Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness (2003)

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Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness (2003)
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Description

Warning: Using this book could be hazardous to your ego! The slogans it contains are designed to awaken the heart and cultivate love and kindness toward others. They are revolutionary in that practicing them fosters abandonment of personal territory in relating to others and in understanding the world as it is.

The fifty-nine provocative slogans presented here—each with a commentary by the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa—have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for eight centuries to help meditation students remember and focus on important principles and practices of mind training. They emphasize meeting the ordinary situations of life with intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Slogans include, "Don't be swayed by external circumstances," "Be grateful to everyone," and "Always maintain only a joyful mind." (Source: Shambhala Publications.)

Citation
Trungpa, Chogyam. Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness. Edited by Judith L. Lief. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2003.


Translation of

 
Blo sbyong don bdun ma
Blo sbyong don bdun ma. (Lojong Döndünma). In Tibetan, "Seven Points of Mind Training"; an influential Tibetan work in the blo sbyong ("mind training") genre. The work was composed by the Bka' gdams scholar 'Chad ka ba ye shes rdo rje, often known as Dge bshes Mchad kha ba, based on the tradition of generating bodhicitta known as "mind training" transmitted by the Bengali master Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna. It also follows the system laid out previously by Glang ri thang pa (Langri Tangpa) in his Blo sbyong tshig brgyad ma ("Eight Verses on Mind Training"). Comprised of a series of pithy instructions and meditative techniques, the Blo sbyong don bdun ma became influential in Tibet, with scholars from numerous traditions writing commentaries to it. According to the commentary of the nineteenth-century Tibetan polymath 'Jam mgon kong sprul, the seven points covered in the treatise are: (1) the preliminaries to mind training, which include the contemplations on the preciousness of human rebirth, the reality of death and impermanence, the shortcomings of saṃsāra, and the effects of karman; (2) the actual practice of training in bodhicitta; (3) transforming adverse conditions into the path of awakening; (4) utilizing the practice in one's entire life; (5) the evaluation of mind training; (6) the commitments of mind training; and (7) guidelines for mind training. (Source: "Blo sbyong don bdun ma." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 126–27. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
Text

Other editions

 
Training the Mind (1993)
Warning: Using this book could be hazardous to your ego! The slogans it contains are designed to awaken the heart and cultivate love and kindness toward others. They are revolutionary in that practicing them fosters abandonment of personal territory in relating to others and in understanding the world as it is. The fifty-nine provocative slogans presented here—each with a commentary by the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa—have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for eight centuries to help meditation students remember and focus on important principles and practices of mind training. They emphasize meeting the ordinary situations of life with intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Slogans include, "Don't be swayed by external circumstances," "Be grateful to everyone," and "Always maintain only a joyful mind." (Source Accessed April 22, 2025)
Book

Teaching based on

 
Blo sbyong don bdun ma
Blo sbyong don bdun ma. (Lojong Döndünma). In Tibetan, "Seven Points of Mind Training"; an influential Tibetan work in the blo sbyong ("mind training") genre. The work was composed by the Bka' gdams scholar 'Chad ka ba ye shes rdo rje, often known as Dge bshes Mchad kha ba, based on the tradition of generating bodhicitta known as "mind training" transmitted by the Bengali master Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna. It also follows the system laid out previously by Glang ri thang pa (Langri Tangpa) in his Blo sbyong tshig brgyad ma ("Eight Verses on Mind Training"). Comprised of a series of pithy instructions and meditative techniques, the Blo sbyong don bdun ma became influential in Tibet, with scholars from numerous traditions writing commentaries to it. According to the commentary of the nineteenth-century Tibetan polymath 'Jam mgon kong sprul, the seven points covered in the treatise are: (1) the preliminaries to mind training, which include the contemplations on the preciousness of human rebirth, the reality of death and impermanence, the shortcomings of saṃsāra, and the effects of karman; (2) the actual practice of training in bodhicitta; (3) transforming adverse conditions into the path of awakening; (4) utilizing the practice in one's entire life; (5) the evaluation of mind training; (6) the commitments of mind training; and (7) guidelines for mind training. (Source: "Blo sbyong don bdun ma." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 126–27. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
Text

