Lojong

Lojong - Norman Fischer

Based on Norman's interpretation of lojong, I have developed a habit of writing out them whenever I feel like I am off the track. It works every time, amazingly.

1. Train in preliminaries: life is precious; death is right here; watch your karma; Dukkha is the way of life - embrace it and enjoy the struggling.

2. See everything as a dream, because it really is.

3. Examine the nature of awareness: empty, no self, it is just a process.

4. Don't get stuck on peace, still you need to try your best and be kind to every one.

5. Rest in the openness of mind: alaya. Relax, have some faith, everything will be just fine in the end.

6. In post meditation be a child of illusion.

7. Practice sending and receiving alternatively on breath.

8. Begin the sending and receiving practice with yourself.

9. Turn things around: greed into generosity; hatred into loving kindness; delusion into wisdom.

10. Always train with slogans.

11. Turn every mishap into the path: there is a lesson to learn from anything in life.

12. Drive every blame into one: you can only blame on yourself.

13. Be grateful to everyone.

14. See confusion as Buddha and practice emptiness.

15. Do good, don't be evil, enjoy your lunacy, and pray for help (have some faith).

16. Anything you meet is the path.

17. Cultivate a serious attitude: familiarity, virtue of seeds, aspiration.

18. Practice for death as well as for life.

19. There is only one point: get rid of the stubborn self-centeredness.

20. Trust your own eyes: count on yourself, your own practice. Remember everybody is already a Buddha.

21. Maintain joy and don't lose your sense of humor.

22. Practice when distracted.

23. Come back to basics: vows and practice.

24. Don't be a phony: there is NOTHING special about your spiritual training, just do it, and practice as if your head is on fire - because it is true.

25. Don't talk about faults - injured limbs. Nobody is perfect, see the positive side.

26. Don't figure others out - everybody is fighting a hard battle, you have no idea what they are going through, just keep that in mind and don't judge.

27. (Instead) work on your own biggest problem.

28. (And in the mean time) You need to abandon the hope (of fruition) - just practice, no expectations.

29. Don't poison yourself (with self-centeredness).

30. Don't be so predictive, to get even, to avenge. It's not worth it.

31. Don't malign others.

32. Don't wait in ambush.

33. Don't make everything so painful: never criticize others, you can only joke about in a kind way. In the end it's their karma to figure it out themselves.

34. Don't unload on everyone.

35. Don't go so fast: slow down, don't rush. Good things take long time to come by, great things take really really long time.

36. Don't be tricky: no agenda.

37. Don't turn gods into demons. Positive, positive, positive.

38. Don't rejoice other's pain.

39. Keep a single intention: the vow of bodhisattva.

40. Correct all wrong with one intention.

41. Begin in the beginning, end in the end.

42. Be patient either way.

43. Observe, even if it costs you everything.

44. Observe, let it go, and cut it through.

45. Keep three principal causes.

46. Keep them inseparable.

47. Don't lost track.

48. Train whole-hearted, openly, and consistently.

49. Stay close to your resentment (and resistance).

50. Don't be swayed by external circumstance.

51. This time get it right !

52. Don't misinterpret !

53. Don't vacillate.

54. Be whole hearted.

55. Examine and analyze.

56. Don't willow in self pity.

57. Don't be jealous.

58. Don't be frivolous.

59. Don't expect applause.