Three of the Lojong slogans refer to two Buddhist vows one might take, the refuge and bodhisattva vows. Slogan 32 invites us to always abide by the three basic principles, one of which is the vows you have taken. Slogan 38 is a reminder to pay heed that the three never wane; one of the …
In the past few weeks I have updated the written and audio commentary for Slogan 19, “Don’t seek others’ pain as the limbs of your own happiness,” Slogan 23, “Whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation,” and Slogan 27, “Don’t be swayed by external circumstances.” These updates are based on a more sophisticated understanding of …
After writing the update in the previous post, I wonder once again why I am doing a blog. Is anybody reading it? Nobody has commented on my posts other than spam. I have not received any feedback on the website itself except from those I’ve asked directly, so I don’t even know how frequently (or …
Earlier this week my partner and I came to Slogan 40, Two activities, one at the beginning and one at the end. The two activities are 1) in the morning, setting an intention for the day; and 2) before sleeping, reflecting on how it went bringing this intention to life. As usual when encountering this …
My partner and I try to sit every day, and as part of our practice we listen to the commentary from one of the revised Lojong slogans. Usually I use the Search function at the top of each page to easily navigate to the commentary page and listen to the recording. We started the sequence …
Read more “An outrageous, serendipitous, auspicious coincidence”
My partner recently started serving in a caregiving position and we’ve been talking a lot about how she wants to show up in this role. This morning she said something like, “I want to remember that whatever happens is not about me.” This got me thinking about my experience in a chaplaincy internship when I …
This morning my partner and I practiced with Slogan 46: Observe these two, even at the risk of your life. The slogan refers to the Refuge and Bodhisattva vows one takes as part of the Mahayana Buddhist path. This slogan led me to recall my experience of taking these vows. I took the refuge vow …
This morning when I listened to the commentary for Slogan 45, This time, practice the main points, I found it a bit sparse! So I have added a bit of explanation and updated the commentary page.
Earlier this week I watched the Brad Pitt film Moneyball for the first time. While I liked the movie well enough, what really touched me was the song “The Show” performed by Kerris Dorsey, a young actor playing Pitt’s 12-year-old daughter. I loved the sweetness of her voice and the poignant lyrics. Today in our …
3. Examine the nature of unborn awareness. “Regarding all dharmas as dreams” can lead me to complacency about my experience, so that I drift into fantasy and dreaminess and lose touch with the vivid quality of phenomena. This slogan brings me back to simply looking at the mind. Mind is unborn because it has no …