Lojong
Encyclopedia
Lojong is a mind training practice in the Tibet
an Buddhist
tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa
. The practice involves refining and purifying one's motivations and attitudes.
The fifty-nine or so proverbs that form the root text of the mind training practice are designed as a set of antidotes to undesired mental habits that cause suffering. They contain both methods to expand one's viewpoint towards absolute bodhicitta
, such as "Find the consciousness you had before you were born" and "Treat everything you perceive as a dream", and methods for relating to the world in a more constructive way with relative bodhicitta
, such as "Be grateful to everyone" and "When everything goes wrong, treat disaster as a way to wake up."
Prominent teachers who have popularized this practice in the West include Pema Chodron
, Ken McLeod
, Alan Wallace, Chogyam Trungpa
, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
, and the 14th Dalai Lama
.
, as part of the Mahāyāna
school of Buddhism
. Atiśa
(982–1054 CE), a Bengali meditation master, is generally regarded as the originator of the practice. It is described in his book Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment
(Bodhipathapradīpaṃ). The practice is based upon his studies with the Sumatran teacher, Dharmarakṣita, author of a text called the Wheel of Sharp Weapons. Both these texts are well known in Tibetan translation.
Atiśa journeyed to Sumatra and studied with Dharmarakṣita for twelve years. He then returned to teach in India, but at an advanced age accepted an invitation to teach in Tibet, where he stayed for the rest of his life.
A story is told that Atiśa heard that the inhabitants of Tibet were very pleasant and easy to get along with. Instead of being delighted, he was concerned that he would not have enough negative emotion to work with in his mind training practice. So he brought along his ill-tempered Bengali servant-boy, who would criticize him incessantly and was challenging to spend time with. Tibetan teachers then like to joke that when Atiśa arrived in Tibet, he realized there was no need after all.
The aphorisms on mind training in their present form were composed by Geshe Chekhawa
(1101–1175 CE). According to one account, Chekhawa saw a text on his cell-mate's bed, open to the phrase: "Gain and victory to others, loss and defeat to oneself". The phrase struck him and he sought out the author Langri Tangpa
(1054–1123). Finding that Langri Tangpa had died, he studied instead with one of Langri Tangpa's students, Sharawa, for twelve years.
Geshe Chekhawa is claimed to have cured leprosy with mind training. In one account, he went to live with a colony of lepers and did the practice with them. Over time many of them were healed, more lepers came, and eventually people without leprosy also took an interest in the practice. Another popular story about Geshe Chekhawa
and mind training concerns his brother and how it transformed him into a much kinder person.
Point One: The preliminaries, which are the basis for dharma practice
Point Two: The main practice, which is training in bodhicitta.
Point Three: Transformation of Bad Circumstances into the Way of Enlightenment
Point Four: Showing the Utilization of Practice in One's Whole Life
Point Five: Evaluation of Mind Training
Point Six: Disciplines of Mind Training
Point Seven: Guidelines of Mind Training
(one of the main founders of the non-sectarian Rime movement
of Tibetan Buddhism) in the 19th century. This commentary was translated by Ken McLeod
, initially as A Direct Path to Enlightenment. This translation served as the root text for Osho's Book of Wisdom. Later, after some consultation with Chogyam Trungpa
, Ken McLeod retranslated the work as The Great Path of Awakening.
Two significant commentaries to the root texts of mind training have been written by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
(founder of the New Kadampa Tradition
) and form the basis of study programs at NKT Buddhist Centers throughout the world. The first, Universal Compassion
is a commentary to the root text Training the Mind in Seven Points by Geshe Chekhawa
. The second, Eight Steps to Happiness is a commentary to the root text, Eight Verses of Training the Mind by Geshe Langri Tangpa
.
In 2006, Wisdom Publications published the work Mind Training: The Great Collection (Theg-pa chen-po blo-sbyong rgya-rtsa), translated by Thupten Jinpa. This is a translation of a traditional Tibetan compilation, dating from the fifteenth century, which contains altogether forty-three texts related to the practice of mind training. Among these texts are several different versions of the root verses, along with important early commentaries by Se Chilbu, Sangye Gompa, Konchok Gyaltsen, and others.