  • Forewordix
  • Editor's Prefacexi
  • Acknowledgmentsxvii
  • Introduction1
  • Point One: The Preliminaries, Which Are a Basis for Dharma Practice5
    • 1. First, train in the preliminaries5
  • Point Two: The Main Practice, Which Is Training in Bodhichitta7
    • Ultimate and Relative Bodhichitta7
    • Ultimate Bodhichitta Slogans17
      • 2. Regard all dharmas as dreams17
      • 3. Examine the nature of unborn awareness18
      • 4. Self-liberate even the antidote19
      • 5. Rest in the nature of alaya, the essence21
      • 6. In postmeditation, be a child of illusion24
    • Relative Bodhichitta Slogans26
      • 7. Sending and taking should be practiced alternately. These two should ride the breath26
      • 8. Three objects, three poisons, and three seeds of virtue35
      • 9. In all activities, train with slogans37
      • 10. Begin the sequence of sending and taking with yourself38
  • Point Three: Transformation of Bad Circumstances into the Path of Enlightenment39
    • Point Three and the Paramita of Patience39
      • 11. When the world is filled with evil, Transform all mishaps into the path of bodhi40
      • 12. Drive all blames into one42
      • 13. Be grateful to everyone48
      • 14. Seeing confusion as the four kayas Is unsurpassable shunyata protection52
      • 15. Four practices are the best of methods55
      • 16. Whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation67
  • Point Four: Showing the Utilization of Practice in One's Whole Life70
    • Point Four and the Paramita of Exertion70
      • 17. Practice the five strengths, The condensed heart instructions71
      • 18. The mahayana instruction for ejection of consciousness at death Is the five strengths: how you conduct yourself is important75
  • Point Five: Evaluation of Mind Training79
    • Point Five and the Paramita of Meditation79
      • 19. All dharma agrees at one point80
      • 20. Of the two witnesses, hold the principal one82
      • 21. Always maintain only a joyful mind84
      • 22. If you can practice even when distracted, you are well trained86
  • Point Six: Disciplines of Mind Training89
    • Point Six and Prajnaparamita89
      • 23. Always abide by the three basic principles90
      • 24. Change your attitude, but remain natural91
      • 25. Don't talk about injured limbs92
      • 26. Don't ponder others93
      • 27. Work with the greatest defilements first93
      • 28. Abandon any hope of fruition94
      • 29. Abandon poisonous food95
      • 30. Don't be so predictable95
      • 31. Don't malign others96
      • 32. Don't wait in ambush97
      • 33. Don't bring things to a painful point97
      • 34. Don't transfer the ox's load to the cow98
      • 35. Don't try to be the fastest98
      • 36. Don't act with a twist99
      • 37. Don't make gods into demons100
      • 38. Don't seek others' pain as the limbs of your own happiness100
  • Point Seven: Guidelines of Mind Training101
    • Point Seven and Postmeditation101
      • 39. All activities should be done with one intention101
      • 40. Correct all wrongs with one intention102
      • 41. Two activities: one at the beginning, one at the end102
      • 42. Whichever of the two occurs, be patient103
      • 43. Observe these two, even at the risk of your life104
      • 44. Train in the three difficulties104
      • 45. Take on the three principal causes105
      • 46. Pay heed that the three never wane106
      • 47. Keep the three inseparable106
      • 48. Train without bias in all areas. It is crucial always to do this pervasively and wholeheartedly107
      • 49. Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment107
      • 50. Don't be swayed by external circumstances107
      • 51. This time, practice the main points107
      • 52. Don't misinterpret108
      • 53. Don't vacillate108
      • 54. Train wholeheartedly108
      • 55. Liberate yourself by examining and analyzing109
      • 56. Don't wallow in self-pity109
      • 57. Don't be jealous109
      • 58. Don't be frivolous109
      • 59. Don't expect applause109
  • Concluding Verses111
  • Appendix: The Forty-six Ways in Which a Bodhisattva Fails113
  • Notes117
  • Glossary119
  • Transliterations of Tibetan Names and Terms124
  • Bibliography126
  • About the Slogan Cards127
  • About the Author128
  • Resources132
  • Index135