Tonglen

Tonglen (Tib. གཏོང་ལེན, Wylie: gtong len; " send and receive " ) is a form of meditation in Tibetan Buddhism. Tonglen is from the lojong (Tib. བློ་སྦྱོང་, Wylie: blo sbyong; " Training the Mind " ) - a method for the development of relative and absolute bodhichitta, which means "Heart of Awakening " or " enlightening of mind ". In Tonglen especially the relative bodhichitta is trained, so liberating compassion, which imagines the practitioner to take their own suffering or the suffering of other people and then love ( Pali: metta, Sanskrit: maitri ) and compassion ( Pali / Sanskrit: Karuna ) send out.

Origins

The roots of the Tonglen practice lie in India. A related form of meditation is the Metta Meditaton, which is described in the first Buddhist records ( Pali Canon ). With the transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet developed the special form of Tonglen practice.

Tonglen practice

Tonglen is a path to enlightenment by identifying himself with all beings. It connects mentally with the suffering of his fellow beings. One realizes her feelings ( fears, anger, sadness, yearning ) and transforms them in his own mind by light ideas, positive desire sets ( mental work ) and. Through a meditation on the suffering Through this practice, happiness arises in one's mind. Then after the presentation of Tonglen practitioners also the spirit of the suffering fellow beings is cleaned, because all beings are connected to each other (which is the basic assumption of Tonglen ). This will reduce the suffering.

As a second step in Tonglen one sends mentally all suffering beings happiness. One wishes, all beings be happy. In Tibetan Tonglen this exercise of losing weight of suffering and of sending happiness is practiced as a breathing meditation. You breathe all the suffering of his fellow beings and breathes happiness towards them. This makes you keep switching until you are one with his fellow man. One can also start with the sending of luck and practice the company from suffering as a second step.

In Tibetan Buddhism ( Vajrayana ), there are examples where Tonglen is traditionally exercised very radical. You take all the suffering of his fellow beings, and gives them all his fortune. This radical way can overwhelm a spiritual practitioner.

One in the west preferably practiced gentle way of Tonglen is to start with yourself. You breathe a mentally his personal suffering and breathes happiness there from. Then you connect to with a friend, an enemy, with all nearby creatures and finally with all beings. Through this practice, one identifies with all beings, cultivated in one's mind of love and compassion and can thus come closer to the goal of enlightenment.