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Good Medicine: How to Turn Pain into Compassion with Tonglen Meditation

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This two cassette tape series of the Tibetan Buddhist teaching of Tonglen is a wonderful companion to the various other tapes and books by Ane Pema Chodron. Her delightful manner creates a welcomed ease for the student when listening to and working with the depth of her teachings and the honored Tibetan lineage she so effortlessly expesses. Having a "beginner's mind," I have enjoyed using these particular tapes to begin my own Tonglen practice as part of my daily commute into San Francisco by bus. All of Pema Chodron's tapes are great personal journeys,each the gift of an individual and self-paced retreat. This series is similar to her Noble Heart series in terms of pacing and format, but gently focusses on the singular practice of Tonglen. This practice has changed me in ways I am only beginning to understand. Until I can run away to Gampo Abbey to study, I will ride my bus in the early morning and breathe in and out.

I first was introduced to Pema Chodron through the audio program "Awakening Compassion" - another great work. I then picked up a few books and "Good Medicine". The audio adds a fuller dimension to the message. You get a sense for how sincere and down to earth she is and this lends validity to the practice that you don't /can't pick up on from the books alone. This audio program is highly recommended! In contrast to "Awakining Compassion", I think the quality of the recording is much better - although the message and entertainment are excellent in both.

Pema Chödrön believes we learn true compassion when we open our hearts and minds to a relationship with our own pain. This opens a doorway for compassion to be shown to others and can foster conflict resolution in situations that seemed impossible before learning "Tonglen."

"Difficulty as a way to achieve enlightenment" sounds quite correct and pain in life is almost inescapable. There are ways to lessen the pain of life when learning lessons and the faster we learn, the less emotional pain we may experience.

What is it that people truly learn from meditation? In this CD set we learn to make friends with ourselves, in order to learn true happiness. As we realize transitory elements of life do not bring long-term satisfaction, we enter a place where we transmute pain into love. Many artists find this healing and you can also learn to take negative experiences and mold them into a spiritually healing experience. It depends on how you look at your life in general.

The CD Set includes discussions about breathing techniques, meditation, tonglen practice, compassion, open-heartedness and the practice of mindfulness. An interesting discussion on "maitri" as the root of happiness is enlightening. The second CD guides you through a tonglen session and explores true stories of how tonglen helped people in everyday life.

Pema Chödrön shows you how to use your experiences to learn compassion towards others. She has a delicate and humorous repoire with her audience, making this CD set very enjoyable to listen to as she teaches you principles for enhancing your life with Tonglen Meditation.

~The Rebecca Review

This is an excellent book that talks above all about unconditional friendship towards one's self as the basis of compassion for authors. In a Christian context, this comes across in the words of Jesus, "love you neighbor AS yourself." What this offers beyond this fine piece of advice are the techniques to get you there.

While this book is presented in a Buddhist context, it could be used by anyone whether you are a Buddhist or not. The information is universal and the down-to-earth style of Pema Chodron is easily understandable. She has an excellent sense of humor and positions ideas in a way that is easily digestible for a Westerner.

Technically, Pema Chodron is a Tibetan Buddhist nun, but this recording and many of her others have a very practical focus for the average person. It is difficult for me to believe that her tips, insights and these exercises won't be useful for anyone who wants a deeper connection to their heart.

The overall idea behind this audio is that growth lies in the direction of fully participating in each moment with as much awareness as possible. This means seeing pain or other difficult states as an invitation to what is called soul in the West. By "showing up" in each moment, we develop a deep compassion toward ourselves and a felt sense of our connection to others.

In a more technical sense, the focus of this audio is on Tonglen meditation and related practices. While it is presented in a Buddhist context, much of the esoteric or unusual cultural trappings have been removed from around the essentail points and teachings.

These practices really are effective and as someone who works with people struggling with all kinds of problems, I find that these are effective techniques. I also teach meditation and have reviewed many resources on these kinds of topics. In fact, you can see more on my profile.

While Tonglen in its most complex form is an advanced practice, this CD is a good start in that direction. I would suggest learning minfulness and metta meditation first, but you don't necessarily have to. This is also an encouraging CD for those in pain.

If you are specifically interested in Tibetan Buddhism and are just getting started, I would also recommend Fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhism: A Concise Introduction. These will provide just enough context to make this CD even more meaningful. The The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living and Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama are also complimentary resources.

Typical Pema Chodron. I have learned so much from this woman and her beautiful soul. She makes difficult subjects so very palatible. I could learn anything from her. When really stressed out, hearing her voice on any of her cds just brings me right back to center and allows me to focus and learn and "stay in the moment". A truly talented voice for the Buddhist way of life. Finding her was a turning point in my spiritual journey.