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'''Tonglen'''<ref>According to [[Alak Zenkar Rinpoche]] it is more accurate to call it Dé Duk Tonglen, meaning ‘Giving Happiness and Receiving Suffering’</ref> ([[wyl.]] ''gtong len'') The practice of "giving" (tong) and "receiving" (len), it is part of the instruction on 'mind training' (tib. [[lojong]]) brought to Tibet by Lord [[Atisha]], as such it belongs to the teachings on  [[relative bodhichitta]] and it appears in many Indian and Tibetan sources like the ''[[Bodhicharyavatara]]'', the ''[[Kunzang Lama’i Shyalung]]'', the ''[[Seven Points of Mind Training]]'', the ''[[Eight Verses of Training the Mind]]'', the ''[[Thirty-Seven Practices of the Bodhisattvas]]'', the [[Lam Rim]] and in [[Longchenpa]]’s ''Mind in Comfort and Ease''.  There are also special instructions which have been passed down in the oral tradition.
[[Image:Shantideva.JPG|frame|[[Shantideva]]]]
'''Tonglen''' (Tib. [[གཏོང་ལེན་]], [[Wyl.]] ''gtong len'') is the practice of 'giving' or 'sending' (''tong'') happiness and wellbeing and 'receiving' or 'taking' (''len'') pain and suffering.<ref>According to [[Alak Zenkar Rinpoche]] it is more accurate to call this practice ''dé duk tonglen'', meaning ‘giving happiness and receiving suffering’</ref> It is part of the instructions on 'mind training' (Tib. [[lojong]]) brought to Tibet by Lord [[Atisha]], and is specifically related to [[relative bodhichitta]].


In this practice one gives one's happiness to others while receiving or absorbing other's suffering.
Put very simply, the tonglen practice of giving and receiving is to take on the suffering and pain of others, and give them your happiness, well-being, and peace of mind. Tonglen uses the medium of the breath. As [[Chekawa Yeshe Dorje|Geshe Chekhawa]] wrote: “Giving and receiving should be practiced alternately. This alternation should be placed on the medium of the breath.”
 
[[Geshe Chekawa]] says:
:''Giving and receiving should be practiced alternately. This alternation should be placed on the medium of the breath.''


[[Dalai Lama|His Holiness the Dalai Lama]] says <ref>His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama: "Four Essential Buddhist Commentaries", page 97. Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamsala, India, 2005.</ref>:
[[Dalai Lama|His Holiness the Dalai Lama]] says <ref>His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama: "Four Essential Buddhist Commentaries", page 97. Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamsala, India, 2005.</ref>:


:''To be able actually to transfer one's happiness to others and directly take their sufferings upon oneself is something only possible on a very, very few occasions; it occurs when oneself and another individual have a very special type of relationship based on karmic affinity stemming, perhaps from a previous life. Then why does one cultivate this attitude? Because it leads to attaining great strength of character, courage and enthusiasm; and improves one's own practice of developing [[bodhichitta]] ''
:To be able actually to transfer one's happiness to others and directly take their sufferings upon oneself is something only possible on very, very few occasions; it occurs when both oneself and another individual have a very special type of relationship based on karmic affinity, stemming perhaps from a previous life. Why does one cultivate this attitude? Because it leads to attaining great strength of character, courage and enthusiasm; and improves one's own practice of developing [[bodhichitta]].


== How do I do the practice? ==
[[Sogyal Rinpoche]] says:
*I imagine that person in front of me, and then, as I breathe in, along with my in-breath I take into my body all of their suffering, whatever it might be.
:Of all the practices I know, the practice of tonglen is one of the most useful and powerful. No other practice I know is as effective in destroying the [[self-grasping]], self-cherishing, self-absorption of the ego, which is the root of all our suffering and the root of all hard-heartedness.


*Then I breathe out, and with the out-breath give the person who is suffering all kinds of goodness, health, peace, and happiness, and especially my merit.
==Sources==
Tonglen is referred to in many Indian and Tibetan sources such as [[Shantideva]]'s ''[[Bodhicharyavatara]]'', the ''[[Seven Points of Mind Training]]'' composed by [[Chekawa Yeshe Dorje|Geshe Chekhawa]], [[Langri Thangpa]]'s ''[[Eight Verses of Training the Mind]]'', the ''[[Thirty-Seven Practices of the Bodhisattvas]]'', the ''[[Lam Rim]]'' and in [[Longchenpa]]’s ''Mind in Comfort and Ease''.  There are also special instructions which have been passed down in the oral tradition.


