The Buddha is the awakened one, and we too are buddhas. We are the awakened one — the one who continually leaps, who continually opens, who continually goes forward. Being a buddha isn’t easy. It’s accompanied by fear, resentment, and doubt. But learning to leap into open space with our fear, resentment, and doubt is how we become fully human beings. There isn’t any separation between samsara and nirvana, between the sadness and pain of the setting sun and the vision and power of the Great Eastern Sun, as the Shambhala teachings put it. One can hold them both in one’s heart, which is actually the purpose of practice.

Pema Chödron

from the book Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion

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Further quotes from the book Comfortable with Uncertainty:

• Pain and pleasure go together
• The possibility of being able to expand
• The healing power of bodhicitta
• Complete acceptance of ourselves as we are
• Remaining stuck in the repetitious habit of escalating our dissatisfaction
• Cultivating Compassion
• Recognizing our shared humanity
• Beyond punishment and reward
• Recognizing What’s Going On
• Humor and openness
• Abandon any hope of fruition