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa was a great Kadampa Buddhist meditation master who was the author of the celebrated root text, Training the Mind in Seven Points which is an explanation Buddha's instructions on training the mind or Lojong in Tibetan...
. The practice involves refining and purifying one's motivations and attitudes.
The fifty-nine or so proverbs that form the root text of the mind training practice are designed as a set of antidotes to undesired mental habits that cause suffering. They contain both methods to expand one's viewpoint towards absolute bodhicitta
Bodhicitta
In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...
, such as "Find the consciousness you had before you were born" and "Treat everything you perceive as a dream", and methods for relating to the world in a more constructive way with relative bodhicitta
Bodhicitta
In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...
, such as "Be grateful to everyone" and "When everything goes wrong, treat disaster as a way to wake up."
Prominent teachers who have popularized this practice in the West include Pema Chodron
Pema Chödrön
Pema Chödrön is a notable American figure in Tibetan Buddhism. A disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, she is an ordained nun, author, and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage which Trungpa founded....
, Ken McLeod
Ken McLeod
Ken McLeod is a senior Western translator, author and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He received traditional training mainly in the Shangpa-Kagyu lineage, through a long association with his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche, whom he met in 1970. McLeod resides in Los Angeles, CA where he founded...
, Alan Wallace, Chogyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...
, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Kelsang Gyatso
Kelsang Gyatso is a Buddhist monk, "meditation master, scholar, and author" of 22 books based on the teachings of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism...
, and the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
.
History of the practice
Lojong mind training practice was developed over a 300-year period between 900 and 1200 CECommon Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, as part of the Mahāyāna
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
school of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. Atiśa
Atisha
Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana was a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa, was one of the major figures in the establishment of the Sarma lineages in Tibet after the repression of Buddhism by King Langdarma .- Birth :Atisha is most commonly said to have been...
(982–1054 CE), a Bengali meditation master, is generally regarded as the originator of the practice. It is described in his book Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment
Bodhipathapradipa
Bodhipathapradīpa is a Buddhist text composed in Sanskrit by the teacher Atisha and widely considered his magnum opus. The text reconciles the doctrines of many various Buddhist schools and philosophies, and is notable for the introduction of the three levels of spiritual aspiration: lesser,...
(Bodhipathapradīpaṃ). The practice is based upon his studies with the Sumatran teacher, Dharmarakṣita, author of a text called the Wheel of Sharp Weapons. Both these texts are well known in Tibetan translation.
Atiśa journeyed to Sumatra and studied with Dharmarakṣita for twelve years. He then returned to teach in India, but at an advanced age accepted an invitation to teach in Tibet, where he stayed for the rest of his life.
A story is told that Atiśa heard that the inhabitants of Tibet were very pleasant and easy to get along with. Instead of being delighted, he was concerned that he would not have enough negative emotion to work with in his mind training practice. So he brought along his ill-tempered Bengali servant-boy, who would criticize him incessantly and was challenging to spend time with. Tibetan teachers then like to joke that when Atiśa arrived in Tibet, he realized there was no need after all.
The aphorisms on mind training in their present form were composed by Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa was a great Kadampa Buddhist meditation master who was the author of the celebrated root text, Training the Mind in Seven Points which is an explanation Buddha's instructions on training the mind or Lojong in Tibetan...
(1101–1175 CE). According to one account, Chekhawa saw a text on his cell-mate's bed, open to the phrase: "Gain and victory to others, loss and defeat to oneself". The phrase struck him and he sought out the author Langri Tangpa
Langri Tangpa
Geshe Langri Tangpa is an important figure in the lineage of the Kadampa and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Central Tibet, as Dorje Senge . His name derives from Langtang, the area in which he is said to have lived...
(1054–1123). Finding that Langri Tangpa had died, he studied instead with one of Langri Tangpa's students, Sharawa, for twelve years.
Geshe Chekhawa is claimed to have cured leprosy with mind training. In one account, he went to live with a colony of lepers and did the practice with them. Over time many of them were healed, more lepers came, and eventually people without leprosy also took an interest in the practice. Another popular story about Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa was a great Kadampa Buddhist meditation master who was the author of the celebrated root text, Training the Mind in Seven Points which is an explanation Buddha's instructions on training the mind or Lojong in Tibetan...
and mind training concerns his brother and how it transformed him into a much kinder person.
