abandon poisonous food

Abandon poisonous food.

Lojong slogan 28 is pretty straightforward: abandon poisonous food. Traditionally, the primary teaching on this lojong is about keeping our egos in check. Don’t get so full of yourself that your good deeds become a little too heavy-handed in the self-righteous department, in other words. As…

  • abandon any hope

    Abandon any hope of fruition.

    The 28th lojong slogan, “Abandon any hope of fruition,” is the first one I learned. My teacher had it posted in the room where we spent most of our day. I didn’t like it. It felt, at first, pessimistic and unreasonable. As you can imagine if…

  • don't ponder others

    Don’t ponder others.

    The 26th lojong slogan says, “Don’t ponder others.” Much like the last saying, “Don’t talk about injured limbs,” the wisdom here is about tending to our own stuff and not projecting that stuff onto others. Have you noticed how we can so easily find reasons to…

  • injured limbs

    Don’t talk about injured limbs

    Lojong slogan 25 says, “Don’t talk about injured limbs.” It’s a short-hand way of reminding us to speak kindly of others. It also reminds us that usually, when someone is doing something worth commenting on, their actions (or our criticism of them) are coming from a…

  • practice when distracted

    Practice when distracted

    “If you can practice when distracted, you are well trained.” So says the 21st lojong slogan. Of course, this comes only with time. When we first learn something, we get distracted and frazzled so easily. Our minds focus too intently on getting it right. Only with…

  • joyful mind

    Always maintain only a joyful mind.

    The 21st lojong slogan says, “Always maintain only a joyful mind.” Straight-forward enough, right? Except, being constantly joyful sounds impossible, doesn’t it? I was talking with my best friend the other day and we agree: we’re over it. We are over Covid and all the restrictions…