“Although we don’t like to think about it, it seems that sorrow and suffering are inevitable in any human life, even a happy one. There’s the suffering of loss, of disappointment, of disrespect; the suffering of physical pain, illness, old age; the suffering of broken relationships, of wanting something badly and not being able to have it, or not wanting something and being stuck with it. There’s the inevitable suffering of painful, afflictive emotions, like jealousy, grief, anger, hatred, confusion, anguish—all kinds of emotions that cause suffering. These things are part of life. No one can avoid suffering. Given that this is so, how can we not take our lives in hand and make a serious effort to develop wisdom, compassion, and resilience? How can we not prepare our minds and hearts for the inevitable suffering that we are going to be facing someday? We have insurance for our car or home because we know we need to protect ourselves from the possibility of accident and loss. We go to the doctor because we know our health requires protection. Why then would we not think to guard and strengthen our mind and heart to cope with the suffering that certainly will be coming in some measure at some time?” - Norman Fischer
I first heard about this book on a silent meditation retreat by Sarah and Ty Powers. One of the themes of the retreat was to observe the Judging, Fixing, Comparing mind. As we are programmed to stay safe, from deep within the limbic brain, it is something we do all day every day. Mind-training, or Lojong, is a mind training practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of aphorisms brought to Tibet by an Indian Buddhist teacher named Atisha. The practice involves refining and purifying one's motivations and attitudes. The 59 proverbs, grouped as 7 points, that form the root text of the mind training practice are designed as a set of antidotes to undesired mental habits that cause suffering.
So using the 59 slogans in the book, brilliantly explained into every day applicable language, we can start to tame the monkey mind. In Buddhism the idea of grasping, holding on to what we like, or resisting those things we do not like, are the causes of suffering. Lojong teaches us how to recognise and change unhealthy patterns we have learnt along the way. The first slogan immediately makes us think and be present;
1. First, train in the preliminaries; The Four Reminders or alternatively called The Four Thoughts;
Maintain an awareness of the preciousness of human life.
Be aware of the reality that life ends; death comes for everyone; Impermanence.
Recall that whatever you do, whether virtuous or not, has a result; Karma.
Contemplate that as long as you are too focused on self-importance and too caught up in thinking about how you are good or bad, you will experience suffering. Obsessing about getting what you want and avoiding what you don’t want does not result in happiness; Ego
