The Preliminary Practice of Tonglen
From Bodhicitta
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The Preliminary Practice of Tonglen
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Description
This advice on the practice of tonglen was dictated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to Kendall Magnussen in 2006. Additional advice given by Rinpoche to Ven. Holly and then to Ven. Sarah Thresher. Edited into this format by Ven. Sarah in April 2012. Chapter Two is a short tonglen practice compiled by Ven. Sarah on the basis of instructions from Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche.
See also Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s extensive tonglen practice in The Wish-Fulfilling Golden Sun of the Mahayana Thought Training. For more advice about tonglen, see Rinpoche's Online Advice Book.
Citation
Zopa, Thupten. "The Preliminary Practice of Tonglen." Advice on the practice of tonglen dictated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to Kendall Magnussen in 2006. Edited by Ven. Sarah Thresher. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, 2012. https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/preliminary-practice-tonglen
Advice on Tonglen as a Preliminary Practice
Tonglen is the practice of "taking and giving." It is a most brave practice to generate bodhicitta. "Tong-wa" is giving your merits and happiness to others; "len-pa" is taking others’ suffering and negative karma on yourself, right onto the self-cherishing thought and destroying it.
Taking on the suffering of others and giving your happiness to others is the quickest way to generate bodhicitta, the quickest way to abandon the oceans of samsaric suffering and the quickest way to achieve full enlightenment—having finished all the mistakes, the gross and subtle defilements, and generated all the realizations—and this is the quickest way to be able to free the numberless hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, suras, asuras and intermediate state beings from the oceans of suffering and bring them to full enlightenment. For example, even though Maitreya Buddha generated bodhicitta first, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha achieved enlightenment earlier because his compassion was stronger.
When you do this meditation, it is the most excellent thought transformation and the best psychology for the West to make the mind happy no matter what problem there is mental or physical. It is the best treatment for the mind and, through that, for the body. Also, if you are sick this is the best healing and it is also helps heal other sentient beings.
Read more here.
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