Slogan #50
Don't be swayed by external circumstances.
This is the 50th day of exploring Lojong and how it relates to my practice and my life. What have I learned?
Start small and plant seeds of compassion in the minutiae of my everyday life.
Focus on relationships, beginning with the one that I’m having with myself and the tangible realities of my body and my breath. Practice Tonglen for others as well, including friends, family, co-workers, teachers, students, strangers, nature, and the earth. Everything is grist for the mill and everyone, especially the difficult people in my life, has something to teach me. The potential for compassion is everywhere from the most insignificant of moments to life-changing events when I’m aware, open, and willing to be vulnerable.
“In the Buddhist path, spiritual friendship takes place in the context of community. Life in a sangha is built on teaching, dedicated meditation practice, and a shared commitment to going beyond self-interest and personal need...It’s not unusual to be in a community with someone who pushes all your buttons. Exactly the sort of person you’d avoid at all costs in ordinary life will appear in your sangha. There he or she is—your father or sister, childhood nemesis, or ancient school or workplace enemy—sitting right across from you in the meditation hall. You will have to deal with this person in ways you never would have if left to your own devices. And eventually, they become a valued friend.”
Norman Fischer
Actions matter. Lojong is a 24/7 endeavor where ‘best interests’ take precedence over ‘self-interests’. As the traditional Zen saying goes, “Words don’t cook rice.”
Integration is a function of time.
“Practice takes time.
You can't make attention. You can only create the conditions in which it grows.
You can't make awareness. It's already there, but it's distorted by patterns of perception and emotional reaction.
It takes time for attention to grow. It takes time for new ways to evolve. It takes time to see differently.
The seeing happens in an instant, but it happens only when attention has grown and the conditions are right.
You can't speed this up any more than you can make a tree grow faster.
Time isn't the problem. It's a matter of priorities.
Make practice part of your life and organize everything else around it.
If you try to squeeze practice into your life, other demands squeeze it out. Inevitably.
There is no killer app, no magic pill, no silver bullet.
Bigger, better, faster doesn't work here.
Forget about being efficient. Be effective.
Clear away the weeds, work the soil and plant seeds. Then tend to them as they grow.
Each time you sit down to practice, take a few minutes to feel in your heart why this is important to you.
Nurture that seed, and all else follows.”Ken McLeod