Slogan #40

Correct all wrongs with one intention.

The intention to make compassion our default is similar to the previous slogan but this week, we are inwardly bowing to the external and internal obstacles or “wrongs” in our lives. It’s easy to pollute the Lojong teachings into opportunities to be superior, to feel special or better than everyone else. “I” and our many identities are nothing more than the armour that we’ve created around our hearts. Compassion training asks us to embrace paradox and intrapersonal dissonance and to dedicate our lives to be of benefit to ourselves and others.

The five mental afflictions are attachment, aversion, fear, ignorance, and pride. These can manifest in states of mind such as anxiety, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, doubt, shame, guilt, lethargy, etc. Let all these perceived hindrances be opportunities to deepen practice and reconnect with your capacity for presence, change, and transformation. Instead of reaction, resentment, and revenge, your one intention is to exchange yourself for another, good for evil, or right for wrong. So when poisons arise, practice Tonglen to transform poisons into seeds of self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-regulation. There is liberation and freedom waiting for each of us to uncover.

“Having that single underlying focus has a lot of power. When obstacles arise, they are abruptly brought short by the power of your intention. It is as if you have created a kind of gyroscope to guide your course and bring you back to stability when you lose your balance.”

Judy Lief