The Intelligent Heart: A Guide to the Compassionate Life
248The Intelligent Heart: A Guide to the Compassionate Life
248Paperback
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Overview
Dzigar Kongtrül's lively and accessible presentation of the Tibetan training method known as lojong (mind training) focuses on what he considers the heart of that practice: tonglen, the practice of exchanging self for other, for taking in others’ pain and suffering and sending out kindness, ease, and consolation. It’s a powerful method for developing compassion of the most transformative kind, and its supreme expression is found in the classic text The Great Path of Awakening by Jamgon Kongtrül.
This book is Dzigar Kongtrül's commentary on that beloved text, based on a series of talks he gave on it. It includes his fresh translation of the Great Path, and it is full of his characteristic humor as well as his skill in translating esoteric concepts into terms that not only are easily understood but that speak directly to the heart.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781611801781 |
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Publisher: | Shambhala |
Publication date: | 05/10/2016 |
Pages: | 248 |
Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Editor's Introduction xvii
Introduction It All Started with Tonglen 1
Point 1 The Preliminaries Teach the Foundation of Dharma Practice 11
1 First, train in the preliminaries 11
Point 2 The Main Practice: Training in Bodhicitta 23
2 Consider all phenomena as a dream 24
3 Examine the nature of unborn awareness 27
4 The antidote in itself is liberated 28
5 Rest in the nature of the alaya 28
6 In post-meditation, be a child of illusion 29
7 Practice giving and taking alternately. Mount both upon the breath 30
8 Three objects, three poisons, and three roots of virtue 50
9 In all conduct train with maxims 55
10 Begin the sequence of taking with oneself 57
Point 3 Transforming Adversity Into the Path of Enlightenment 59
11 When the world is full of evil, transform misfortune into the path of awakening 59
12 Realize all faults spring from one source 60
13 Meditate upon gratitude toward all 64
14 Meditate upon illusory appearance as the four kayas. This is the unsurpassable protection of emptiness 72
15 The four practices are the best of means 75
16 Use whatever you face as a practice immediately 80
Point 4 An Explanation of the Practices as a Way of Life 85
17 The pith instructions briefly summarized: apply the five strengths 85
18 The Mahayana instructions for the transference of consciousness are the five strengths. Conduct is vital 93
Point 5 Measures of Proficiency in Mind Training 105
19 All dharma agrees at a single point 105
20 Of the two witnesses, rely on the main one 109
21 Always maintain a joyful attitude 110
22 You have reached proficiency if you can practice even while distracted 113
Point 6 Commitments of Mind Training 117
23 Always train in the three basic principles 119
24 Transform your attitude and remain natural 121
25 Do not speak about the downfalls of others 123
26 Do not ponder others' business 124
27 Train with the strongest emotions first 126
28 Abandon any expectation of fruition 130
29 Abstain from toxic food 131
30 Do not be a loyalist 132
31 Do not be contentious 133
32 Do not wait in ambush 134
33 Do not pounce upon vulnerability 135
34 Do not transfer the dzo's load onto the ox 136
35 Do not be competitive 138
36 Do not twist the practice 139
37 Do not bring a god down to the level of a demon 140
38 Do not seek out others' suffering as the limbs of your delight 141
Point 7 Guidelines For Mind Training 145
39 Use one practice for everything 145
40 Use a single corrective for everything 146
41 Two things to do: one at the beginning, one at the end 148
42 Whichever of the two arises, be patient 149
43 Protect the two as dearly as your life 152
44 Train in the three difficulties 153
45 Take up the three principal causes 155
46 Practice to not let the three degenerate 156
47 Remain inseparable from the three 157
48 Practice impartially toward everything. Deep and comprehensive mastery overall is essential 158
49 Always meditate on whatever is most challenging 159
50 Do not rely on other factors 159
51 Practice what is essential now 160
52 Do not dwell in misunderstanding 161
53 Do not be sporadic 164
54 Train wholeheartedly 165
55 Find liberation through both reflection and analysis 165
56 Do not feel the world owes you 166
57 Do not be reactive 166
58 Do not be temperamental 167
59 Do not self-aggrandize 168
Conclusion 169
Appendix: The Seven Points of Mahayana Mind Training 171