Tonglen
Tonglen (Tibetan: གཏོང་ལེན་, Wylie: gtong len, or tonglin[1]) is Tibetan for 'giving and taking' (or sending and receiving), and refers to a meditation practice found in Tibetan Buddhism.[2]
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[edit] Practice
In the practice, one visualizes taking onto oneself the suffering of others on the in-breath, and on the out-breath giving happiness and success to all sentient beings.[3][4] As such it is a training in altruism.[3][5]
The function of the practice is to:
- reduce selfish attachment[3]
- increase a sense of renunciation[2]
- create positive karma by giving and helping[2]
- develop and expand loving-kindness and bodhicitta[2][3]
The practice of Tonglen involves all of the Six Perfections;[2] giving, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration and wisdom. These are the practices of a Bodhisattva.[2]
H.H. The Dalai Lama, who is said to practise Tonglen every day,[6] has said of the technique:
Whether this meditation really helps others or not, it gives me peace of mind. Then I can be more effective, and the benefit is immense.[6]
His Holiness offers a translation of the Eight Verses in his book The Path To Tranquility: Daily Meditations.
[edit] History
This practice is summarized in seven points, which are attributed to the great Indian Buddhist teacher Atisha Dipankara Shrijnana,[7] born in 982 CE. They were first written down by Kadampa master Langri Tangpa (1054–1123). The practice became more widely known when Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (1101–1175) summarized the points in his Seven Points of Training the Mind.[8] This list of mind training (lojong) proverbs or 'slogans' compiled by Chekawa is often referred to as the Atisha Slogans.[8]
[edit] See also
- Lojong
- Pema Chödrön - a Buddhist nun who teaches lojong and tonglen
[edit] References
- ^ Asoka Selvarajah. The Tibetan Art Of Tonglen. Mystic Visions. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ a b c d e f Tonglen - Taking and Giving
- ^ a b c d TONGLEN - 'Sending and Taking'
- ^ http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/tonglen1.php "The Practice of Tonglen" by Pema Chodron
- ^ Tonglen Meditation: Increasing Compassion For All Beings (Including Self)
- ^ a b Tonglen Meditation (cached)
- ^ Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness
- ^ a b Learn to Train Your Mind
[edit] Further reading
- Kamalashila (1996). Meditation: The Buddhist Art of Tranquility and Insight. Birmingham: Windhorse Publications. ISBN 1-899579-05-2.
- Trungpa, Chogyam. Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness. Shambhala Classics. ISBN 1-59030-051-3
- H.H. The Dalai Lama. The Path To Tranquility: Daily Meditations. Viking Adult, 1999. ISBN 0-67088-759-5.
- Chödrön, Pema. Tonglen: The Path of Transformation. Vajradhatu Publications, 2000.
- Chödrön, Pema. Comfortable With Uncertainty. Shambhala Publications, 2003. ISBN 1-59030-078-5.
[edit] Audio
- Chödrön, Pema. Good Medicine: How to Turn Pain into Compassion With Tonglen Meditation. Sounds True, Inc, 2001. ISBN 1564558460.
[edit] External links
- The Heart-Practice of Tonglen
- The Practice of Tonglen by Pema Chodron
- Pema teaches Tonglen in these videos.
- The Tonglen and Mind Training Site
- Tonglen - Quotes Sogyal Rinpoche's Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
- The Thirty Seven Practices of the Bodhisattva by Ngulchu Gyalsas Thogmed Zangpo
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