Start Where You Are

Start Where You Are

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practice moves to people you actually hate, people
you consider to be your enemies or to have actually
harmed you. This expansion evolves by doing the
practice. You cannot fake these things; therefore you
start with the things that are close to your heart.
It’s useful to think of tonglen practice in four
stages:
1
. Flashing openness
2
. Working with the texture, breathing in dark,
heavy, and hot and breathing out white, light,
and cool
3
. Working with relieving a specific, heartfelt in-
stance of suffering
4
. Extending that wish to help everyone
The main thing is to really get in touch with fixa-
tion and the power of klesha activity in yourself. This
makes other people’s situations completely accessi-
ble and real to you. Then, when it becomes real and
vivid, always remember to extend it out. Let your own
experience be a stepping stone for working with the
world.
Start Where You Are
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7
Bringing All That We Meet 
to the Path
T
o da y ’ s s l o g a n i s
“When the world is filled
with evil, / Transform all mishaps into the path
of bodhi.” The word bodhi means “enlightenment.”
This is the basic statement of lojong altogether: how
to use the unwanted, unfavorable circumstances of
your life as the actual material of awakening. This is
the precious gift of the lojong teachings, that what-
ever occurs isn’t considered an interruption or an ob-
stacle but a way to wake up. This slogan is very well
suited to our busy lives and difficult times. In fact,
it’s designed for that: if there were no difficulties,
there would be no need for lojong or tonglen.
Bodhisattva is another word for the awakening war-
rior, the one who cultivates bravery and compassion.
One point this slogan is making is that on the path of
the warrior, or bodhisattva, there is no interruption.
The path includes all experience, both serene and
chaotic. When things are going well, we feel good.
We delight in the beauty of the snow falling outside
the windows or the light reflecting off the floor.
There’s some sense of appreciation. But when the
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fire alarm rings and confusion erupts, we feel irri-
tated and upset.
It’s all opportunity for practice. There is no inter-
ruption. We would like to believe that when things
are still and calm, that’s the real stuff, and when
things are messy, confused, and chaotic, we’ve done
something wrong, or more usually someone else has
done something to ruin our beautiful meditation. As
someone once said about a loud, bossy woman,
“What is that woman doing in my sacred world?”
Another point about this slogan is that part of
awakening is to cultivate honesty and clear seeing.
Sometimes people take the lojong teachings to mean
that if you’re not to blame others but instead to con-
nect with the feelings beneath your own story line, it
would be wrong to say that someone has harmed you.
However, part of honesty, clear seeing, and straight-
forwardness is being able to acknowledge that harm
has been done. The first noble truth—the very first
teaching of the Buddha—is that there is suffering.
Suffering does exist as part of the human experience.
People harm each other—we harm others and others
harm us. To know that is clear seeing.
This is tricky business. What’s the difference be-
tween seeing that harm has been done and blaming?
Perhaps it is that rather than point the finger of
blame, we raise questions: “How can I communi-
cate? How can I help the harm that has been done
unravel itself? How can I help others find their own