Point Six Disciplines of Mind Training Prajnaparamita

The way to cut through the bondage of the ego is by awareness which creates a larger sense of both your world and your life. Prajna cuts through habitual and potential neurosis.

The great sense of concentration acquired on the bodhisattva path applies mindfulness and awareness where you learn to consolidate yourself and be in a state of compassion, kindness, openness and gentleness.

You also egoless where there is no working, clinging or dwelling in anything pertaining to ego or self.  Your subconscious is full of the lojong slogans and you begin to manifest them. By sacrificing yourself you can overcome mishaps and obstacles whereupon you can relate to the rest of the larger world.  You deal with the journey on your path by way of prajna

Notes from Mind Training

• Slogans are all concerned with sharpening your intelligence in order to work with yourself
• Prajna is the sword that cuts the bondage of ego.
• The way to cut the bondage of ego in mahayana practice is the same as in vipashyana practice – it is awareness, relating to your world and your life. It is connected with a larger sense of your entire life and particularly with post meditation.
• Prajna cuts through habitual or potential neurosis. Applying that tremendous sene of mindfulness and awareness comes from the great concentration that is developed through the bodhisattva path. With the help of the shamatha and vipashyana principles, you learn how to consolidate yourself as a mahayana practioner – being in a state of compassion, kindness, openness and gentleness.
• On the other hand, you are also in a state of egolessness. There is no clinging, no working or dwelling on anything connected with ego, atman, or soul
• Lojong text permeates life. They begin to manifest. No “I” to meditate on and for that matter, no “I am” to propagate your existence. By first becoming able to sacrifice yourself, you are able to overcome obstacles. Then you can relate with the rest of the world. In that way, you learn how to deal with your journey on the path by means of the sword of prajna. 

Mind Training Slogan #19 All Dharma Agrees at One Point

All dharma teachings point to moving beyond ego, exchanging self-aggrandizement for impersonal enlightenment. The Hinayana path depends on openness,  we tame the ego through the application of mindfulness which cuts through sloppiness and wandering mind.  It undermines the mechanism of subconscious gossip and discursive thinking by which the ego maintains itself by  Our awareness expands the whole environment making us less claustrophobic and ego – centered and allowing a greater connection to the world.

Since we have nothing to cling to on the Mahayana path, the emphasis is on compassion based on emptiness – no ground – we utilize warmth and skillful means. The foundation of compassion, which  is the focus of all teachings, is non-ego, non-territoriality.  “The shedding of the ego is the scale that measures the practitioner.”

Notes from Mind Training

• Dharma means only “teachings”
• All teachings are basically a way to subjugating or shedding of ego
• No other dharma, no other teachings exist in the teachings of Buddha
• Giving up our personal project of ego aggrandizementand and attaining the impersonal project of enlightment depends on how heavy handed or open you are
• Hinayana version of taming the ego is to cut through sloppiness and wandering mind by the application of shamatha discipline or mindfulness.
• Shamatha practice cuts through the fundamental mechanism of ego which is that ego has to maintain itself by providing lots of subconscious gossip and discursive thoughts.
• Awareness (Vipashyana) of the whole environment and bringing that into our discipline allows us to less ego-centered and more in contact with the world around us, so there is less reference point to “me” and “my-ness.”
• Mahayana, our concern more with warmth and skillfulness.
• We have nothing to hang on to ourselves, so we can give away each time
• The basis of compassion is nonterritoriality, non-ego, no ego at all.  If you have that you have compassion
• “All dharmas agrees at one point” means there is no ego clinging, then all dharmas are one, all teachings are one. That is compassion
• Compassion develops from shunyata, or nonground, because you have nothing to hold on to, nothing to work with, no project, no personal gain, no ulterior motives.
• We bring left over ego onto the path of dharma by examining it and making use of it.
• Whatever happens in your life becomes a way of measuring your progress on the path – how much have you been able to shed your ego.
• “The shedding of the ego is the scale that measures the practitioner”. The lighter the better.

Mind Training Point Five Evaluation of Mind Training

Following the paramita of meditation, we develop mindfulness and awareness which protects us from attacks of our neuroses (kleshas). No mindfulness and awareness, no protection.

Notes from Mind Training

• Paramita of meditation is beginning to catch some of the fever of knowledge or prajna already
• Develop tremendous sense of mindfulness and awareness
• Mindfulness and awareness protect yourself from kleshas – the neurosis we experience
• If no mindfulness and awareness, there is no way we have to protect ourselves from kleshas

Mind Training: Slogan #17 Practice the Five Strengths, The Condensed Heart Instructions

The five strengths mentioned in the slogan are strong determination, familarization, seed of virtue, reproach, and aspiration. All of them require focus and devotion.

Strong determination means a life long commitment to manifesting bodhichitta in every moment. This commitment has a strong sense of appreciation and joy. The practice becomes a source of good cheer.

“Your dharmic subconscious gossip becomes more powerful than your ordinary subconscious gossip.” is the way Trungpa Rinpoche expressed the concept of familarization.  Your insanity gives way to mindfulness, realization and familarity with wakefulness.

