Buddhist Vocabulary: Lojong
Tibetan:
Wylie Transliteration: blo sbyong
Phonetics: lo-jong
Lo: rational mind, ordinary consciousness, conceptual mind, intellect, attitude
Jong: train, learn, cleanse, purify, practice
English: mind training
While most of Buddha’s teachings could be described as method to train the mind, lojong is in a specific category of methods to train the mind or reorient ourselves to respond to ourselves, others, and the circum-stances of our lives from the perspective of altruism. These methods highlight the practices of equalizing self and other and ex-changing self and other.
There are many different lojong methods, all of which have an origin in the mind training teachings Atisha. Many of these consist of aphorisms or verses that can repeated and reflected on and subsequently used as reminders and guides to embody altruism in post-meditation practice.
Some well-known lojong teachings include:
Seven-Point Mind Training of Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje
Eight Verses on Mind Training of Geshe Langri Thangpa
37 Practices of a Bodhisattva by Gyalse Tokme Zangpo