The Root Text
- The original Lojong practice consists of 59 slogans, or aphorisms. These slogans are further organized into seven groupings, called the '7 Points of Lojong.' The categorized slogans are listed below, translated by the Nalanda Translation Committee under the direction of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It is emphasized that the following is translated from ancient Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, and therefore may vary slightly from other translations. Some slogans may feel esoteric or difficult to comprehend. Many contemporary gurus and experts have written extensive commentaries elucidating the Lojong text and slogans. Some of these works can be found under the 'Notes' section of this article.
Point One: The preliminaries, which are the basis for dharma practice
- Slogan 1. First, train in the preliminaries; The four reminders.
- 1. Maintain an awareness of the preciousness of human life.
- 2. Be aware of the reality that life ends; death comes for everyone; ImpermanenceImpermanenceImpermanence is one of the essential doctrines or three marks of existence in Buddhism...
. - 3. Recall that whatever you do, whether virtuous or not, has a result; KarmaKarmaKarma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
. - 4. Contemplate that as long as you are too focused on self-importance and too caught up in thinking about how you are good or bad, you will suffer. Obsessing about getting what you want and avoiding what you don't want does not result in happiness; EgoEgo (spirituality)In spirituality, and especially nondual, mystical and eastern meditative traditions, individual existence is often described as a kind of illusion. This "sense of doership" or sense of individual existence is that part which believes it is the human being, and believes it must fight for itself in...
.
Point Two: The main practice, which is training in bodhicitta.
- Absolute Bodhicitta
- Slogan 2. Regard all dharmas as dreams.
- Slogan 3. Examine the nature of unborn awareness.
- Slogan 4. Self-liberate even the antidote.
- Slogan 5. Rest in the nature of alaya, the essence.
- Slogan 6. In postmeditation, be a child of illusion.
- Relative Bodhicitta
- Slogan 7. Sending and taking should be practiced alternately. These two should ride the breath.
- Slogan 8. Three objects, three poisons, three roots of virtue.
- Slogan 9. In all activities, train with slogans.
- Slogan 10. Begin the sequence of sending and taking with yourself.
Point Three: Transformation of Bad Circumstances into the Way of Enlightenment
- Slogan 11. When the world is filled with evil, transform all mishaps into the path of bodhi.
- Slogan 12. Drive all blames into one.
- Slogan 13. Be grateful to everyone.
- Slogan 14. Seeing confusion as the four kayas is unsurpassable shunyata protection.
- Slogan 15. Four practices are the best of methods.
- Slogan 16. Whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation.
Point Four: Showing the Utilization of Practice in One's Whole Life
- Slogan 17. Practice the five strengths, the condensed heart instructions.
- Slogan 18. The mahayana instruction for ejection of consciousness at death is the five strengths: how you conduct yourself is important.
Point Five: Evaluation of Mind Training
- Slogan 19. All dharma agrees at one point.
- Slogan 20. Of the two witnesses, hold the principal one.
- Slogan 21. Always maintain only a joyful mind.
- Slogan 22. If you can practice even when distracted, you are well trained.
Point Six: Disciplines of Mind Training
- Slogan 23. Always abide by the three basic principles.
- Slogan 24. Change your attitude, but remain neutral.
- Slogan 25. Don't talk about injured limbs.
- Slogan 26. Don't ponder others.
- Slogan 27. Work with the greatest defilements first.
- Slogan 28. Abandon any hope of fruition.
- Slogan 29. Abandon poisonous food.
- Slogan 30. Don't be so predictable.
- Slogan 31. Don't malign others.
- Slogan 32. Don't wait in ambush.
- Slogan 33. Don't bring things to a painful point.
- Slogan 34. Don't transfer the ox's load to the cow.
- Slogan 35. Don't try to be the fastest.
- Slogan 36. Don't act with a twist.
- Slogan 37. Don't make gods into demons.
- Slogan 38. Don't seek others' pain as the limbs of your own happiness.
