Lojong (, 'mind training') is a contemplative practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition which makes use of various lists of aphorisms or slogans which are used for contemplative practice. The practice involves refining and purifying one's motivations and attitudes. There are various sets of lojong aphorisms; the most widespread text in the Sarma traditions is that of Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (12th century). There is also another set of eight lojong slogans by Langri Tangpa. In the Nyingma tradition, there is a list of seven lojong slogans which are part of the Dzogchen Nyingthig lineage. Lojong slogans are designed as a set of antidotes to undesired mental habits that cause suffering. They contain both methods to expand one's viewpoint towards absolute or ultimate bodhicitta, such as "Find the consciousness you had before you were born" and "Treat everything you perceive as a dream", and methods for relating to the world in a more constructive way with relative bodhicitta, such as "Be grateful to everyone" and "When everything goes wrong, treat disaster as a way to wake up." Prominent teachers who have popularized this practice in the West include Pema Chödrön, Ken McLeod, B. Alan Wallace, Chögyam Trungpa, Sogyal Rinpoche, Kelsang Gyatso, Norman Fischer and the 14th Dalai Lama.

History of the practice

Lojong mind training practice was developed over a 300-year period between 900 and 1200 CE, as part of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism. Atiśa (982–1054 CE), a Bengali meditation master, is generally regarded as the originator of the practice. It is described in his book Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathapradīpaṃ). The practice is based upon his studies with the Sumatran teacher, Dharmakīrtiśrī (Tib. Serlingpa, ), and the Indian teacher Dharmarakṣita, a prominent teacher at Odantapuri and author of a text called the Wheel of Sharp Weapons. Both these texts are well known in Tibetan translation. Atiśa's third major teacher of lojong is said to have been the junior Kusalī, known also as Maitrīyogi. Atiśa journeyed to Sumatra and studied with Dharmakīrtiśrī for twelve years. He then returned to teach in India, but at an advanced age accepted an invitation to teach in Tibet, where he stayed for the rest of his life. A story is told that Atiśa heard that the inhabitants of Tibet were very pleasant and easy to get along with. Instead of being delighted, he was concerned that he would not have enough negative emotion to work with in his mind training practice. So he brought along his ill-tempered Bengali servant-boy, who would criticize him incessantly and was challenging to spend time with. Tibetan teachers then like to joke that when Atiśa arrived in Tibet, he realized there was no need after all. The aphorisms on mind training in their present form were composed by Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (1101–1175 CE). According to one account, Chekhawa saw a text on his cell-mate's bed, open to the phrase: "Gain and victory to others, loss and defeat to oneself". The phrase struck him and he sought out the author Langri Tangpa (1054–1123). Finding that Langri Tangpa had died, he studied instead with one of Langri Tangpa's students, Sharawa Yönten Drak, for twelve years. Chekhawa is claimed to have cured leprosy with mind training. In one account, he went to live with a colony of lepers and did the practice with them. Over time many of them were healed, more lepers came, and eventually people without leprosy also took an interest in the practice. Another popular story about Chekhawa and mind training concerns his brother and how it transformed him into a much kinder person.

Chekawa Yeshe Dorje's root text

Chekawa Yeshe Dorje's lojong consists of 59 slogans, or aphorisms. These slogans are further organized into seven groupings, called the "7 Points of Lojong". The categorized slogans are listed below, translated by the Nalanda Translation Committee under the direction of Chögyam Trungpa. The following is translated from ancient Sanskrit and Tibetan texts and may vary slightly from other translations. Many contemporary gurus and experts have written extensive commentaries elucidating the Lojong text and slogans. (See the section "Commentaries", below, for examples). Point One: The preliminaries, which are the basis for dharma practice Point Two: The main practice, which is training in bodhicitta. Point Three: Transformation of Bad Circumstances into the Way of Enlightenment Point Four: Showing the Utilization of Practice in One's Whole Life Point Five: Evaluation of Mind Training Point Six: Disciplines of Mind Training Point Seven: Guidelines of Mind Training

Commentaries

One seminal commentary on the mind training practice was written by Jamgon Kongtrul (one of the main founders of the non-sectarian Rime movement of Tibetan Buddhism) in the 19th century. This commentary was translated by Ken McLeod, initially as A Direct Path to Enlightenment. This translation served as the root text for Osho's Book of Wisdom. Later, after some consultation with Chögyam Trungpa, Ken McLeod retranslated the work as The Great Path of Awakening. Two commentaries to the root texts of mind training have been written by Kelsang Gyatso (founder of the New Kadampa Tradition) and form the basis of study programs at NKT Buddhist Centers throughout the world. The first, Universal Compassion is a commentary to the root text Training the Mind in Seven Points by Chekawa Yeshe Dorje. The second, Eight Steps to Happiness is a commentary to the root text, Eight Verses of Training the Mind by Langri Tangpa. In 1994, Shambhala Publications first published Start Where you Are, A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chödrön, which is mostly commentary on the Lojong slogans. This work has been republished many times. In 2006, Wisdom Publications published the work Mind Training: The Great Collection (Theg-pa chen-po blo-sbyong rgya-rtsa), translated by Thupten Jinpa. This is a translation of a traditional Tibetan compilation, dating from the fifteenth century, which contains altogether forty-three texts related to the practice of mind training. Among these texts are several different versions of the root verses, along with important early commentaries by Se Chilbu, Sangye Gompa, Konchok Gyaltsen, Dalaielan Roebuck and others. In 2012, Shambhala Publications published Training in Compassion: Zen teachings on the Practice of Lojong by Zoketsu Norman Fischer which teaches ways to incorporate Lojong practices into Zen. Fischer felt that "the plain-speaking tradition of Zen might lend something to the power of the text" and that "although Zen is a Mahayana school (and therefore based on compassion teachings), it is nevertheless deficient in explicit teachings on compassion". In 2016, Shambhala Publications published The Intelligent Heart: A Guide to the Compassionate Life by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, with foreword by Pema Chödrön. In 2017, Shambhala Publications published The Compassion Book, Teachings to Awaken the Heart with the slogans translated by the Nalanda Translation Committee, and short commentaries by Pema Chödrön. This provides a very short summary of the slogans.

The seven lojongs in Nyingma

The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism has its own unique lojong tradition and root texts which is based on a set of seven lojongs. The first six aphorisms are mainly about common Buddhist Mahayana topics which can be found in the Sarma schools lojong texts, but the seventh lojong methods are unique to the Dzogchen tradition's lojong texts. The seventh lojong include methods which work with the energies and channels of the subtle body. The seven lojongs are found in the works of Longchenpa, who wrote a commentary on a text of Garab Dorje which is in turn a commentary to the root text of these lojongs, the Dzogchen Tantra of the Sole Offspring. Jigme Lingpa wrote a commentary on these seven points of mind training, which is called The Steps to Liberation. Later masters like Jamgyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgon Kontrul also wrote commentaries on these lojongs. The seven lojongs are as follows: