Lojong

Lojong is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition of mind training that uses contemplative practices and slogans to cultivate compassion and transform adversity.

Bodhicitta: The aspiration to attain awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. Lojong trains both aspirational and practical forms of this compassionate intention.
Atisha: An Indian Buddhist master who helped revitalize Buddhism in Tibet during the eleventh century. Tibetan tradition credits Atisha with bringing mind-training instructions from India.
Adversity: A condition of hardship or misfortune that obstructs well-being or progress. Lojong treats hardship as material for strengthening compassion and loosening self-cherishing.
Mahayana: A major Buddhist tradition centered on the bodhisattva ideal and universal awakening. Lojong belongs to the Mahayana path and emphasizes awakening for others’ benefit.
Shamatha: A Buddhist meditation practice that develops calm, stable attention. Shamatha steadies attention, while lojong chiefly trains altruistic attitudes and responses.
Tonglen: A meditation practice of giving happiness and taking in suffering through the breath. This practice embodies lojong’s method of transforming self-centeredness into compassion.
Dromtönpa: An eleventh-century Tibetan Buddhist teacher and principal disciple of Atisha. He helped establish the Kadam lineage through which lojong teachings were transmitted.
Self-cherishing: The habitual prioritization of one’s own welfare over the welfare of others. Lojong identifies this habit as a target for reflection and transformation.
Bodhisattva: A being who seeks awakening in order to benefit all sentient beings. Lojong cultivates the motivation and conduct associated with the bodhisattva ideal.
Vipassanā: A Buddhist meditation practice that develops insight into experience and its characteristics. Vipassanā emphasizes insight, whereas lojong centers on transforming motivation through specific instructions.

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