First and foremost I would like to acknowledge and pay my deepest obeisance to my root teacher, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, from whom I have received these teachings on The Mahayana Instructions on the Seven Points of Mind Training, along with all my other teachers who have greatly helped me to understand the lojong teachings. I would also like to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to Gyalse Ngulchu Tokme and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye for their poignant and succinct commentaries on the slogans, in which they expound on their meaning, expertly illuminating particular human experiences of the egotistical mind. Without their commentaries it would have been very difficult to understand precisely what the slogans are addressing within us, as the language is profoundly dense and written in ancient colloquial Tibetan. I also pay homage to the great Mahapandita Dipamkara, who was solely responsible for reviving Mahayana Buddhism in Tibet after its initial influence had declined. And I pay deep reverence to the great and unparalleled string of pearls, the Kadampa Gewé Shényen, in particular, to Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, who put these teachings into the format of the Seven Points.
Since first hearing the lojong teachings I took a deep interest in them and became inspired to study them as a synthesis of all Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings. The little bit of understanding of them that I have come to have has greatly reduced my own suffering, though I claim no realization or knowledge whatsoever. Any understanding I have is due to the continuous blessings of my great teachers, starting with my own root lama and many other illustrious beings of this world, and His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, from whom I draw great inspiration foremost among them. They are the true spokesmen of lojong practice. When I hear their profound expositions on lojong, such as the Seven Points or the Bodhicaryavatara, I begin to feel their blessings plowing the hard soil of my mind, uprooting and exposing countless self-centered attitudes from many lifetimes, turning those into good pliable ground in which to sow the seeds of liberation.
In the collection of the commentaries on the Seven Points, there is a text with no known author, but it is most profound and its timeless blessings have greatly benefited me.
I have tried to personally study these teachings and, in order to enhance my own practice and understanding, I have also taught them on several occasions with the aim of familiarizing my own mind and experience with the deeper layers of the lojong. This text is a result of that process, which our Khenchung Joseph Waxman has compiled into this book. I truly appreciate his work here in going through each of these teaching occasions and painstakingly gathering the threads from various angles and approaches in order to give each of the slogans their fullest treatment. I am delighted to see the fruits of his efforts.
I am also very humbled and honored that this book is a commentary on The Mahayana Instructions on the Seven Points of Mind Training. I do not consider it to be any sort of great exposition on the lojong from any standard of high realization or scriptural authority. Nonetheless, for modern people in these modern times, I hope it brings some benefit and therefore gives justice to this endeavor.
Please forgive me for any errors, mistakes, or presumptuousness, as though I were someone who understood the lojong teachings from experience. Such a claim would obviously in itself be contrary to the lojong teachings. Nonetheless, whatever benefit this small text brings to modern readers for uprooting the self-centeredness that we all suffer from, and for enhancing the altruism that we all have as our potential, will bring me great joy, and I wholeheartedly dedicate the merit of this to the true benefit of beings.
I would also like to extend my most heartfelt thanks for all the effort and care that took place behind the scenes from so many people, without whom this book could never have evolved. I thank all the audio technicians whose precise and detailed work ensured the talks were captured and archived, especially Paddy McCarthy and the Wisdom Productions team of Mangala Shri Bhuti, who work tirelessly and consistently to track, collect, and archive all the teachings that happen. And to the ranks of dedicated transcribers: I truly appreciate your time and hope that listening to and typing out the transcripts has brought your own minds closer to the lojong teachings. I also want to acknowledge the graduates of Guna Institute and Vairochana’s Legacy, Mangala Shri Bhuti’s translation team, for collaborating so skillfully in their translation of the Seven Points and Jamgon Kongtrul’s commentary. I hope that this new translation only enhances the wonderful translations that have already been so expertly accomplished. May your efforts serve to deepen your own understanding of dharma and deepen your personal practice. I would also like to thank those who have offered financial support for the writing of this book through their generous contributions to Mangala Shri Bhuti’s Dharma Book Fund.
And most especially I would like to thank Shambhala Publications: Dave O’Neal, the editor of this work; Ben Gleason, the assistant editor; Leda Scheintaub, the copy editor; Emily White, the proofreader; and a very special and heartfelt thanks to both Nikko Odiseos and Jonathan Green, the president and vice president of Shambhala Publications, who have been marvelously supportive throughout this process. I deeply rejoice in Shambhala’s efforts to bring the dharma to a modern readership, and I make prayers of dedication that the merit of your work bring great benefit to yourselves and all sentient beings without limit. Your vision and effort have been, are, and will continue to be paramount in the transplantation of the dharma in the West. May Shambhala’s activity, especially in this area, continue long into the future.