lojong points 3, 4 and 5

lojong point 3: transforming adversity into the path of awakening

first, we train in the preliminaries, and cultivate bodhicitta. then, we come to the instructions or slogans on how to train our minds during difficult circumstances. others rarely act according to our views, hopes, and expectations. even the natural world can cause us difficulty, ranging from inconveniences to natural disasters. we are all continually exposed to illness, trauma, and mental distress. the Buddhist view is that this is the nature of our path, and not a mistake or a wrong. from the Buddhist perspective, all change is simply the result of conditions ripening into existence. everything is interconnected and interdependent.

we cannot make the world suit us, and we cannot bend reality to our will. as long as there is ignorance, hatred, jealousy, pride, and selfishness, things will be difficult. but because this is simply reality, Buddhism sees it as part of the path of awakening. Shantideva writes: “if there is a remedy when trouble strikes, what reason is there for despondency? and if there is no help for it, what use is there in being sad?”

in Buddhist understanding, obstacles are related to karma: what we experience as adversity consists of repercussions of deeds done in the past.

Alan Wallace

the fact that we will experience difficulty should not come as a surprise. we create it for ourselves with our interpretation and expectation. the best we can do is to expect difficulty, prepare for it, and recognize that suffering comes from us, not from the outside. it is better for us to live in reality than in our fantasies of how things should be. we cannot control pain, but we can change our attitude towards it. we can learn to see from direct perception, and notice the projections and distortions that thought and feeling add onto reality. this very perfect-imperfect world is the path to our awakening, and if we have this attitude when difficulty arrives, we can turn the difficulty into the rich ground of our maturing. every circumstance we will meet in this life has the capacity to wake us up a bit more and integrate us psychologically. lojong practice is about strengthening the mind, so that we don’t give up in the face of adversity. the slogans guide us on how to see reality and challenge our unconscious reactions. when our highest priority is spiritual growth or awakening, we see adversity not as something that should be pushed away, but something that provides rich soil for our growth.

the question then becomes not so much why these things happen, but what we can do about them once they do.

Traleg Kyabgon

11. when the world is filled with evil, transform unfavorable circumstances into the path of awakening

we can learn to face difficult circumstances and see them as the path of waking up. this requires us to work with our problems rather than ignoring them or hardening into resistance. every problem will have some difficult aspects, but also some good qualities. when we learn to discern these, we can use them to the benefit of everyone involved. our difficulties are opportunities to either undo the difficulty or deepen it. when we act mindfully and intelligently, we benefit, and when we react, we deepen the pain.

because fighting with others and ourselves only exacerbates our problems, we continually need to examine our negative responses, to see whether they serve any real purpose or whether they’re capitulations to the unconscious patterns that habitually influence us.

Traleg Kyabgon

in the deepest sense this slogan is about the cultivation of compassion. in Buddhism, compassion means skillful means, or a skill in means. the deeper the compassion that we draw on in the difficulty, the more these skillful means develop. in the lojong teachings three of these skillful means (upaya) exist for transforming adversity into the path of awakening. they are:

1. skillful means of relative bodhicitta
2. skillful means of absolute bodhicitta
3. special skillful means.

skillful means of relative bodhicitta

when circumstances are beyond our control, and we see ourselves as a victim, our suffering is worsened. our reactions are completely based on our interpretation and personalization, so if we focus on what to do, rather than what happened, we make things easier for ourselves. we respond to reality, rather than our story about it. where one person falls apart in difficulty, another rises above it, turning it into grist for the mill of strengthening the mind.

if we are skillful and precise about generating love and compassion, it will make us a person of significance — with integrity, dignity, depth, and weight — rather than someone who adds to another’s sense of self-inflation or advances his or her reputation by eliciting a positive response from others.

Traleg Kyabgon

it is only by taming our reactions and egoistic drives that we can disrupt our automatic and unconscious behavior. in the process, we develop real character. the whole purpose of the lojong is to allow us to experience difficulty and come out stronger and better. as long as we defend against or resist our experience, this cannot happen.

12. drive all blames into one

the first difficulty in this battle is recognizing the true enemy, self-centeredness, and the true ally, the sense of cherishing others.