The seed of virtue is the focus on manifesting bodhichitta in body, speech and mind.  The dharma is part of you.

Disgust with the painful world is samsara is reproach. It is a recognition of how you ego has created much trouble and suffering.

You are free from burden in your practice so that you aspire to carry your practice into new aspects of your life, applying your practice to whatever difficulties and obstacles that come up.

This slogan helps us remember to manifest bodhichitta always; let your subconscious absorb the dharma; give up the world of samsara and the ego’s suffering; and keep opening your practice to more aspects of your life.

Notes from Mind Training

• We have five energizing factors, or five strengths, so that we can practice our bodhisattva discipline throughout our whole life: strong determination, familarization, seed of virtue, reproach, and aspiration
• (1) Strong Determination
• The practitioner should always have the attitude of maintaining bodhichitta – for this lifetime, this year, this month, this day. Practice is a way of strengthening yourself.
• The idea of first strength is that…as soon as you wakeup, you reaffirm your strong determination to continue with your bodhichitta practice. Maintain your practice with continual exertion, which means joy.
• Strong determination …you have a sense of appreciation and joy, your practice does not become a cage. Instead your practice becomes a way of cheering yourselves up constantly
• The idea is one of waking up basic goodness, the alaya principle, and realizing you are in the right spot, the right practice.
• (2) Familiarization. Because you have already developed strong determination, everything becomes a natural process. Your dharmic subconscious gossip has become more powerful than your ordinary subconscious gossip.  You are getting used to bodhichitta as an ongoing realization.
• You no longer regard dharma as a foreign entity, but you begin to realize that dharma is a household though, a household word, and a household activity
• Your basic strength begins to become more powerful, so that your basic wickedness or insantity is changed into mindfulness and realization and familarity with wakefulness.
• (3) Seed of virtue. You have tremondous yearning all the time, so you do not take a rest from your wakefulness.
• In this case, virtue means that your body, speech and mind are all dedicated to propagating bodhichitta in yourself.
• (4) Reproach. Reproaching your ego. It is revulsion with samsara.
• You are encouraged to say to your ego: You have created tremendous trouble for me, and I don’t like you. You have caused me so much trouble by making me wander in…samsara. I have no desire to hang around with you. I’m going to destroy you. This ‘you’ – who are you, anyway? Go away! I don’t like you.”
• (5) Aspiration. End each session of meditation practice with the wish 1. to save all sentient beings – by himself, single-handedly; not forget 2-fold bodhichitta 3. to apply bodhichitta in spite of whatever chaos and obstacles may arise.
• Because you have experienced joy and celebration in your practice, it does not feel like a burden to you. Therefore, you aspire further and further.
• It is also general instruction on becoming a very pliable person, so that the rest of the world can use you as a working basis for their enjoyment of santity.

Mind Training: Slogan #13 Be Grateful to Everyone

No world, no hassles, no enlightenment.  Without “other”, we have no  experience to work with. When we take responsibility for our own experience, it follows that we should be grateful to others.

Most of us have a problem with “myself” without others there would be no way to go beyond “myself”. We do not have to go looking for trouble, trouble will find us.

We have know idea how to play the living and dying game properly. “It is a lighthearted situation – including death.”  Do not take anything seriously that takes place. It is not the ultimate, final problem. Problems arise and then they go.

Notes from Mind Training

• Without the world we can not attain enlightenment, there would be no journey. By rejecting the world, we would be rejecting the ground and rejecting the path.
• All of our experiences are based on others…. Without them we cannot attain anything at all – we have no feedback, we have nothing to work with
• If there is no noise outside during our sitting meditation, we cannot develop mindfulness
• By “profit and victory” we mean anything that encourages to walk on the path of dharma – that is created by the world.
• It is a fantastic idea that we are actually, finally fearless persons – that profit is others’ and loss is ours.
• The slogan “Be grateful to everyone” follows automatically once we drive all blames into one.
• All the people of the world or most of them, have a problem in dealing with “myself”. Without others we wouldn’t have a chance to develop  beyond ego… The point is to appreciate that.
• If someone hurts, you should be thankful to them for giving you the opportunity to practice. … You don’t have to avoid such situations and you don’t have to cultivate them. You just lead your life
• This whole approach is dealing with all kinds of hassles and transmuting them and working with them as a workable journey toward enlightenment. …. we have no idea how to play games properly. It is not a big deal, it is an exchange. You are finally putting your name on the dotted line. It is a lighthearted situation – including death. Keep that in mind. Make a slogan out of that.
• Whatever takes place, you do not take all that seriously. Whatever comes up you do not regard as the ultimate, final problem, but as a temporary flare-up that comes and goes.

Mind Training: Slogan #12 Drive All Blames Into One

One value of this slogan is that it helps to create an enlightened society by having  each person take responsibility for their own problems. Somebody may have done something that created a problem for us however we take all blame into ourselves so that if we have a problem we  own  it.

