Dalai Lama Class 34

The title of class 34 is : Meet Adversity with a Positive  Attitude.

That's just what I need. There's time when the person most closest to me is in a derogatory mood and I can easily go into "poor me, poor me, pour me another drink" mode and fall into the depths of a pity party.

The Dalai Lama writes, "By greeting trouble with optimism and hope, you are undermining worse troubles down the line." How does one do that when it comes to verbally abusive jokes? By using tonglen;  by accepting my pain I will  be using up the negative karma; by taking in everyone's suffering to myself, then releasing compassion and "my potential for happiness" toward them.

I know I have huge amounts of joy buried in me. I've seen it slip out from time to time. When it does, I feel like I'm my true self. When I hide myself, protect myself from potential dangers, I feel trapped like an animal who is no longer able to run free.

So Tonglen is my hope for inner peace and serenity.  Tonglen can be used toward all people.  According to the Dalai Lama, there are stories of monks who were kept as prisoners by the Chinese for years.  After their release, they said they continued the meditation practices and felt compassion for their Chinese guards. In this reading, I'm guessing they used tonglen.  This is what the Dalai Lama uses; this is what Judith Ragir taught me several years ago in her online lectures. I will continue to use it daily like I have, and know the results in in God's hands. In this way, I pray to have peace of mind.

 I practice taking others' suffering to myself and giving them my potential for happiness; this provides a good deal of mental relief.
--Dalai Lama in "How to Practice"