Alan Wallace

when we’re upset or feel that something is wrong, we instinctively want to blame others, ourselves, or the circumstance. what we don’t realize is that, in blaming, we give others or circumstances power over our feelings. when we let go of blame, we are much more able to engage with the problem and find a solution.

if we look closely at our problems, we will see how we create our own pain, and how our egoistic needs underlie our suffering. watching our level of identification and expectation is one way to stay away from blame. the more self-absorbed we are, the more entangled we become in life’s circumstances. our egoism continually promises satisfaction, but if we watch the state of our mind, we notice that this satisfaction rarely happens, and when it does, it is fleeting.

the mind does not get disturbed because of other people’s behavior. frustration and unhappiness occur because self-centeredness makes us unable to bear other people’s behavior. self-centeredness has us in its power and can make us very unhappy.

Alan Wallace

driving all blames into one means seeing the conditions of our unhappiness. it means seeing that we are the origin of our problems. life stems from us, it is not against us. nobody needs to be blamed, including ourselves. we just need to recognize the origin of suffering. some teachers teach this slogan as “drive all blames into fear”. if we look deeply into our suffering, we will see how the fear of all the experiences we want to avoid underlies our pain.

when we see the size of ego, we may feel that we are wretched beings. at these times it is important to remember that we are more than ego. we are also awakened mind or wisdom mind, and we want to respond from the latter to the current difficulty. we can look at what we contribute to the difficulty with our thoughts, feelings, and actions. once we have this insight, we can move beyond ego and choose a response, rather than act out our automatic ego-centric reaction.

if we examine how we constantly personalize everything, we’ll see that the real source of our misery is this failure to manage, educate, and transform our mental states.

Traleg Kaybgon

blaming will not address our problems. from the Buddhist perspective, dealing with our reactions is a far more awakening and wholesome response. instead of going around trying to remove all the thorns in the world, we cover our feet with leather. this “leather” is the understanding that we are solely responsible for our feelings and responses.

the strategy of this slogan is to apply the remedy before we become engulfed by ego-grasping or self-centeredness. we use mindfulness to stay aware of when and where we collapse into contraction, defensiveness, and blame. when this happens, we remind ourselves not to fall into the trap of blame, and instead, to find a more wholesome response to the situation.

wherever this precious, supreme spirit of awakening, bodhicitta,
has not arisen, may it arise,
and where it has arisen, may it never decline,
but grow stronger and stronger.
Dharma Prayer

13. be grateful to everyone

even when we are not aware of it, people are doing things for us. think for example of the food we consume. it comes neatly packaged, easy to prepare, with most of the hard work already done. and even when we feel neglected our loved ones may have us in their hearts and thoughts. similarly, every time we feel we have been harmed by another, there may be a blessing in the experience.

this slogan reminds us that, especially when we feel low, we can remember the fact that we are provided for. when we go through painful turmoil, the fact that we can rely on others’ kindness can be a deep support.

if we see that it is our response to difficulties that determines what kind of impact they have on our lives, we’ll naturally begin to move toward a more meaningful engagement with our lives as they are.

Traleg Kaybgon

by introspecting and keeping things in perspective we help ourselves to not fall into the trap of fixating on others or situations. we don’t need to turn everything into a story. we can remember that each of us has our own karma, that we all suffer, and that we can draw strength from loved ones.

we determine our experienced reality by what we choose to attend to and how we attend to it. we create a problem when we focus on how much we have done for other people and how they are indebted to us.

Alan Wallace

skillful means of absolute bodhicitta

in the Buddhist teachings, love and compassion are infused with the qualities of nonattachment and equanimity. this does not mean indifference or a lack of feeling. rather, it stems from not being hooked by our feelings. to express our feelings clearly, we need to stay present and resist getting carried away by emotions. at the same time, we can remember that everyone suffers in one way or another. the slogan that follows is an instruction in staying connected with nonattachment and equanimity despite our circumstance.

14. seeing confusion as the four kayas, is unsurpassable emptiness protection

Alan Wallace translates this slogan as: by meditating on delusive appearances as the four embodiments, emptiness becomes the best protection.

we have a wisdom mind and a distorted egoic mind. nirvana and samsara are one. this slogan reminds us that all appearances of reality are the four aspects of Buddha’s or Awakened Being.

nirmanakaya refers to the constant stream of thoughts, feelings, and emotions taking place in consciousness. sambhogakaya represents the heart of our cognition and consciousness, and dharmakaya points to the emptiness of thought, feeling, and sensation. svabhavakaya represents the recognition that these three aspects are all one.

