{"id":225,"date":"2021-09-25T21:45:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T21:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mind-here-and-hereafter.org\/?page_id=225"},"modified":"2021-10-01T00:32:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T00:32:34","slug":"seven-point-mind-training","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mind-here-and-hereafter.org\/?page_id=225","title":{"rendered":"Meaning and Origin of Mind Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Tibetan term lojong<\/em> is composed of two syllables. Lo<\/em> stands for \u201cmind,\u201d \u201cthought,\u201d or \u201cattitudes,\u201d while jong<\/em> connotes several interrelated but distinct meanings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, jong<\/em> can refer to training whereby one acquires a skill or masters a field of knowledge. Jong<\/em> can also connote habituation or familiarization with specific ways of being and thinking. Third, jong<\/em> can refer to the cultivation of specific mental qualities, such as universal compassion or the awakening mind. Finally, jong<\/em> can connote cleansing or purification, as in purifying one\u2019s mind of craving, hatred, and delusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these different meanings carry the salient idea of transformation, whereby a process of training, habituation, cultivation, and cleansing induces a kind of metanoesis, from the ordinary deluded state, whose modus operandi is self-centeredness, to a fundamentally changed perspective of enlightened, other-centeredness. Today, thanks to research on neuroplasticity, we have a much better appreciation of the brain\u2019s capacity for transformation and change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broadly speaking, all the teachings of the Buddha can be characterized as \u201cmind training\u201d in the senses described above. However, the genre called mind training<\/em> or lojong<\/em> refers to specific approaches for cultivating the awakening mind<\/em>\u2014the altruistic aspiration to seek full awakening for the benefit of all beings\u2014especially through the practice of equalizing and exchanging of self and others as found in \u015a\u0101ntideva\u2019s eighth-century classic, A Guide to the Bodhisattva\u2019s Way of Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two famous short works of the Tibetan mind training genre are today well known to the English-speaking world, with numerous commentaries by contemporary Tibetan teachers. These are Langri Thangpa\u2019s Eight Verses on Mind Training<\/em> and Chekawa\u2019s Seven-Point Mind Training<\/em>. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Tibetan sources identify the Indian Bengali master Ati\u015ba (982\u20131054) to be the source of lojong<\/em> in Tibet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judging by currently available literature, the early origins of mind training as a separate genre of texts and spiritual practice appear to lie in the varied pithy instructions Ati\u015ba may have given individually to many of his disciples. These instructions came to be later compiled under the rubric of \u201croot lines on mind training,\u201d thus forming the basis for the emergence of subsequent lojong<\/em> literature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A well-known legend associated with the emergence of the lojong<\/em> teachings is Ati\u015ba\u2019s sea voyage to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where he went to seek the instruction on \u201cmind training\u201d from Serlingpa. It is from him Ati\u015ba is said to have received the profound instruction on the techniques of \u201cequalizing and exchanging self and others,\u201d which entails a disciplined process aimed at radically transforming our thoughts, prejudices, and habits from self-centeredness to other-centered altruism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years later, in Tibet, whenever Ati\u015ba uttered his teacher Serlingpa\u2019s name, it is said, he would instinctively fold his palms together in homage with tears in his eyes. \u201cWhatever degree of kind heart I possess,\u201d he is reputed to have exclaimed, \u201cthis is due entirely to my teacher Serlingpa.\u201d Such was the depth of Ati\u015ba\u2019s gratitude for having received the mind training instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Thupten Jinpa. Translated, edited, and introduced by Thupten Jinpa. Essential Mind Training: Tibetan Wisdom for Daily Life<\/em>. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Contemplation<\/strong>:
First, jong<\/em> can refer to training whereby one acquires a skill or masters a field of knowledge. Jong<\/em> can also connote habituation or familiarization with specific ways of being and thinking. Third, jong<\/em> can refer to the cultivation of specific mental qualities, such as universal compassion or the awakening mind. Finally, jong<\/em> can connote cleansing or purification, as in purifying one\u2019s mind of craving, hatred, and delusion.
All these different meanings carry the salient idea of transformation, whereby a process of training, habituation, cultivation, and cleansing induces a kind of metanoesis, from the ordinary deluded state, whose modus operandi is self-centeredness, to a fundamentally changed perspective of enlightened, other-centeredness. Today, thanks to research on neuroplasticity, we have a much better appreciation of the brain\u2019s capacity for transformation and change.
(Thupten Jinpa)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tibetan term lojong is composed of two syllables. Lo stands for \u201cmind,\u201d \u201cthought,\u201d or \u201cattitudes,\u201d while jong connotes several interrelated but distinct meanings. First, jong can refer to training whereby one acquires a skill or masters a field of knowledge. Jong can also connote habituation or familiarization with specific ways of being and thinking. Third, jong can refer to the cultivation of specific mental qualities, such as universal compassion or the awakening mind. Finally, jong can connote cleansing or purification, as in purifying …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-225","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nMeaning and Origin of Mind Training - Mind: Now and Beyond<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mind-here-and-hereafter.org\/?page_id=225\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meaning and Origin of Mind Training - Mind: Now and Beyond\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Tibetan term lojong is composed of two syllables. Lo stands for \u201cmind,\u201d \u201cthought,\u201d or \u201cattitudes,\u201d while jong connotes several interrelated but distinct meanings. First, jong can refer to training whereby one acquires a skill or masters a field of knowledge. Jong can also connote habituation or familiarization with specific ways of being and thinking. Third, jong can refer to the cultivation of specific mental qualities, such as universal compassion or the awakening mind. 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Lo stands for \u201cmind,\u201d \u201cthought,\u201d or \u201cattitudes,\u201d while jong connotes several interrelated but distinct meanings. First, jong can refer to training whereby one acquires a skill or masters a field of knowledge. Jong can also connote habituation or familiarization with specific ways of being and thinking. Third, jong can refer to the cultivation of specific mental qualities, such as universal compassion or the awakening mind. 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