Lojong Practice Journal: If you can practice even when distracted…
The 59 slogans through a social justice lens
“If you can practice even when distracted, you are well trained” is one of my favourite slogans. Anytime I hear it, I am tickled. It delights me in how simple and profound it is.
To practice is to apply the teachings in our lives, in any given moment, on or off the cushion. We begin with techniques and guides — our posture for sitting, choosing the object of meditation, making time to do so etc. As time passes our practice might also include bodywork, like yoga, or going on retreats, or listening to and reading dharma. And as our practice deepens, we become present and mindful in each activity…theoretically.
Anyone who has sat in meditation even once has probably noticed the many habits we have for distraction. One of the most common things I hear from new meditators is that not thinking is impossible! The brain conjures up so much, and our meditation sessions turn into epic fantasies, reminiscing about the past, or wondering what we’re going to have for our next meal.
I am always so happy to inform these new meditators that meditation is not about not-thinking. It’s about training in being present. This is why it’s called a practice. We are practising being right here, right now. And right here, right now, thoughts are happening and ideas are popping up and emotions are arising. And also, right here, right now, we can come back to the breath. Or the beat of our heart. Or the feel of our feet or butt as we sit in a chair or on a cushion or bench.
The more we intentionally spend time being present, the more it begins to become second-nature. This is what we are training in. As we practice coming back to the present in formal meditation, again and again, we will notice that sometimes, we do it while we’re not meditating. We start coming to the breath when we see something inflammatory on a social media feed, or when we’re starting to feel agitated while waiting in line, or when we’ve checked out during a visit with our deeply conservative family member.
Instead of habitually spinning off into thoughts, numbing out, or instantaneously reacting to our emotions, our habit can sometimes be a pause. We might just take a moment to ground ourselves in our bodies, bring awareness to the situation, how we are feeling, and considering what will serve. We noticed we have not impulsively typed out several paragraphs about why someone is wrong. Or we just start doing tonglen for everyone else waiting in that line with us. Or maybe we speak up without fear (or despite fear) from a place of deep love and compassion.
This is what it means to be well trained.
Originally published on Medium.
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Interesting. I've read three comments now (yours and the ones from Pema Chödrön and Judy Lief), and the focus of the comments is the meditation practice. I wonder. I'd like to see my life as the practice, so for me the point of this slogan is that one should be able to live according to the teachings of the Buddha and the slogans and everything that is known about bodhicitta etc. not only when the conditions are perfect (when the sun is shining and you're sitting in your favourite chair with your favourite cup of tea and you feel terribly benevolent towards everyone) but always: in a storm, having missed the last bus by a second, having lost your umbrella, feeling really upset about the unfairness of it all. I have started realising that I am getting much more relaxed even when things don't work out the way I expected. Being able to relax in difficult situations seems to me an important part of the practice. So that is my take on this slogan.