Mind Training

The Great Collection

Thupten Jinpa

• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780861714407
• eBook ISBN: 9780861717118
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

Compiled in the fifteenth century, Mind Training: The Great Collection is the earliest anthology of a special genre of Tibetan literature known as "mind training," or lojong in Tibetan. The principal focus of these texts is the systematic cultivation of such altruistic thoughts and emotions as compassion, love, forbearance, and perseverance. The mind-training teachings are highly revered by the Tibetan people for their pragmatism and down-to-earth advice on coping with the various challenges and hardships that unavoidably characterize everyday human existence.

The volume contains forty-four individual texts, including the most important works of the mind training cycle, such as Serlingpa's well-known Leveling Out All Preconceptions, Atisha's Bodhisattva's Jewel Garland, Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses on Training the Mind, and Chekawa's Seven-Point Mind Training together with the earliest commentaries on these seminal texts. An accurate and lyrical translation of these texts, many of which are in metered verse, marks an important contribution to the world's literary heritage, enriching its spiritual resources.

1. Bodhisattva’s Jewel Garland³²

Atiśa (982–1054)

Sanskrit title: Bodhisattvamaṇevalī

Homage to great compassion.

Homage to the teachers.

Homage to the faith divinities.

1

Discard all lingering doubts,

And strive with dedication in your practice.

Thoroughly relinquish sloth, mental dullness, and laziness,

And strive always with joyful perseverance.

2

With mindfulness, vigilance, and conscientiousness,

Constantly guard the gateways of your senses.

Again and again, three times both day and night,

Examine the flow of your thoughts.

3

Reveal your own shortcomings,

But do not seek out others’ errors.

Conceal your own good qualities,

But proclaim those of others.

4

Forsake wealth and ministrations;

At all times relinquish gain and fame.

Have modest desires, be easily satisfied,

And reciprocate kindness.

5

Cultivate love and compassion,

And stabilize your awakening mind.

Relinquish the ten negative actions,

And always reinforce your faith.³³

6

Destroy anger and conceit,

And be endowed with humility.

Relinquish wrong livelihood,

And be sustained by ethical livelihood.

7

Forsake material possessions,

Embellish yourself with the wealth of the noble ones.

Avoid all trifling distractions,

And reside in the solitude of wilderness.

8

Abandon frivolous words;

Constantly guard your speech.

When you see your teachers and preceptors,³⁴

Reverently generate the wish to serve.

9

Toward wise beings with Dharma eyes

And toward beginners on the path as well,

Recognize them as your spiritual teachers.

[In fact] when you see any sentient being,

View them as your parent, your child, or your grandchild.

10

Renounce negative friendships,

And rely on a spiritual friend.

Dispel hostility and unpleasantness,³⁵

And venture forth to where happiness lies.

11

Abandon attachment to all things

And abide free of desire.

Attachment fails to bring even the higher realms;

In fact, it kills the life of true liberation.

12

When you encounter the causes of happiness,

In these always persevere.

Whichever task you take up first,

Address this task primarily.

In this way, you ensure the success of both tasks,

Where otherwise you accomplish neither.

13

Since you take no pleasure in negative deeds,

When a thought of self-importance arises,

At that instant deflate your pride [4]

And recall your teacher’s instructions.

14

When discouraged thoughts arise,

Uplift your mind

And meditate on the emptiness of both.³⁶

When objects of attraction or aversion appear,

View them as you would illusions and apparitions.

15

When you hear unpleasant words,

View them as [mere] echoes.

When injuries afflict your body,

See them as [the fruits of] past deeds.

16

Dwell utterly in solitude, beyond town limits.

Like the carcass of a wild animal,

Hide yourself away [in the forest]

And live free of attachment.

17

Always remain firm in your commitment.

When a hint of procrastination and laziness arises,

At that instant enume...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Message from the Dalai Lama
• Special Acknowledgments
• Publisher’s Acknowledgments
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Technical Note
• 1. Bodhisattva’s Jewel Garland
• 2. How Atiśa Relinquished His Kingdom and Sought Liberation
• 3. The Story of Atiśa’s Voyage to Sumatra
• 4. Root Lines of Mahayana Mind Training
• 5. Annotated Root Lines of Mahayana Mind Training
• 6. Seven-Point Mind Training
• 7. A Commentary on the “Seven-Point Mind Training”
• 8. The Wheel of Sharp Weapons
• 9. The Peacock’s Neutralizing of Poison
• 10. Melodies of an Adamantine Song: A Chanting Meditation on Mind Training
• 11. Stages of the Heroic Mind
• 12. Leveling Out All Conceptions
• 13. A Teaching on Taking Afflictions onto the Path
• 14. Guru Yoga Mind Training
• 15. An Instruction on Purifying Negative Karma
• 16. Mahayana Purification of Grudges
• 17. Two Yoginīs’ Admonition to Atiśa to Train His Mind
• 18. Kusulu’s Accumulation Mind Training
• 19. Mind Training Taking Joys and Pains onto the Path
• 20. Sumpa Lotsāwa’s Ear-Whispered Mind Training
• 21. Bodhisattva Samantabhadra’s Mind Training
• 22. Eight Sessions Mind Training
• 23. Mind Training Removing Obstacles
• 24. Mahayana Mind Training Eliminating Future Adversities
• 25. Atiśa’s Seven-Point Mind Training
• 26. Mind Training in a Single Session
• 27. Advice to Namdak Tsuknor
• 28. Glorious Virvapa’s Mind Training
• 29. Eight Verses on Mind Training
• 30. A Commentary on “Eight Verses on Mind Training”
• 31. The Story of the Repulsive Mendicant
• 32. A Commentary on “Leveling Out All Conceptions”
• 33. Mahayana Mind Training
• 34. Public Explication of Mind Training
• 35. Yangönpa’s Instruction on Training the Mind
• 36. Guide to the Heart of Dependent Origination
• 37. Supplement to the “Oral Tradition”
• 38. Root Lines of “Parting from the Four Clingings”
• 39. Parting from the Four Clingings
• 40. Unmistaken Instruction on “Parting from the Four Clingings”
• 41. An Instruction on “Parting from the Four Clingings”
• 42. A Key to the Profound Essential Points: A Meditation Guide to “Parting from the Four Clingings”
• 43. A Concise Guide to “Parting from the Four Clingings”
• Table of Tibetan Transliteration
• Notes
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index
• About Thupten Jinpa
• The Institute of Tibetan Classics
• The Library of Tibetan Classics
• Become a Benefactor of the Library of Tibetan Classics
• Wisdom Publications
• Copyright