First Key Point Vocabulary

In this section, we review a few key terms in English that have a slightly different connotation in the context of lojong training.

This literally means “what goes before”. Since it “goes before” other practices in the given context, it is often translated as “preliminaries.” However, it also carries the sense of being ongoing, which means that whatever practice goes before, at the time of any additional practice, it is still present. If it is no longer present, it needs to be cultivated again to ensure it always serves as a basis for whatever the main practice may be.

Here, lo means “mind” as in the intellectual, thinking mind (see overall course vocabulary). Dok, means “to revert,” or to go in the opposite direction. Hence the common translations are the thoughts that “turn the mind”, or are “mind changing.” It literally means to turn the mind away from cyclic existence, the opposite to what it usually focuses on.

Having the time or opportunity to do something.

This term means to have, to possess, or to be endowed. It is often translated as wealth, but it has more of the sense of having, than of the thing itself. In the context of the value of precious human life, it means being endowed with certain favorable conditions. Advantage is the interpretive translation that is indicative of the effect of the endowments. That is, if you have those ten favorable circumstances, you have the advantage of being able to practice the dharma. 

In Tibetan this term has a slightly different implication than in English. When this term is used in the context of dharma it always means logical reasoning based upon the way things are and so proven to be true (and hence provable). In English, the use of “logic” or “reasoning” can be false. There are valid lines of reasoning to establish its truth, which you can use  to investigate and discover to be true yourself. 

This term can have different meanings in different contexts. Most of the time, it means using lines of reasoning about a certain dharma topic to examine our experience and investigate its validity.

When sitting in a formal meditation, you contemplate something from any and all angles using logic, examples, personal experience, and life circumstances. 

While this is the most common definition, be aware that in certain contexts, the term can mean something else.

This term is used in contrast to contemplative meditation. In this context, it is the part of the meditation where you drop any focus or contemplative thought process and allow the mind to rest non-referentially.