Point Seven: Guidelines of Mind Training
- Slogan 39. All activities should be done with one intention.
- Slogan 40. Correct all wrongs with one intention.
- Slogan 41. Two activities: one at the beginning, one at the end.
- Slogan 42. Whichever of the two occurs, be patient.
- Slogan 43. Observe these two, even at the risk of your life.
- Slogan 44. Train in the three difficulties.
- Slogan 45. Take on the three principal causes.
- Slogan 46. Pay heed that the three never wane.
- Slogan 47. Keep the three inseparable.
- Slogan 48. Train without bias in all areas. It is crucial always to do this pervasively and wholeheartedly.
- Slogan 49. Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment.
- Slogan 50. Don't be swayed by external circumstances.
- Slogan 51. This time, practice the main points.
- Slogan 52. Don't misinterpret.
- Slogan 53. Don't vacillate.
- Slogan 54. Train wholeheartedly.
- Slogan 55. Liberate yourself by examining and analyzing.
- Slogan 56. Don't wallow in self-pity.
- Slogan 57. Don't be jealous.
- Slogan 58. Don't be frivolous.
- Slogan 59. Don't expect applause.
Commentaries
One seminal commentary on the mind training practice was written by Jamgon KongtrulJamgon Kongtrul
Jamgön Kongtrül is a name of a prominent line of Tibetan Buddhist teachers , primarily identified with the first Jamgon Kongtrul, but also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations , to date....
(one of the main founders of the non-sectarian Rime movement
Rime movement
Rimé is a Tibetan word which means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian". In a religious context, the word ri-mé is usually used to refer to the "Eclectic Movement" between the Buddhist Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu traditions, along with the non-Buddhist Bön religion, wherein practitioners...
of Tibetan Buddhism) in the 19th century. This commentary was translated by Ken McLeod
Ken McLeod
Ken McLeod is a senior Western translator, author and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He received traditional training mainly in the Shangpa-Kagyu lineage, through a long association with his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche, whom he met in 1970. McLeod resides in Los Angeles, CA where he founded...
, initially as A Direct Path to Enlightenment. This translation served as the root text for Osho's Book of Wisdom. Later, after some consultation with Chogyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...
, Ken McLeod retranslated the work as The Great Path of Awakening.
Two significant commentaries to the root texts of mind training have been written by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Kelsang Gyatso
Kelsang Gyatso is a Buddhist monk, "meditation master, scholar, and author" of 22 books based on the teachings of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism...
(founder of the New Kadampa Tradition
New Kadampa Tradition
The New Kadampa Tradition ~ International Kadampa Buddhist Union is a global Buddhist organisation founded by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in England in 1991. In 2003 the words "International Kadampa Buddhist Union" were added to the original name "New Kadampa Tradition"...
) and form the basis of study programs at NKT Buddhist Centers throughout the world. The first, Universal Compassion
Universal Compassion
Universal Compassion: Inspiring Solutions for Difficult Times, Tharpa Publications ISBN 978-0-948006-72-2 is a commentary to Geshe Chekhawa's Training the Mind in Seven Points by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, a Buddhist teacher and author in the West.Training the Mind in Seven Points is an explanation of...
is a commentary to the root text Training the Mind in Seven Points by Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa was a great Kadampa Buddhist meditation master who was the author of the celebrated root text, Training the Mind in Seven Points which is an explanation Buddha's instructions on training the mind or Lojong in Tibetan...
. The second, Eight Steps to Happiness is a commentary to the root text, Eight Verses of Training the Mind by Geshe Langri Tangpa
Langri Tangpa
Geshe Langri Tangpa is an important figure in the lineage of the Kadampa and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Central Tibet, as Dorje Senge . His name derives from Langtang, the area in which he is said to have lived...
.
In 2006, Wisdom Publications published the work Mind Training: The Great Collection (Theg-pa chen-po blo-sbyong rgya-rtsa), translated by Thupten Jinpa. This is a translation of a traditional Tibetan compilation, dating from the fifteenth century, which contains altogether forty-three texts related to the practice of mind training. Among these texts are several different versions of the root verses, along with important early commentaries by Se Chilbu, Sangye Gompa, Konchok Gyaltsen, and others.