all our thoughts and emotions are expressions of emptiness, and when we realize this, the confusion we experience in the world is clarified. when we develop equanimity, we come to see the clarity in the confusion. we can discover the different aspects of our experience and recognize them for what they are, rather than identifying with them and being carried away by our experience, or the story we create about our experience.

discursive thoughts are like waves in the ocean.
although they arise, their essence is empty.
how joyful, this birth of the unborn!
Ngotrup Gyaltsen

this slogan also reminds us that our difficult experiences are the best places to practice the six perfections: generosity, discipline, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and wisdom. we will be looking more deeply at the perfections in the Being-Knowing section.

special skillful means

we are all trying to have a good life. however, because we lack mindfulness, we create the very situations we want to avoid. we act deceptively, but want to reap good outcomes. most of us are slaves to our impulses, and invariably act foolishly. the lojong offers the following two slogans as special skillful means to apply in our daily lives.

15. four practices are the best of methods

this slogan emphasizes the fact that our painful experiences are just temporary occurrences. we only need to act mindfully, and when the experience is over, there is no need to fixate on it or develop a story. the following four daily practices can help us to realize that pain is temporary:

1. accumulation of merit

through compassionate action we create a mental space that is healthy and open to developing. we’re priming mind to see from the perspective of compassion and understanding, and this opens up greater possibilities for transformation.

we accumulate merit by engaging in virtuous actions and cultivating wholesome mental states with a kind heart.

Traleg Kyabgon

2. confession
this practice is about acknowledging to ourselves (rather than to another, as in conventional confession) what we feel ashamed of. when our motivations are tainted by anger, egoism, jealousy, or resentment, we create imprints on the mind that slowly lead to a deepening of these patterns, and eventually they become our traits. by acknowledging our negative actions, we create a sense of regret that becomes the foundation of changed behavior.

3. ritual offerings to evil spirits
those who see symbolic meaning in events often develop beliefs about destructive forces or entities. making ritual offerings to these entities to appease their energies can bring significant relief.

4. ritual offerings to the dharma protectors
in Buddhism, dharma protectors are the forces, forms, or enlightened beings who protect us from adversity. we invoke their protection through ritual offerings or chanting. some Buddhist teachers reason that our psychological states themselves can be seen as either devilish or benevolent. by reminding ourselves of this when we experience negative states, we can call on the more positive forces that also reside in us.

16. whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation

in the previous slogan we were reminded that everything that happens to us is the very path we need to travel. now we’re reminded that everything we meet can be met with the mind of meditation.

it is a reminder not to respond to things in a habitual way, but rather to respond with understanding, openness, and courage by maintaining a sense of awareness.

Traleg Kyabgon

if we continually merely repeat our habitual responses or reactions we cannot expect to change. our stubbornness, egoism, arrogance, or domineering may make us feel that we are in charge of our lives, but if we do not work to change our reactions we will only repeat the past. this slogan reminds us that we can develop qualities such as openness, awareness, courage, and presence. we can use every situation on our path to remind us to come back to these qualities and base our actions on them.

lojong point 4: maintaining practice everywhere in our life and for the duration of our life

whatever occupation or activity you are engaged in — virtuous, nonvirtuous, or indeterminate — maintain mindfulness and awareness strictly and train again and again in keeping the two aspects of bodhicitta ever in mind.

Jamgön Kongtrül

point four of the lojong describes the practices that we need to constantly focus on during our life, as well as at the time of death. for Wallace, it is a short, simple, practical synthesis to sustain daily practice. slogan number seventeen deals with the pith instructions for life, and number eighteen, the pith instructions for death.

17. practice the five strengths, the condensed heart instructions

bodhicitta is the well-spring of happiness in the face of adversity, even in what might be considered the greatest adversity of all — death.

Allan Wallace

the five strengths, namely the strengths of aspiration, habituation, planting white seeds, exposure, and dedication, are five practices that we can learn to embody and rely upon in our everyday actions. all these practices aim to strike at the heart of our self-centeredness.

1. the strength of aspiration
in all our committed actions we can aspire to act for the benefit of everyone involved, including ourselves. to achieve this, we need to be clear about what motivates our action, and ensure that bodhicitta or awakened heart is generated and maintained. this strength is often called “the propelling power” because it projects a better future state.

to embody this strength, we can cultivate the habit of focusing on an aspiration or resolution whenever we begin a meaningful or earnest activity. here are a few suggested by Kyabgon:

may what i’m about to do yield beneficial results
may it give me the strength to be of real benefit to others
may it help me overcome defilement and delusion
may it clear away obstacles on the path
may it create more states of awakening

with the strength of aspiration, we resolve to not be separated from the two bodhicittas: wisdom and compassion. we also resolve to notice when our practice wanes. when this happens, we don’t need to give up or berate ourselves. we can simply take the realization as an aspiration to do better in the future, and then re-apply ourselves.

