Sometimes, we need to pray for help. The fifteenth lojong slogan mentions four practices that are the best methods. They include accumulating merit, laying down evil deeds, and feeding our ghosts. The final one is to pray for help. More traditionally, we hear it described as…
In the four practices, the third is commonly described as, “Feed your ghosts.” As a refresher, we’re still working with the fifteenth lojong slogan, “Four practices are the best of methods.” The first is accumulation of merit and the second is laying down evil deeds. In…
The fifteenth lojong slogan says, “Four practices are the best of methods.” The first method is accumulating merit. The second is to lay down evil deeds. This one’s pretty obvious. Quite simply, be open to seeing where you may be wrong. And when you realize it,…
The fifteenth lojong slogan is: four practices are the best of methods. These four practices are: Accumulate merit. Lay down evil deeds. Offer to the dons. Make an offering to the dharmapalas This is when it’s very obvious that I’m not fully Buddhist (I’m what my…
When discussing the fourteenth lojong slogan, Judy Lief writes, “It is as though confusion is awakening in disguise.” As a reminder, the 14th slogan is: Seeing confusion as the four kayas is unsurpassable shunyata protection. Which…is a mouthful. But basically, it means turning our attention toward…
Have you ever considered confusion to be a form of protection? Yeah, me neither. But that’s exactly what the fourteenth lojong slogan suggests: Seeing confusion as the four kayas is unsurpassable shunyata protection. And listen, I know what you’re thinking. It is the first week of…
As we enter the final weeks of 2020, can we take on the biggest mind-training challenge of all, and find gratitude? I know. It has been a terrible year. Horrific. Awful. Chaotic. Just the absolute worst. Honestly, out of sheer coping mechanism, we have likely blocked…
The thirteenth lojong slogan says, “Be grateful to everyone.” And yes, this has two sides. Next week I’ll talk about the positive, because what better way to finish our Soul Ninja posts before the new year! First, let’s talk about those people we feel less grateful…
Pema Chodron tells the story of a student who, when hearing the teaching on this lojong slogan, thought the teacher said, “Drive all things into Juan.” Understandably, the student was confused, wondering: Who’s Juan? And what did that guy ever do wrong?! This funny little misunderstanding…
A well known song of the season says, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” We often feel so moved by those lines, and by that sentiment. Doing it, of course, is the hard part. That’s where the wisdom of the…
