Ezra asks a question of Pema that I have always wanted to ask a Buddhist teacher. If we are perfect as we are, how is it that some things are worth attaining?
This Is Why I Find Pema Chödrön So Essential | The Ezra Klein Show
It’s in the “Paradox” section. Between the instruction of “there is no good, there is no bad”, and one experience is the same as another. Ezra clarifies that sometimes, in Buddhist teachings, something is being described that is better. She has to admit he’s right. At first, she takes a bit of a sidestep, and says that not everything can be neat and tidy. And tells a story of a teacher who said, “you are all perfect as you, and you could use a little work.”
Fundamentally, we all have Buddha nature, the ability to recognize our true nature (still paradoxical). But then she gets to, what I think is, the answer, “If you want to recognize your true nature by getting rid of the ego, it doesn’t work, the only way to have the confusion lessen is to become familiar, intimate, with yourself, just as you are.” That includes all of the confusion, the boredom, and the wild mindedness. Instead of calling all that a problem and trying to strip that away, understand that those aren’t problems and then you can understand your nature of basic goodness. Buddha practices are designed to help you recognize that, to uncover what is already here.
Ezra uses the analogy of being a parent, loving his children unconditionally, and wanting them to grow.