If we start blaming others, all it accomplishes is to spread the neurosis around. “Drive all blames into one” puts a stop to that.  Each of us takes personal responsibility for the problems that we see in the world – our own projections. As Trungpa Rinpoche says “Interestingly trips are laid on us, but not by anybody. We decide to take on those trips ourselves, and then we become resentful and angry.”

It all about not projecting and not being projected upon.

Notes from Mind Training

• Drive all blames into one means that all the problems and the complications that exist around our practice, realization, and understanding are not somebody else’s fault. All the blame always starts with ourselves.
• Interestingly, trips are laid on us, but not by anybody. We decide to take on those trips ourselves, and then we become resentful and angry.
• The blame for every mishap is always directed naturally to us; it is our particular doing… Everything is based on our own uptightness. … But it is we who are not letting go, not developing enough warmth and sympathy – which makes us problematic. So we cannot blame anybody.
• Everything is due to our own uptightness, so to speak, which is known as ego holding, ego fixation. 
• The intention of driving all blames into one is that otherwise you will not enter the bodhisattva path.  The slogan is the essence of the bodhisattva path.
• By taking that particular blame on yourself, you reduce the neurosis that’s happening all around you. 
• In this case, we are simply talking about how we can collectively smooth out this world, so that it could become an enlightened society. Creating an enlightened society requires general cultivation of that nature.

Mind Training: Slogan #11 When the World is Filled With Evil, Transform All Mishaps Into the Path of Bodhi

Obstacles always arise no matter what your life situation. Use them to help you along  the  path . This transformation of obstacles into the path of wakefulness helps move one from a poverty stricken mentality to a state of richness and resourcefulness which is essentially a position of generosity. Having a sense of  richness and resourcefulness and practicing that is the point.

Notes from Mind Training

• all problems should be transformed into a part of your wakefulness or bodhi. Such wakefulness is a result of shamatha-vipashyana discipline as well as your basic understanding of soft spot, or bodhichitta
• Obstacles always arise. That is something everybody experiences. And when obstacles happen,, any mishaps connected with those obstacles – poverty mentality, fixating on loss and gain, or any kind of competitiveness – should be transformed into the bodhi path… That is a very powerful and direct message. It is connected with not feeling poverty stricken all the time. …. expressions of your own timidity and cowardice. They could all be regarded as expressions of your poverty mentality.
• Having already experienced the possibilities of absolute and relative bodhichitta, and practiced sending and talking, you should also begin to build up confidence and joy in your own richness. That richness is the essence of generosity  It is the sense of resourcefulness, that you can deal with whatever is available around you and not feel poverty stricken.  Having a sense of resourcefulness and richness seems to be the main point.

Mind Training: Slogan #8 3 Objects, 3 Poisons, And 3 Seeds of Virtue

• 3 Objects are friends, enemies and neutrals
• 3 Poisons are passion, aggression, and ignorance or delusion
• 3 Seeds of virtue are the absence of passion, aggression and ignorance
• Passion; wanting to possess: Aggression; wanting to reject; Ignorance: wanting to ignore (anti-prajna)
• Template: When we reflect on our enemy, that inspires aggression. Whatever aggression our enemy has provided for us – let the aggression be ours and let the enemy thereby be free of any kind of aggression.
• Take the neurosis of the aggression, passion or ignorance into ourselves so that the other is freed of it.
• The purpose of doing that is that when you begin to hold the three poisons as yours, when you possess them fully and completely, when you take charge of them fully, you will find…that the logic is reversed. If you have no object of aggression, you cannot hold your own aggression purely by yourself. If you have no object of passion, you cannot hold your own passion yourself. And the same way, you cannot hold on to your ignorance either.
• By holding your poison, you let go of the object, or the intent, of your poison. … It is impossible to have an object of poison, because the poison belongs to you rather than the object.
• Find yourself just hanging out there with no one to project onto.
• Therefore, you can cut the root of three poisons by dealing with others rather than dealing with yourself. So an interesting twist takes place.

Mind Training: Slogan #5 Rest in the Nature of Alaya, the Essence

Alaya is a level of consciousness that is simple, clear and nondiscriminating, not separating the world into “I and “other”

It is a place which is beyond our five senses and all mental machinations. Alaya is the basic goodness that underlies all perception and we must trust ourselves in order to rest there.

This level of consciousness is our home; it is where orders and information come from. The slogan is the beginning of slowing ourselves down.

Mind Training: Slogan #2 Regard All Dharmas as Dreams

This slogan recognizes that “whatever you experience in your life – pain, pleasure, happiness, sadness, grossness, refinement, sophistication, crudeness, heat, cold, or whatever – is purely memory. ”

You can see the dream-like quality of your experience when you meditate. Thoughts and emotions seem to come out of thin air and then disappear to be replaced by an unrelated set thoughts and emotions. For example, rumination and regret over the past dissolves into fantasy about the future.

Whether about the past, present or future, our thoughts and sensations are a mere mental creation. It is one way of looking at the concept of ultimate bodhichitta (awakened heart).

“Regard all Dharmas as Dreams” is an expression of openness and compassion for our mental life. The cycles of desire and pain that we constantly put ourselves through. It points to a reality which is beyond the conceptual.