2. the strength of habituation
we tend to repeat behaviors that satisfy our needs, and so they become entrenched. many of these patterns are utterly self-defeating and negative, and yet we continually unconsciously repeat them. if we become aware of our habitual patterns, and identify the unhealthy ones, we can work to change them into healthier patterns. this strength is often called “the power of familiarity,” because we can familiarize ourselves with patterns of healthy behavior.

there’s nothing that does not grow light
through habit and familiarity.
putting up with little cares
i’ll train myself to bear with great adversity.
Shantideva

if we are willing to change our patterns, we can begin to replace self-defeating behaviors with healthy ones. then we apply discipline, sticking with our self-project until the new behaviors become habitual. we can overcome great obstacles in this incremental way. our traumatic reactions may never heal fully, but our delusion can gradually decrease. reactions may still occur, but they will be less energetic, and we will rebound quickly to a healthier response. every task becomes easier with repetition, and if we can persist, we can open to new ways of being in the world.

a true change in our habit patterns will produce a change in our character traits, and changing our character traits will result in our becoming a different person.

Traleg Kyabgon

3. the strength of planting white seeds
white seeds are positive thoughts (negative thoughts are black seeds), and this slogan heeds us to work with our thoughts directly. we can watch our speech to see what kinds of seeds we are planting. if we are forever finding fault, negatively interpreting feelings, or complaining, then we are planting black seeds.

through observing our thoughts and feelings we become more aware of our mental states, and this allows us to make different choices in how we relate to situations. Atisha, who created this lojong, writes:

i shall purify all my bodily
and my verbal forms of activity.
my mental activities, too, i shall purify
and do nothing that is non-virtuous.
Atisha: Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment

the word seed implies that the actions we are considering here are not necessarily big. they are, in fact, very small but dedicated changes to our thinking, feeling, and speech. the immediate effect is that our mind is clearer, and our speech more kind and encouraging. we can also see that the strengths support one another. aspiration is supported by habituation, and both only become possible through the strength of planting white seeds.

the more negativity we allow ourselves, the more we’ll feel distant and disconnected, but by planting white seeds, the cold separations that define the negative mind will gradually melt through the warmth of love, compassion, and joy.

Traleg Kyabgon

4. the strength of exposure
this strength focuses on the small actions that we are embarrassed about or try to hide. hiding these actions only encourages them to unconsciously grow, which makes it more likely that we will eventually be exposed. most of us live with this kind of self-deception, no longer considering our actions and their underlying motives, but simply acting out of habit. or we live with numerous delusions, and are at risk of suddenly being disillusioned. as painful as this disillusionment may be, the slogan reminds us that we can only work with that which is exposed. the strength of exposure allows us to live with vulnerability, and without deceit.

the power of exposure is the ability to break down our experiences and review them for what they are, so that we can gradually curtail perverse reasoning and gain insight into our mental states.

Traleg Kyabgon

if we can recognize when we become emotionally charged, we can learn to relax our fixation, our desired outcome, and our identification. we can allow ourselves to feel the pain of disappointment and unmet expectations, remind ourselves that we are not alone in this experience, and simply let it be. at times like this, the strength of exposure can be directly felt. we know our disappointment, and yet we stay aware and positive, allowing the loss to dissipate by itself.

as with all the strengths, the strength of exposure is a gradual process. it is helpful to remind ourselves of the slogan often, and to have a clear sense of where and how we are applying it in our daily lives.

until we are convinced that there is no benefit in externalizing negative emotions, we’ll never embark on a genuinely spiritual path.

Traleg Kyabgon

5. the strength of dedication
when our positive actions include others or the thought of others, they become very powerful. dedication does not only refer to dedicating ourselves to the action, but more importantly, it means that at the conclusion of a meaningful action or project we dedicate the merit or the gain to others. Buddhism promotes every practice or task ending with a dedication. the dedication consists of calling on bodhicitta (awakened heart), and wishing for the fruits of the action or practice to benefit many. according to the Buddhist perspective on karma, a good deed will bear fruit only once. however, any deed that is enhanced with the embodied experience of compassion, and is dedicated to others, will bear fruit repeatedly.

each of the five strengths is suitable to a particular circumstance. when we feel that something is lacking, we use aspiration to bring it to life. when we want to stabilize our thoughts and feelings, we use the strength of habituation. overcoming negativity happens through planting white seeds, and working more deeply with our shadow comes from the strength of exposure. the strength of dedication is used every time we commit ourselves to an act that is serious and meaningful to us.

