine What to Do When the Going Gets Rough Pema Chödrön on four ways to hold our minds steady and hearts open when facing difficult people or circumstances. When someone who is confused or distressed starts to harm us, we can easily understand that she doesn’t know what she is doing. There is the possibility of contacting our heart and feeling sadness that she is out of control and is harming herself by hurting others. There is the possibility that even though we feel fear, we do not feel hatred or anger. Instead we might feel inspired to help this person if we can. Actually, a person in distress are far more rational than a grounded person who harms us, for that so-called sane person has the potential to realize that in acting aggressively he is sowing seeds of his own confusion and dissatisfaction. His present aggression is strengthening future, more intense habits of aggression. He is creating his own soap opera. This kind of life is painful and lonely. The one who harms us is under the influence of patterns that could continue to produce suffering forever. ADVERTISEMENT Showing Up for Your Life If you’re jealous or angry or lonely, says Pema Chödrön, don’t run from the feeling.   Each time you stay present with fear and uncertainty, you’re letting go of a habitual way of finding security and comfort. All those brain studies about meditation—where they place people in MRI machines or put electrodes on their heads—show us that each time you dare to remain where you are and do something completely fresh, unconventional, and nonhabitual, you open up new pathways in the brain. You experience that as strength and it builds your capacity to be open the next time around. By contrast, each time you follow your habitual approach, you reinforce the old pathway and make it more likely that you’ll go that way once again next time around. Reversing Ego’s Logic Pema Chödron gives a teaching on Tonglen and Lojong.   The slogan “Begin the sequence of taking and sending with yourself” is getting at the point that compassion starts with making friends with ourselves, and particularly with our poisons—the messy areas. As we practice tonglen—taking and sending—and contemplate the lojong (mind training), gradually it begins to dawn on us how totally interconnected we all are. Now people know that what we do to the rivers in South America affects the whole world, and what we do to the air in Alaska affects the whole world. Everything is interrelated—including ourselves, so this is very important, this making friends with ourselves. It’s the key to a more sane compassionate planet.