In the Buddhist practices, there are teachings to help ordinary people like us with connecting to our heart with openness and softness. These are called lojong teachings.
The basic notion of lojong is that we can make friends with what we reject, those things we see as “bad” in ourselves and in others. At the same time, we can learn to be generous with what we love and cherish, what we see as “good.” These teachings suggest that if we begin to live in this way, something in us that might have been buried for a long time begins to ripen. Traditionally, this is called bodhichitta, or “awakened heart.” It is something we already have but usually haven’t yet discovered.
In these teachings it’s as if we were poor, homeless, hungry and cold and although we didn’t know it, right under the ground where we have always slept is a pot of gold. That’s the gold of bodhichitta, according to Buddhism. Our confusion and misery come from not knowing that the gold is right here, right with us all along and also from always looking somewhere else outside of ourselves.
The basic message of the lojong teachings is that if it’s painful, you can learn to stand firm and move closer to that pain. Reverse the usual pattern, which is to reject and escape. Go against the grain and do what they suggest - “hold your seat.”
Lojong introduces us to a different attitude toward unwanted stuff: if it’s painful, you become willing not only to endure it but also to let it awaken your heart and soften you. You learn to embrace it.
If an experience is pleasant, we usually want to hold on to it and make it last. We’re afraid that it will end. We aren’t inclined to share it. The lojong teachings encourage us that if we enjoy what we are experiencing, to think of other people and wish for them to feel that. Share the wealth. Be generous with your happiness and joy. Instead of fearing that they’re going to slip away and holding onto them, share them.
It doesn’t matter if it’s pain or pleasure. When we practice lojong, we come to have a sense of letting our experiences be as they are without trying to manipulate them, push them away or hold on to them. The pleasurable aspects of being a human being as well as the painful ones become our key to awakening bodhichitta.
In my mind, all of Buddhist teachings are simply designed to help us learn how to live our lives with awareness and compassion. None of what Buddhism teaches is a religion, instead, it’s a way of life.
When we meet at Satsang House for community meditation, I deliver some sort of a spiritual teaching. Sometimes, it’s around the Buddhist teachings, sometimes it’s about something I’ve learned through my experiences with meditation experts, Eckhart Tolle or Dr. Joe Dispenza. Either way, I’m inspired to share some of what I’ve learned along this twisty, turny path to spiritual awakening.
We’d love to have you join us for our weekly Sunday Community Meditation Gathering to share your experiences along your own path and perhaps join us all in connecting to our heart!