1. What does Chodron mean that things fall apart?  Will they ever stop falling apart?  What does she propose we do about this?  How does this relate to the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths?

2. What are the three marks of existence and what do they mean?  How are they applied to the notion of the “self” or “soul” (as well as everything else)?  Are they compatible with Western culture—why or why not?

3. What does it mean to be addicted to hope?  What is the problem with hope from a Buddhist perspective?  How does this get to the main difference between theism and nontheism?

[1] There are a number of levels of meaning to Pema Chodron's observation that “things fall apart”. Let's consider the human dimension first. We're all born into this world, and we're all going to leave it. We don't think about it as a rule, especially in our youth, but death awaits all of us. The potential for it is always present, even when we're young and strong. But even if we live a long life, our bodies deteriorate eventually- they fall apart.

Our situations in life fall apart as well. My parents are both 84. I know that their time on earth is growing short. My son is 24- a grown man with a life of his own, but a part of me still mourns the end of his childhood. I've had two marriages come to an end, and trouble in my third one that threatened it. I've lost jobs, and friends, and had a home foreclosed on. Things do indeed fall apart.

There are a couple other dimensions to keep in mind, both on a micro and macro level. The cells in our bodies are susceptible to disease and mutations such as cancer. Our muscles get weaker, arteries clog; any number of things can go wrong. Our environments can change, such as the global warming we're seeing occur. And the entire universe suffers from this entropy. Our solar system will be gone in a few billion more years. The sun will run out of fuel, then swell out further than the earth. If humans haven't found other worlds to live on (or long since done themselves in some other way), that will be that.

Things will never stop falling apart. Chodron is advising us to embrace this reality, rather than make ourselves miserable trying to prevent it- we can't. When something goes wrong, often another opportunity arises simultaneously. (My entire five years so far as a musician in Wilmington NC have been a continual cycle of this!) My favorite line of Chodron's in the “When Things Fall Apart” chapter is “thinking that we can find some lasting pleasure and avoid pain... is a hopeless cycle that... causes us to suffer greatly”. Knowing that things will always be in transition, and accepting it calmly, without panic- this can help us relax, and make the most of our brief times here.

The Four Noble Truths:

1. The truth of suffering

2. The truth of the cause of suffering

3. The truth of the end of suffering

4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering

My translation:

1. Things fall apart. Bad things happen to all of us, and the good things won't last.

2. The desire for permanence, for things to stay together- leads to unhappiness.

3. There is a way to escape this unhappiness, by removing our desire for permanence.

4. That way is through practice of the Buddha's teachings.

Pema Chodron and her book are very much aligned with the Four Noble Truths.