18. the Mahayana instructions on how to die are the five strengths: how you conduct yourself is important

Buddhism teaches that we have the responsibility to live life well, and to die in the right spirit. death comes to everyone, through old age, illness, or unexpectedly (through accident, for example). if we’re fortunate, we’ll have all our faculties at the time of dying, and we’ll be able to attend to the process. this slogan tells us that the most important practices in death are the same as they are in life, but in a different order, and with different application.

1. the strength of planting white seeds
if we are unprepared for death, we will have little chance of overcoming our attachments. we may, for example, be hanging onto regrets or resentments. the only way to let these feelings go is to be familiar with the processes of forgiveness and generating compassion. in the process of death, the strength of planting white seeds means the constant willingness to let go. if we have a sense of unfinished business death can seem greatly disturbing. from the perspective of the lojong, our only remaining task at the point of death is to let go.

2. the strength of dedication
to keep the mind away from anxiety and fear, we can see our death as another opportunity to generate compassion, for ourselves and for those close to us. we can even see our death as for the benefit of all beings. a mind filled with love and compassion is the best place we can be in the process of death. the strength of dedication reminds us to continually generate love and compassion.

may my death be a good one, based on the worthy and beneficial actions i performed during my life. may i dwell in a state of peace and contentment, never parting from that state during death, the intermediate state, and all future lives.

Traleg Kyabgon

3. the strength of exposure
death is a time where we let go of our resentments or anger. it is the time to forgive, make an assessment of our own shortcomings, and expose these to ourselves. even just acknowledging our hidden anger is a step towards overcoming its negativity. death is a remarkable opportunity to let go of egoistic self-obsession and self-centeredness.

regret plays an important role in the process of death. it is through regret that we soften and determine to not repeat the actions that caused regret. it is never too late to see these grievances and let them go. if we need to make amends, this is the time to do it.

the potency of dying with a clear mind has such value that we ought to do everything in our power to free our minds by resolving the issues and misunderstandings that have arisen during the course of our lives.

Traleg Kyabgon

4. the strength of aspiration
in the context of death, aspiration means that we dissolve our pain and discomfort by generating the four immeasurables: love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. for more on their practice, see four energetic states of awareness. the more deeply familiar we are with these practices, the easier it will be to access them in the process of dying. we keep the mind clear of negativity and clinging, and instead focus on generating awakened heart: a palpable, warm, open, and clear state.

5. the strength of habituation
our death process may take weeks, days, hours, or a few moments. in any event, this is the most important place to habituate the mind by looking forward rather than holding back or dwelling on the past. we may even begin to forget the person we were and familiarize ourselves with living in awareness. this is also the time to bring to mind familiar practices and our memories of practicing with the lojong. we bring our mind fully into the moment, and resist the temptation to fall into self-pity or upset. any pain during death can be seen as the release of karmic inheritance. we can also use the pain to generate compassion and the wish for others to be free from pain. when the actual moment of death arises, we can practice tonglen (see lojong point two). through tonglen practice at the time of death we become willing to give away all our past happiness and goodness, and take on all the suffering of others, wishing for them to be free of suffering.

lojong point 5: evaluation of mind training

from time to time we may want to measure our progress in training our minds. the following four slogans do just that, by helping us to gauge whether our mind is becoming more self-centered or other-centered. they constitute the self-regulatory aspect of the lojong, and are also known as the four methods for evaluating our ability to exchange self with others.

when we engage in this self-assessment, it is important to remember that fixating on whether we’re progressing is just another form of self-centeredness.

19. all dharma has a single purpose

the Buddha taught dharma, which means knowable phenomena. he spoke only about what we can know directly in our experience. though the word dharma does not mean teaching, it became associated with the Buddha’s teachings. this slogan points at the fact that all Buddhist teachings have a single purpose, which is overcoming ignorance. our identification with a self, and the resulting projections and cognitive distortions, lead to delusional mental states that most of us accept as normal. the Buddhist teachings aim to make us aware of these delusions, and then to dismantle them.

the essential reason for our delusions is our preoccupation with ego. the more we desire specific outcomes, the more delusional we become. the more anxious or depressed our state of mind, the more we project our experience onto reality. the point of this slogan is to remind us of our predicament, and to reduce our delusion through meditation and the realization of selflessness.

all the Buddhist schools agree that the source of our ignorance comes from our conviction that there is a self-sufficient, discrete self and a substantial, immutable other.

