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Tonglen (, or tonglen) is Tibetan for 'giving and taking' (or sending and receiving), and refers to a
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
practice found in
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
. Tong means "giving or sending", and len means "receiving or taking". Tonglen is also known as exchanging self with other. It's the seventh slogan, under Relative
Bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta, ("enlightenment-mind" or "the thought of awakening"), is the mind (citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi), with wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings. Bodhicitta is the defining quali ...
, in
Lojong 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 motiva ...
. And is aspirational Bodhicitta precepts training in the
Longchen Nyingthig Longchen Nyingthig () is a '' terma'', revealed scripture, of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, which gives a systematic explanation of Dzogchen. It was revealed by Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798). Etymology Longchen Nyingthig may be transla ...
Ngöndro In Tibetan Buddhism, Ngöndro (, sa, pūrvaka) refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational practices or disciplines (Sanskrit: sādhanā) common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bon. They precede deity yoga. The p ...
, to see others as equal to self by exchanging self and other, where applying Bodhicitta begins with
giving Giving may refer to: * Gift, the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return * Generosity, the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return * Charity (practice), the giving of help to those in need ...
.


Practice

In the practice, one exchanges the self with other, sending and taking should be practiced alternately. These two should ride the breath. As such it is a training in
altruism Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a cor ...
. The function of the practice is to: * reduce selfish attachment * increase a sense of renunciation * purify
karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...
by giving and helping * develop and expand loving-kindness and
bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta, ("enlightenment-mind" or "the thought of awakening"), is the mind (citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi), with wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings. Bodhicitta is the defining quali ...
The practice of Tonglen involves all of the
Six Perfections 6 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 6 or six may also refer to: * AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era * 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era * The month of June Science * Carbon, the element with atomic number 6 * 6 Hebe, an asteroid Peop ...
; giving, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration and wisdom. These are the practices of a
Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
.


Practical aspects on this meditation

Patrul Rinpoche Patrul Rinpoche ( Wylie: ''dpal sprul rin po che'') (1808–1887) was a teacher and author from the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Biography Patrul Rinpoche was born in Dzachukha, a nomadic area of Golok Dzachukha, Eastern Tibet in 1808, a ...
(1808–1887), a prominent teacher and author from the
Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and trans ...
school of
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
gives the practice as starting on breathing out, with imagining
giving Giving may refer to: * Gift, the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return * Generosity, the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return * Charity (practice), the giving of help to those in need ...
(sending) happiness and the best. Then as breathing in, imagine taking (receiving) in the sufferings. Pema Chödrön, an American Tibetian Buddhist nun in the Shambhala Buddhism tradition (2000), says Tonglen can start on the inhale and gives the instruction as follows: The intention of this practice is to work with habitual patterns of mind and "develop the psychological attitude of exchanging oneself for others," as Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche writes in ''Training the Mind and Cultivating Kindness''. Taking onto oneself the suffering of others and giving happiness and success to all sentient beings seems a heavy task, especially for a beginner in the practice. It might be appropriate to start out with smaller issues, like working with oneself to increase one's own well-being, increasing harmony in the family, open one's own mind to communicate better with other people or just finding more peace in doing the necessary daily chores. This is an area where it might be easier to experience some success in order to be able to go on with taking on the unhappiness or conflicts among other people, even though the principal aim is to develop one's own selfless and empathic qualities more than or at least as much as creating a real difference for others. The principle of taking in the suffering or disharmony on the in-breath and spreading an antidote of joy, harmony or peace of mind (or whatever might be needed in the specific case) on the out-breath is the same as described above. It is also a good option to use a small pause after the in-breath to convert the suffering or disharmony to the positive antidote which is to be breathed out. Taking on suffering does not really mean to burden oneself with the misery of the world, but rather to acknowledge its existence and accept it. This makes it possible to increase one's own peace of mind at the same time as taking suffering or disharmony in, so there is less contradiction than there might seem to be.


History

This practice is summarized in seven points, which are attributed to the great Indian Buddhist teacher Atisha Dipankara Shrijnana, born in 982 CE. They were first written down by
Kadampa 300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa The Kadam school () of Tibetan Buddhism was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengali master Atiśa (982-1054) and his students like Dromtön (1005–1064), a Tibetan Buddhist lay master. ...
master
Langri Tangpa Geshe Langri Thangpa (གླང་རི་ཐང་པ། ; wylie: glang ri thang pa) (1054–1123) is an important figure in the lineage of the Kadampa and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Phenpo, as Dorje Senge (རྡོ་ར ...
(1054–1123). The practice became more widely known when Geshe
Chekawa Yeshe Dorje Geshe Chekhawa (or Chekawa Yeshe Dorje) (1102–1176) was a prolific Kadampa Buddhist meditation master who was the author of the celebrated root text ''Training the Mind in Seven Points'', which is an explanation of Buddha's instructions on train ...
(1101–1175) summarized the points in his ''Seven Points of Training the Mind''. This list of mind training (
lojong 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 motiva ...
) aphorisms or 'slogans' compiled by Chekawa is often referred to as the Atisha Slogans.


See also

*
Lojong 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 motiva ...
* Mettā - an associated practice *
Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are ''bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...


References


Further reading

*Kamalashila (1996). ''Meditation: The Buddhist Art of Tranquility and Insight''. Birmingham: Windhorse Publications. . * Trungpa, Chogyam. ''Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness''. Shambhala Classics. * H.H. The Dalai Lama. ''The Path To Tranquility: Daily Meditations''. Viking Adult, 1999. . * Chödrön, Pema. ''Tonglen: The Path of Transformation''. Vajradhatu Publications, 2000. * Chödrön, Pema. ''Comfortable With Uncertainty''. Shambhala Publications, 2003. .


Audio

* Chödrön, Pema. ''Good Medicine: How to Turn Pain into Compassion With Tonglen Meditation''. Sounds True, Inc, 2001. .


External links


Pema teaches Tonglen in these videos.
{{Buddhism topics Tibetan Buddhist meditation Tibetan words and phrases