As we reflect on the many months we’ve walked through these 59 lojong slogans, I wanted to remind us all of their shared intent: cultivating an awakened heart. This practice of mind-training seeks to help us wake up our hearts. This makes me think of that phrase of Christian liturgy that says, “Lift up your hearts!” For me, when I lift up my heart, the next practical step in the path is to let my heart be awakened. Let it guide me into something that feels like wholeness and goodness. And the second part requires my active participation. It’s a calling to live wholeheartedly, compassionately.
It feels almost overwhelming to attempt to summarize all I’ve learned. For me, perhaps the greatest wisdom from these months of Living the Lojong comes in recognizing that everything- everything– can be an invitation to an awakened heart. When we see each situation as an opportunity for bodhicitta, for this option to awaken to life, we can become present in new ways. We can perhaps find our inner center. We see different paths forward. Maybe we notice a chance for healing or a letting go.
Pema Chodron reminds us that the safest bet to finding compassion for others is to first find it for ourselves. When we learn to treat our own wounds, pains, and bouts of suffering gently, we find that compassion comes more easily for others, too. And, most importantly, it comes from realizing that we all share in this human experience. She writes, “True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings.” When we reorient ourselves in this way, moving from feeling “above” people to walking beside people, compassion awakens within. It does not flow downward. It flows between.
I find that many of these slogans continue to work in me. (At the moment, “Don’t be frivolous” is still stirring up all kinds of things.) I hope they continue to bring about good work in you, too. Thank you for walking with me.
From now until the end of the year, I am going to turn my focus to meditation and mindfulness. I hope to throw in a few ninja wisdom posts, too, as I’ve been remiss to do so. Stay tuned for our next adventure beginning in January!
