Lojong, training of the mind in seven points Transcript

Gehlek Rimpoche, 2000.
Commentary on Mind Training based on the root text by Geshe Chekawa.

According to Buddha the original cause for our experiencing happiness and suffering lies within our own minds. If we want to free ourselves from problems and pain, we'll have to free ourselves from our habitual patterns of thought, which work as compelling automatisms.

The most compelling among these automatisms and the one which is the hardest to cope with is the continual creation of ego. In this specific lojong commentary Rinoche hands us "nine bullets to shoot at ego". If they reach their target, this clears the way towards opening up our innate goodness. This can come about by practicing tonglen, the method of giving and taking.

Because of its clear-cut meditation instructions (among which those how to practice tonglen), this commentary given in 1999 in New York, NY and in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, has become a practical guide on how to practice spiritual hygiene in our relational sphere.