Traleg Kyabgon

the ultimate Buddhist teaching is the realization of non-self, or emptiness; the realization that we are not independent, self-contained, discrete objects. this realization naturally leads to the experience of absolute compassion, the basic goodness of what is. in the Mahayana tradition, this understanding of selflessness is extended to include all phenomena, helping us to realize that the boundary we draw between self and other does not really exist. our thinking and conceptualization can lead to much delusion, but our direct perception leads to insight. when we develop an insight into, and appreciation of, non-duality, we recognize that the delusional and wisdom minds are one, and still, we have the choice of being in wisdom mind.

20. of the two witnesses, rely on the principal one

all of us experience self-witnessing as well as the way others witness us. this slogan tells us that, as much as we need to take others’ opinions into account, we do best by relying on self-knowledge. we are the ones who can judge ourselves most accurately, since it is easy to hide certain aspects of ourselves from others and present a certain image. we alone are aware of our thought and feeling processes. we alone know our true motivations and intentions.

at the same time, accurate self-assessment relies on being aware of our delusions, limitations, and self-deception. the first way to discover these is to become aware of our negative habits, thoughts, and attitudes. the second part of self-assessment has more to do with recognizing our true character, despite the delusions. this includes what we think of ourselves, and how we truly see ourselves.

examine yourself thus from every side.
note harmful thoughts and every futile striving.
thus it is that heroes in the bodhisattva path
apply the remedies to keep a steady mind.
Shantideva

if there has been a genuine shift from being self-obsessed to more other-regarding, the lojong practice has taken effect. if we have simply changed on a personal level, making everyday alterations that mean nothing, there has been no real progress in our mind training.

Traleg Kyabgon

21. always maintain only a joyful mind

another way to measure the success of our mind training is to assess whether we are becoming more accepting of others and ourselves. our typical reactions to others are driven by our unconscious patterns. successful lojong practice results in a decline in irritation and distraction in the face of trivial occurrences. in fact, the mature practitioner can stay joyful or cheerful even in difficult circumstance. in his Public Explication of Mind Training, Sangye Gompa describes it as follows: “in brief, whatever undesirable situations befall you, without any distress, learn to turn them into conditions favorable for training the mind, and whatever adversities occur, abide in joy so that its impact is magnified by your meditative equipoise.”

Buddhism acknowledges that it is difficult to practice love and compassion in difficult circumstance. and yet, by practicing the other-centered states of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity, we come to realize that adversity is a golden opportunity for intentional practice. thus, we are happy to have the opportunity to lean in.

we’re trying to develop an underlying sense of cheerfulness, one that doesn’t fluctuate between happiness and despair at a moment’s notice. it’s our internal monologues and expectations that make it difficult for us to maintain a sense of optimism.

Traleg Kyabgon

most of us are constantly trying to make ourselves more comfortable and give ourselves more positive experiences, and we feel frustration or even failure when our expectations are not met. this is a self-oriented stance, and through it, we create a great deal of pain for ourselves. we cannot enjoy the life that we have because we want more, and the wanting never ends, no matter how much we acquire. when we realize that we’re not in control of life, and we feel into the basic goodness of every situation, we naturally focus less on what is undesirable or lacking, and where we do perceive lack and discomfort, we use them for our development and maturing.

when bodhicitta is the highest priority, any circumstance is an opportunity for insight and compassion.

Allan Wallace

22. if you can practice even when distracted, you are well trained

like any habit, our proficiency in remaining undistracted during difficult circumstance gradually grows. we come to know reality more fully, and expect the “good” and the “bad,” equally. we keep extending our capacity to generate compassion. our minds become naturally inclined to mindfulness and awareness, and most situations lead us back to our mind training.

it is crucial to remember that living consciously does not mean we won’t experience pain. the pain of wisdom and insight into ourselves and situations can be very intense and penetrating, and being compassionate with others can be deeply distressing. being empathic with this pain does, however, bring relief.

even if our actions are small, if we persist, they will accumulate. the critical balance we need to work towards is to be satisfied with the results without becoming self-satisfied or complacent.