SLOGAN 47 • Keep the three inseparable.
It is easy to think of lojong practice as just a mental exercise, after all, lojong is translated as “mind training.” But according to this slogan, lojong practice should engage our whole being: our body, our speech, and our mind. The idea is that we should be so thoroughly and completely permeated with mind training that there is no separation whatsoever. [Read more…] about 47: Keep the three inseparable
48: Train without bias in all areas
SLOGAN 48 • Train without bias in all areas. It is crucial always to do this pervasively and wholeheartedly.
The previous slogan was about including all aspects of yourself in your lojong practice: your body, your speech, and your mind. This slogan expands upon that to include all aspects of your experience altogether. [Read more…] about 48: Train without bias in all areas
49: Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment
SLOGAN 49 • Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment.
Cultivating loving-kindness sounds so sweet and wholesome. When you look at the ads in spiritual publications, you see smiling faces and promises about how to achieve happiness and be more loving and kind. But how many times do you see the word resentment? [Read more…] about 49: Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment
50: Don’t Be Swayed by External Circumstances.
SLOGAN 50 • Don’t be swayed by external circumstances.
The good thing about mind training is that it can be practiced in all kinds of situations. You do not have to wait for the right conditions to arrive or make special arrangements in order to work with mind training. The only rearrangement that needs to be made is to your own attitude. [Read more…] about 50: Don’t Be Swayed by External Circumstances.
51: This Time Practice the Main Points
SLOGAN 51 • This time, practice the main points.
This time…
Every so often, opportunities to practice the dharma come up. How many times have you let those opportunities pass you by? I think of this slogan as the mañana slogan. It is the idea that there will always be time to practice later, but right now there are just too many other things going on. [Read more…] about 51: This Time Practice the Main Points
52: Don’t Misinterpret
SLOGAN 52 • Don’t misinterpret.
This slogan focuses on six qualities—patience, yearning, excitement, compassion, priorities, and joy—and how they can be misinterpreted. More generally, the point is to see how we can twist things so that our avoidance of the dharma is considered to be a virtue rather than a fault. We are continually tempted to misinterpret teachings designed to soften our ego-fixation in such a way that they instead add more fuel to our self-absorption and distractedness. [Read more…] about 52: Don’t Misinterpret
53: Don’t Vacillate
SLOGAN 53 • Don’t vacillate.
When you first encounter the dharma, you may be intrigued but wary, or quick to be inspired. If you are inspired, you may jump in enthusiastically, and read all sorts of books, take tons of classes, and practice a lot. But such enthusiasm tends to be short-lived, and after a while, your interest and energy begins to peter out. You begin to have second thoughts about the whole thing. [Read more…] about 53: Don’t Vacillate
54: Train Wholeheartedly
SLOGAN 54 • Train wholeheartedly.
Train…
It is probably clear by now that lojong is all about training. And since the nature of mind training goes directly against our entrenched and deep-rooted habit of self-fixation, it is easy to come up with all sorts of excuses for not keeping it up. [Read more…] about 54: Train Wholeheartedly
55: Liberate Yourself by Examining and Analyzing
SLOGAN 55 • Liberate yourself by examining and analyzing.
This slogan focuses on two major obstacles to realization: ego-clinging and disturbing emotions. The idea is that it is important to really look into those two patterns. In fact, it is so important that you may need to actually conjure them up so that you can examine them in detail. [Read more…] about 55: Liberate Yourself by Examining and Analyzing
56: Don’t Wallow in Self-Pity
SLOGAN 56 • Don’t wallow in self-pity.
When your practice is not going well, or you feel it is too hard, you may begin to regret undertaking it in the first place. It is easy to start to feel sorry for yourself. The anti-lojong slogan, “Ignorance is bliss,” begins to sound pretty appealing. You think, why not just live a “normal life” and forget about all this? Why take on this extra burden of mind training and the cultivation of loving-kindness? [Read more…] about 56: Don’t Wallow in Self-Pity