As I was taught a long, long time ago, and as confirmed by wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonglen#cite_note-learn-7 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonglen#cite_note-learn-7> ),
Toglen has nothing to do with transfer of merit. It is an exercise in the mind-training for a practitioner. --ED Tonglen [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Buddha_der_Lie\ be.jpg/220px-Buddha_der_Liebe.jpg] </wiki/File:Buddha_der_Liebe.jpg> [http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png] </wiki/File:Buddha_der_Liebe.jpg> Buddha of Love Tonglen or tonglin is Tibetan for 'giving and taking' (or sending and receiving), and refers to a meditation </wiki/Meditation> practice found in Tibetan Buddhism </wiki/Tibetan_Buddhism> . Practice In the practice, one visualizes taking onto oneself the suffering of others on the in-breath, and on the out-breath giving happiness and success to all sentient beings </wiki/Sentient_beings_(Buddhism)> . As such it is a training in altruism. The function of the practice is to: o reduce selfish attachment o increase a sense of renunciation </wiki/Nekkhamma> o create positive karma </wiki/Karma> by giving and helping o develop and expand loving-kindness and bodhicitta </wiki/Bodhicitta> The practice of Tonglen involves all of the Six Perfections </wiki/Six_Perfections> ; giving, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration and wisdom. These are the practices of a Bodhisattva </wiki/Bodhisattva> . H.H. The Dalai Lama </wiki/14th_Dalai_Lama> , who is said to practise Tonglen every day, has said of the technique: Whether this meditation really helps others or not, it gives me peace of mind. Then I can be more effective, and the benefit is immense. His Holiness offers a translation of the Eight Verses in his book The Path To Tranquility: Daily Meditations. History This practice is summarized in seven points, which are attributed to the great Indian Buddhist teacher Atisha Dipankara Shrijnana </wiki/Atisha_Dipankara_Shrijnana> , born in 982 CE. They were first written down by Kadampa </wiki/Kadampa> master Langri Tangpa </wiki/Langri_Tangpa> (10541123). The practice became more widely known when Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje </wiki/Chekawa_Yeshe_Dorje> (11011175) summarized the points in his Seven Points of Training the Mind. This list of mind training (lojong </wiki/Lojong> ) proverbs or 'slogans' compiled by Chekawa is often referred to as the Atisha Slogans. --- In [email protected], "SteveW" <eugnostos2000@...> wrote: > > Hi Anthony. This is another one of those questions of dispute among Buddhists. From the Theravada view-point, it is certainly impossible. Many Mahayanists would say that parinamara, or transfer of merit, is simply a metaphor for letting go of self-interest. However, it is taken quite seriously in Pureland. While seemingly contradicting the law of cause and effect, parinamara does make sense if, as I believe, reality is one seamlessly interwoven Whole. That is why I said in an earlier post that our common- sense notions of cause and effect may, in fact, be illusiory. Steve > Steve, > > Thank you for releasing me from a constant fear of being attacked by enlightened beings. As regards 'tonglen', it is supposed to give away one's good luck, in exchange for taking others' bad luck. This is a great bodhisatva's practice. However, the Buddhist principle is that you can only work on your own karma by yourself, and it is impossible to have others influence your karma. Of course, they can guide you toward creating good karma. Is tonglen in conformity with Buddhism? > > Anthony
