Self-Cherishing

The entire scope of mind training to transform negative attitudes into positive ones is summarized in eight verses.

An in-depth presentation of the self, self-centeredness and love in Islam, based on the “Quran,” and in Buddhism, based on the Mahayana teachings.

In eight short verses, Langri Tangpa summarizes the essence of the mind training teachings (lojong) rooted in Shantideva’s “Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior” and Atisha’s “Garland of Bodhisattva Gems.”

With an extensive presentation of harmful situations that befall us, their karmic causes and the ways of behaving that will counter them, Dharmarakshita leads us to the practice of tonglen, giving and taking.

Renunciation is the determination to be free of our sufferings and their causes. When focused on others, with the determination that they be free, this is compassion.