*Then, at the end, I dedicate.
== Notes ==
<small><references/></small>


== Notes ==
==Further Reading==
<references/>
*[[Pema Chödrön]],
**''When Things Fall Apart'' (Boston: Shambhala, 1997), Chapter 15 'Going Against the Grain'
**''Tonglen, the Path of Transformation'' (Vajradhatu Publications, 2001)
**''The Places that Scare You'' (Boston: Shambhala, 2001), Chapter 9 'Tonglen'
**''Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change'' (Boston: Shambhala, 2012), Chapter 7 'Breathing In Pain, Breathing Out Relief'
**''The Wisdom of No Escape'' (Boston: Shambhala, 2012), Chapter 12 'Sending and Taking'
*[[Sogyal Rinpoche]], ''[[The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying]]'', HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1992, Chapter 12
*''Arousing Bodhichitta, The Heart of the Enlightened Mind—The Bodhichitta Mengak Study Pack'' (Lodève: The Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2008), pages 132-149.
*[[Ga Rabjampa]], ''To Dispel the Misery of the World: Whispered Teachings of the Bodhisattvas'', translated by [[Rigpa Translations]] (Wisdom Publications, 2012)


[[category: Lojong]]
[[Category:Lojong]]
[[Category:Bodhichitta]]
[[Category:Meditation]]

Latest revision as of 16:15, 16 December 2023

Shantideva

Tonglen (Tib. གཏོང་ལེན་, Wyl. gtong len) is the practice of 'giving' or 'sending' (tong) happiness and wellbeing and 'receiving' or 'taking' (len) pain and suffering.[1] It is part of the instructions on 'mind training' (Tib. lojong) brought to Tibet by Lord Atisha, and is specifically related to relative bodhichitta.

Put very simply, the tonglen practice of giving and receiving is to take on the suffering and pain of others, and give them your happiness, well-being, and peace of mind. Tonglen uses the medium of the breath. As Geshe Chekhawa wrote: “Giving and receiving should be practiced alternately. This alternation should be placed on the medium of the breath.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama says [2]:

To be able actually to transfer one's happiness to others and directly take their sufferings upon oneself is something only possible on very, very few occasions; it occurs when both oneself and another individual have a very special type of relationship based on karmic affinity, stemming perhaps from a previous life. Why does one cultivate this attitude? Because it leads to attaining great strength of character, courage and enthusiasm; and improves one's own practice of developing bodhichitta.

Sogyal Rinpoche says:

Of all the practices I know, the practice of tonglen is one of the most useful and powerful. No other practice I know is as effective in destroying the self-grasping, self-cherishing, self-absorption of the ego, which is the root of all our suffering and the root of all hard-heartedness.

Sources

Tonglen is referred to in many Indian and Tibetan sources such as Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara, the Seven Points of Mind Training composed by Geshe Chekhawa, Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses of Training the Mind, the Thirty-Seven Practices of the Bodhisattvas, the Lam Rim and in Longchenpa’s Mind in Comfort and Ease. There are also special instructions which have been passed down in the oral tradition.

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Alak Zenkar Rinpoche it is more accurate to call this practice dé duk tonglen, meaning ‘giving happiness and receiving suffering’
  2. ↑ His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama: "Four Essential Buddhist Commentaries", page 97. Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamsala, India, 2005.

Further Reading

  • Pema Chödrön,
    • When Things Fall Apart (Boston: Shambhala, 1997), Chapter 15 'Going Against the Grain'
    • Tonglen, the Path of Transformation (Vajradhatu Publications, 2001)
    • The Places that Scare You (Boston: Shambhala, 2001), Chapter 9 'Tonglen'
    • Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change (Boston: Shambhala, 2012), Chapter 7 'Breathing In Pain, Breathing Out Relief'
    • The Wisdom of No Escape (Boston: Shambhala, 2012), Chapter 12 'Sending and Taking'
  • Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1992, Chapter 12
  • Arousing Bodhichitta, The Heart of the Enlightened Mind—The Bodhichitta Mengak Study Pack (Lodève: The Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2008), pages 132-149.
  • Ga Rabjampa, To Dispel the Misery of the World: Whispered Teachings of the Bodhisattvas, translated by Rigpa Translations (Wisdom Publications, 2012)
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