Key Terms/Gtong len
From Bodhicitta
གཏོང་ལེན་ gtong len
giving and taking
Tibetan - Noun
Basic Meaning
A contemplative practice, particularly in the Tibetan tradition, where one visualizes taking on the suffering and negative actions of others and giving them one's own happiness, well-being, and merit. It is performed to enhance compassion (karuṇā) and develop the ultimate aspiration of bodhicitta.
Has the Sense of
- Mahāyāna (Indo-Tibetan): Gtong len (Tib. gtong len), or taking and giving, is an advanced meditative practice within the Lojong (Mind Training) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
- It is an exceptionally powerful method for cultivating and training in relative bodhicitta, the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
- The practice involves visualizing taking on the suffering, sickness, negative karma, and causes of suffering of all sentient beings (the taking, len), motivated by compassion (karuṇā), and giving away one's own happiness, virtue, merit, and causes of happiness (the giving, gtong), motivated by loving-kindness (maitrī).
- It is performed in conjunction with the breath: inhalation is for taking, and exhalation is for giving.
- This practice is specifically designed to counteract the deeply ingrained self-cherishing attitude, which is viewed as the greatest obstacle on the Mahāyāna path.
- Dzogchen/Mahāmudrā (Indo-Tibetan): The practice of gtong len can be used as a preparatory or supporting practice in these traditions to purify obscurations and enhance one's capacity for altruism, thereby creating a fertile ground for the ultimate, non-conceptual realization of rigpa or dharmakāya mind. The vastness of the visualized taking and giving is intended to cut through the ordinary sense of self and other.
| Term Variations | |
| Key Term | Gtong len |
|---|---|
| Topic Variation | gtong len |
| Tibetan | གཏོང་ལེན་ ( tonglen) |
| Wylie Transliteration | gtong len ( tonglen) |
| Buddha-nature Site Standard English | giving and taking |
| Term Information | |
| Source Language | Tibetan |
| Basic Meaning | An advanced meditative practice within the Lojong (Mind Training) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, where we give others our happiness and take their suffering |
| Term Type | Noun |
| Definitions | |
| Tshig mdzod Chen mo | ཕར་སྤྲོད་ཚུར་ལེན། |
