III.20.

20. Drive all blames into one. The “one” in this slogan is ego clinging, which is painful because being uptight all the time about myself makes me very vulnerable to suffering. Whenever I notice I am acting habitually – whether it’s blaming, wallowing in self-pity, pondering others, or any of the many other patterns described …

II.2.

2. Regard all dharmas as dreams. This slogan, the first of the five absolute bodhicitta slogans, invites us to begin to experience the open, spacious quality of the mind. The word “dharmas” means our mental and physical experiences. We are encouraged to notice this paradox: despite being vivid and clear and seemingly solid, when we …

IV.44.

44. Train wholeheartedly. This very simple yet powerful slogan exhorts me to let everything stop my mind and open my heart. Moment after moment I can let myself live and die wholeheartedly. Original Presentation || Commentary References Point VII | Slogan 54 || CTR 108 | PC 142

II.3.

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 …

IV.45.

45. This time, practice the main points. Now is a crucial time to practice, because we have everything we need to open our hearts and to work with others in a genuine, sane manner. The main points are: The first point is self explanatory as the practice of exchanging self for others is at the …

II.4.

4. Self-liberate even the antidote. The “antidote” in this slogan is the realization that mind and thoughts are unborn and empty of a separate and permanent existence, as described in the previous slogan. This realization can become a trap when we think, “well, if everything is empty, then why bother?” In Buddhism this trap is …

IV.46.

46. Observe these two, even at the risk of your life. This slogan refers to the Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows that one might take as part of the Mahayana path, described in the commentary for Slogan 35. The second part of the slogan, “even at the risk of your life,” points to the urgency and …

II.5.

5. Rest in the nature of alaya, the essence. In the Tibetan system there are eight consciousnesses. The first five are the sense consciousnesses: visual (eye), auditory (ear), olfactory (nose), taste (tongue), touch (body). The sixth is the mental consciousness that governs and integrates the first five. The seventh is “nuisance mind” or conceptual mind, …

IV.47.

47. The Mahayana instruction for ejection of consciousness at death is the five strengths. How you conduct yourself is important. This second slogan about the Five Strengths calls us to make friends with death. Because we are born, we die. Here are the Five Strengths as they apply to this slogan: A number of years …

II.6.

6. In post-meditation, be a child of illusion. This is the final absolute bodhicitta slogan. It deals with the post-meditation experience, which is essentially everything that happens off the cushion. Trungpa Rinpoche writes, “Being a child of illusion means that you continue what you have experienced in your sitting practice…into postmeditation experience.” You continue to …