Mind Training

This small accessible book contains the essence of the Seven-Point Mind Training, expressed in the intimate colloquial style that distinguishes Ringu Tulku's teachings. The Seven-Point Mind Training, a lojong practice, assumes no prior special training or preparation. It does not require practitioners to enter seclusion or change the way they live their lives. It asks that they examine their relationships with all those around them and make a strong determination to become enlightened for others' sake rather than for their own. It gives instructions for tonglen breathing practice that ties the concepts of lojong to the physical act of breathing. Mind Training focuses simply on giving up, self-cherishing, and transforming self-centered thinking into compassion, egoistic feelings into altruism, desire into acceptance, and resentment into joy."Demonstrate[s] the enduring vitality and power of the lojong tradition. . . . This lively little book is a window into how mind-training slogans can be used as a teaching tool."—Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly

"This portable, petite book contains a profound and intimate teaching on the essence of the Seven-Point Mind Training and tonglen by contemporary Tibetan teacher Ringu Tulku. Very clearly written and elegantly designed, it contains useful foundational discussions on the mind compassion and the lojong tradition, elaborating point by point on the Seven-Point Mind Training with many practical examples, illustrative stories, and Q&A sessions that speak to a Western perspective. This teaching by Ringu Tulku takes a classical mind-training technique and makes it relevant to the challenges of modern Western practitioners seeking to take their practice off the cushion and into their daily lives."—Mandala Magazine

"Mind Training is in a realm of its own when it comes to widening the human potential. . . . The seven points of the lojong practice can benefit any person willing to live a more compassionate life for themselves and all others. Ringu Tulku's ability to lay out these points in such an understandable way for any reader is flawless."—The Feminist ReviewRingu Tulku Rinpoche was born in Kham Lingtsang, in eastern Tibet, and was recognized by His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa as the incarnation of one of the tulkus of Ringu monastery, a Kagyüpa monastery in his home province. He studied with some of the most distinguished khenpos of the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions and received teachings from many outstanding masters, including Thrangu Rinpoche, Dodrupchen Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the Gyalwang Karmapa. He is also the author of Path to Buddhahood and The Ri-me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul.