For instructive comments about the value of mind training, see quoted excerpts in the Contemplation at the end of this section (below the photo).
Don’t even consider the ephemeral happiness that results from birth in the higher realms of gods and men. Although the enlightenment of shravakas and pratyekabuddhas can be realised, it is not a final nirvana or transcendence of misery.
Consequently, we should strive only for the state of completely perfected buddhahood. There are no methods to effect this attainment other than those which rely on two forms of meditation: relative bodhicitta, which is training the mind in love and compassion, and ultimate bodhicitta, which is resting evenly in a non-discursive state free from conceptual elaborations. Nagarjuna says:
If the rest of humanity and I
Wish to attain unsurpassable awakening,
The basis for this is bodhicitta
As stable as the King of Mountains:
Compassion, which touches everything,
And pristine wisdom, which does not rely on duality.
Moreover, whatever accumulations of merit and wisdom we may have, the root of spiritual development in the Mahayana, the six perfections, non-abiding nirvana (a synonym for full awakening or buddhahood), and so on, is simply the arousal of bodhicitta. It arises on the basis of love and compassion.
Even when full buddhahood is attained, there is nothing to do except to work for the welfare of others with non-referential compassion.
True ultimate bodhicitta will not arise in the course of experience of beginners, but relative bodhicitta will definitely arise if they train in it. With the development of relative bodhicitta, ultimate bodhicitta will be realized naturally.
So, for these and many similar reasons, we must meditate energetically on relative bodhicitta at the beginning if we are to achieve any meaningful results with respect to bodhicitta.
For someone who wishes instruction on this subject, the basic method for training is, as Shantideva says:
He who desires shelter quickly
For himself and for all others
Should use this sacred mystery,
The exchanging of oneself for others.
Consequently, the method of meditation of exchanging oneself for others is explained in what follows (in the book; see citation at end of this section). All other methods of mind training are simply elaborations of this theme.
The Root Text of the Seven Points of Training the Mind
Translated by the Nālandā Translation Committee under the direction of Vidyādhara the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Point One: The Preliminaries, Which Are a Basis for Dharma Practice
{I prostrate to the great compassionate one.}
1. First, train in the preliminaries.
Point Two: The Main Practice, Which Is Training in Bodhichitta
{Absolute Bodhichitta}
2. Regard all dharmas as dreams.
3. Examine the nature of unborn awareness.
4. Self-liberate even the antidote.
5. Rest in the nature of ālaya, the essence.
6. In post-meditation, be a child of illusion.
{Relative Bodhichitta}
7. Sending and taking should be practiced alternately.
These two should ride the breath.
8. Three objects, three poisons, and three seeds of virtue.
9. In all activities, train with slogans.
10. Begin the sequence of sending and taking with yourself.
Point Three: Transformation of Bad Circumstances into the Path of Enlightenment
11. When the world is filled with evil, transform all mishaps into the path of bodhi.
12. Drive all blames into one.
13. Be grateful to everyone.
14. Seeing confusion as the four kāyas is unsurpassable shūnyatā protection.
15. Four practices are the best of methods.
16. Whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation.
Point Four: Showing the Utilization of Practice in One’s Whole Life
17. Practice the five strengths, the condensed heart instructions.
18. The Mahāyanā instruction for ejection of consciousness at death
Is the five strengths: how you conduct yourself is important.
Point Five: Evaluation of Mind Training
19. All dharma agrees at one point.
20. Of the two witnesses, hold the principal one.
21. Always maintain only a joyful mind.
22. If you can practice even when distracted, you are well trained.
Point Six: Disciplines of Mind Training
23. Always abide by the three basic principles.
24. Change your attitude, but remain natural.
25. Don’t talk about injured limbs.
26. Don’t ponder others.
27. Work with the greatest defilements first.
28. Abandon any hope of fruition.
29. Abandon poisonous food.
30. Don’t be so predictable.
31. Don’t malign others.
32. Don’t wait in ambush.
33. Don’t bring things to a painful point.
34. Don’t transfer the ox’s load to the cow.
35. Don’t try to be the fastest.
36. Don’t act with a twist.
37. Don’t make gods into demons.
38. Don’t seek others’ pain as the limbs of your own happiness.
Point Seven: Guidelines of Mind Training
39. All activities should be done with one intention.
40. Correct all wrongs with one intention.
41. Two activities: one at the beginning, one at the end.
42. Whichever of the two occurs, be patient.
43. Observe these two, even at the risk of your life.
44. Train in the three difficulties.
45. Take on the three principal causes.
46. Pay heed that the three never wane.
47. Keep the three inseparable.
48. Train without bias in all areas.
49. It is crucial always to do this pervasively and wholeheartedly.
50. Aways meditate on whatever provokes resentment.
51. Don’t be swayed by external circumstances.
52. This time, practice the main points.
53. Don’t misinterpret.
54. Don’t vacillate.
55. Train wholeheartedly.
56. Liberate yourself by examining and analysing.
57. Don’t wallow in self-pity.
58. Don’t be jealous.
59. Don’t be frivolous.
60. Don’t expect applause.
When the five dark ages occur,
This is the way to transform them into the path of bodhi.
This is the essence of the amrita of the oral instructions,
Which were handed down from the tradition of the sage of Suvarnadvipa.
Having awakened the karma of previous training
And being urged on by intense dedication,
I disregarded misfortune and slander
And received oral instruction on taming ego-fixation.
Now, even at death, I will have no regrets.
{These two verses are the concluding comments of Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, the author of The Root Text of the Seven Points of Training the Mind.}
Source: Based on Kongtrul, Jamgon. The Great Path of Awakening: The Classic Guide to Lojong, a Tibetan Buddhist Practice for Cultivating the Heart of Compassion. Translated by Ken McLeod. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2005.
These Tibetan Buddhist slogans (called lojong, or “mind-training” teachings) offer pithy, powerful reminders on how to awaken our hearts in the midst of day-to-day life, under any circumstances.
When I first read these slogans, I was struck by their unusual message: we can use everything we encounter in our lives—pleasant or painful—to awaken genuine, uncontrived compassion.
The lojong teachings include a very supportive meditation practice called tonglen (“taking in and sending out”). This is a powerful practice designed to help ordinary people like ourselves connect with the openness and softness of our hearts.
The basic notion of lojong is that we can make friends with what we reject, what we see as “bad” in ourselves and in other people. At the same time, we could learn to be generous with what we cherish, what we see as “good.” If we begin to live in this way, something in us that may have been buried for a long time begins to ripen. Traditionally, this “something” is called bodhichitta, or “awakened heart.” It’s something that we already have but usually have not yet discovered.
(Source: Pema Chodron, The Compassion Book: Teachings for Awakening the Heart)