Practice Tonglen (meditation of compassion) for those who despise me, and to stop taking things so personally.

I’m reading a commentary of The Root Text of the Seven Points of Training the Mind by Chkawa Yshe Dorje by Chogyam Trungpa. It is called Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness. It’s all about Tonglen and Lojong practice and was recommended to me by my teacher, Khenpo Gawang Rinpoche. Tonglen is so much more involved than I ever could have thought, and is actually one of the most difficult practices I’ve encountered. But it is perfect for me, as I’m sure Khenpo-la knew when he recommended it to me. I’m devouring it, and will be putting more of it into practice as I come to understand it.

Well I’m obviously not the queen of compassion, but I have managed to get through some painful dental procedures and bouts of back pain by Tonglen. As they say, every journey begins with a small step. It’s a lifelong process anyway. Perhaps I’ll change the goal to practicing a week at a time so I will see progress that makes sense.