“Disciplines of Mind Training”
Remember how I mentioned that the groups of slogans are associated with Paramitas? This group, the Sixth Point of Mind Training, is associated with the Prajna Paramita. So that’s worth unpacking right at the start.
What does Prajna mean? It’s usually translated as “wisdom”, which works for me, as I’m sure all the legions of translators will be happy to learn. Well what is wisdom?
Wisdom is a kind of lived insight… you don’t get wisdom from reading books and memorizing formulas. That’s intelligence. You get wisdom from contemplating what you’ve learned, from road testing it in real life, with other people, out in the world. You could say “Street Smarts” is a kind of wisdom. But it’s not just for old people - “The wisdom of babes” is the wisdom that comes out fresh and unencumbered by “What’s in it for me” kind of thinking. It’s applied, not theoretical.
You could say wisdom is “Knowing what to do and what not to do.”
So what’s a Paramita? It’s the highest form of something, or more specifically, the type of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation and wisdom that dissolves ego clinging. Not the kind of generosity that gets you in someone’s good graces, or the type of diligence that gets you an A on a test… the type that helps you see the interconnectedness of all beings, and dissolves the illusion of a fundamentally separate, permanent, thing called Matthew Bellows or Elise, or Raylen, etc.
So the Prajna Paramita, the wisdom paramita, is knowing what to do and what not to do to dissolve your sense of separateness, isolation, self centeredness.
Why are these called “Disciplines of Mind Training?” Because they are hard. You have to work at it. They are all running counter to our everyday habitual patterns of ego-confirmation.
There are 16 slogans in this section. I don’t have time to talk through each one, so I’m just going to hit some highlights. But these are all worth serious study and reflection.
#23 Always abide by the three basic principles
#24 Change your attitude, but remain natural
Norman Fischer translates this as “Don’t be a phony”, which captures the second part well. The first part, Change your Attitude, is about changing our habitual tendency to think about what’s good for us first. Instead, the discipline recommended here is to change over to thinking about other people first.
But so often when we try to do something generous or altruistic - when we try to think of others first, we subconsciously turn it into another thing that reinforces our ego! We’ve all seen ourselves do this, and we’ve seen it in others, especially in spiritual communities… people walking around being so thoughtful and sooooo deferential or holy or rules-following that it becomes insufferable. It’s just another version of the same show.
Remain natural means drop that project too. You don’t have to impress anyone - especially yourself. Just think of others, try to put them first, and that’s it.
Not easy!
#25 Don’t talk about injured limbs
This is pretty self explanatory. It’s rude!
#26 Don’t ponder others
Another way to say this is “Don’t dwell on other people’s faults” or things you think are their faults. It’s really hard to know someone else. It’s hard to understand why they act the way they do. We barely know ourselves, let alone someone else.
So rather than waste time ruminating on how or why someone is so messed up as a way of feeling better about yourself, do something else.
This is not really in the commentaries, but I do think it can be useful to ponder someone else as a way of trying to understand them in a better light… to give them the benefit of the doubt, or to appreciate them. Knowing someone has had a difficult life, or is recovering from a betrayal or whatever is helpful in giving them some slack, not taking your first impressions too seriously and in dissolving the perceived barrier between them and us.
#27 Work with the greatest defilements first
“You do not want to work with chicken shit, you want to work with the chicken itself.” - CTR
We all have issues, large and small. The first step is acknowledging that “I have issues” and accepting that as a fact. If you think you are perfect, there’s no need to meditate!
So the obstacles, the difficulties that we have, are actually the things that make up our spiritual journey. Without them, there would be no fuel! Nothing to work with.
But the biggest issues, the core ones, the ones that are really making your life miserable, are often the scariest ones. Sometimes they are the hardest to see because we don’t want to look at them SO MUCH.
For me, my greatest defilement is ignorance. I would so much rather ignore some way my behavior is causing pain than deal with it, own it, apologize. Maybe for you it’s anger and aggression. Maybe it’s passion - you deal with difficulties by trying to make everyone like you, fall under your spell.
This slogan is encouraging us to figure out what our biggest issues are to deal with and get to work dealing with them! Stop messing around on the edges!
#28 Abandon any hope of fruition
We are never going to be free of problems. We are never going to live in a world without pain. We are never going to be enlightened. Even if we were, most of us made a vow to postpone enlightenment until all sentient beings are also enlightened. You only have to contemplate social media for one minute before you realize how infinite this is. Fruition, the end, the escape, is not going to happen.
#29 Abandon poison food
The poisonous food is self-centeredness, and especially the self-centeredness that turns the spiritual path of dissolving ego into a project that builds us up instead. This is related to “Abandon any hope of fruition”. Hopefully that makes sense.
#30 Don’t be so predictable
When we act from an ego-ic, self-centered point of view, we are predictable. Everyone does it, so everyone knows what’s going to happen. We’ve all seen this movie before. But when we act for the benefit of someone else, completely hands off, no strings attached, there are all these degrees of freedom. It’s so surprising!
As Norman Foster says “Freshness and openness and a capacity for surprise are hallmarks of mind training, which is one reason why it is so much fun…”
#31 Don’t Malign Others
#32 Don’t Wait in Ambush
#33 Don’t Bring things to a Painful Point
#34 Don’t transfer the ox’s load to the cow
#35 Don’t try to be the fastest
#36 Don’t act with a twist
“You could pretend to be a completely benevolent person who always takes the blame, realizing all along that you are going to get the best.” - CTR
#37 Don’t make gods into demons
#38 Don’t seek others’ pain as the limbs of your own happiness
That’s a whole lot of Don’ts. But that’s because we are so used to acting self centeredly… as if we each individually exist, and we need the best for ourselves and everyone else can fight over the scraps.
Let’s sit together, allow all these instructions and disciplines to settle into our bodies. Out of our heads and into our hearts, spines, hips, bellies. Maybe we will have time for some tonglen practice too.