{"id":2523,"date":"2022-12-23T06:31:01","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T06:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/?p=2523"},"modified":"2023-01-26T19:34:17","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T19:34:17","slug":"tonglen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/tonglen\/","title":{"rendered":"Tonglen Meditation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>WARNING: TONGLEN IS AN ADVANCED MEDITATION THAT SHOULD ONLY BE PRACTICED BY THOSE WHO ALREADY HAVE AN ESTABLISHED MEDITATION PRACTICE.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tonglen Meditation with Mark Van Buren\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RWMSr76J5go?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tonglen is an ancient Tibetan meditation, meant to cultivate a kind & loving heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Tibetan word \u201ctong\u201d means \u201csending\u201d and \u201clen\u201d means \u201creceiving.\u201d \u201cTonglen,\u201d or \u201csending and receiving,\u201d refers to the sending of comfort & happiness to others, while receiving their pain & suffering in return.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, you read that right: we are <em>giving away<\/em> our own comfort and happiness, in exchange for other peoples\u2019 pain and suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why in the world would anybody want to do this? Well, in this very counterintuitive idea lies the beauty and genius of Tonglen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As meditators, we are able to handle pain and suffering in a way that most people can\u2019t. When we experience pain, we greet it with mindfulness & equanimity (non-judgmental awareness), in the pure, vast \u201cblue sky\u201d of consciousness. We welcome all experiences that arise \u2013 the painful, the pleasurable, and everything in between. Through this non-judgmental awareness, we transmute pain into peace, and suffering into serenity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By \u201creceiving\u201d the pain and suffering of others, we are feeling the pain so that others don\u2019t have to. We then use our power of equanimity to transmute the pain into peace, which we then send out in its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This radical and profound method is able to transform our suffering, and the suffering of others, into fertilizer for love, compassion, courage, and wisdom.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The basic premise of tonglen is to visualize yourself breathing in suffering and breathing out relief. Each breath trains your mind to stop its habitual pattern of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, and instead allows you to expand your window of tolerance for what you would normally consider \u201cunwelcome.\u201d By gently receiving suffering on every inhale and sending out relief on each exhale your mind becomes more resilient, courageous, and loving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With practice, tonglen will help you increase your ability to welcome the unwelcome, while also deeply connecting you to the shared suffering we <em>all<\/em> experience. It will show you how to take what you normally want to run away from, and transform it into your path of awakening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Four Steps of Tonglen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Step 1: Be the Blue Sky. <\/strong>Sit down for a moment, before you start the tonglen visualizations, and rest in a state of open awareness. Reconnect with the vastness and clarity of the mind \u2013 the pure, spacious consciousness in which all of your thoughts and emotions arise \u2013 that is often forgotten about in the messiness of daily life. This spacious and loving awareness is your true nature. It is vast enough to hold all the 10,000 joys and sorrows of your life. When you begin the tonglen practice by resting in this \u201cBig Mind,\u201d it gives you the courage and strength to actually welcome the suffering that you are about to transmute.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Step 2: Be the Air Purifier. <\/strong>This is the first visualization exercise in tonglen meditation. Imagine that the air around you is filled with thick, heavy, black smoke (representing the suffering in the world around you). On each inhale, breathe in this heavy darkness through every pore in your body. Gather it into the center of your chest, feeling it fully, and allowing your heart to transform it into light, clear, clean energy. On each exhale, breathe out this bright, white, light energy, allowing it to radiate from every pore of your body. Through this exercise, you are basically acting as a spiritual \u201cair purifier,\u201d cleaning the energy of the world around you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Step 3: Transmute the suffering of one person. <\/strong>After you have taken a few breaths with the black smoke visualization, think of a specific painful situation that you or a loved one are currently struggling with. Begin breathing in the suffering of that situation. Let it touch your heart. Then breathe out relief. For example, if you are struggling with an illness, breathe in all the symptoms and pain associated with the illness, and breathe out health and ease. On the inhales feel the suffering, on the exhales breathe out comfort & relief.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>Step 4: Transmute the suffering of the world. <\/strong>After a few minutes of working with this specific situation, expand your practice to include all others experiencing the same suffering. Breathe in the suffering of all beings feeling just like you (or your loved one). Free them from the suffering with each inhale, and send out its opposite on each exhale. Continue doing this for a few more minutes, and then rest one last time in open \u201cBlue Sky\u201d awareness before you end the meditation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Try taking tonglen off the cushion!<\/strong> Aside from being a powerful formal meditation, tonglen can also be a transformative on-the-spot practice. Any time you see suffering as you go through your day, breathe it in and send out relief. It can be done for a moment of anxiety, a homeless person you see on the street, or even a politician who makes you enraged. Anything unpleasant or uncomfortable that you normally would want to run away from can be a place of practice. If you do this every time you experience pain or suffering, something powerful happens: each difficult emotion, person, or situation you meet becomes the training ground for love.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"717\" height=\"620\" src=\"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-4.png 717w, https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-4-300x259.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To get this issue (and also get 4 more issues in your first year), don\u2019t forget to subscribe! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/product\/digital-subscription\">Digital mag<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/subscribe\">print magazine<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WARNING: TONGLEN IS AN ADVANCED MEDITATION THAT SHOULD ONLY BE PRACTICED BY THOSE WHO ALREADY HAVE AN ESTABLISHED MEDITATION PRACTICE. Tonglen is an ancient Tibetan meditation, meant to cultivate a kind &#038; loving heart. The Tibetan word \u201ctong\u201d means \u201csending\u201d and \u201clen\u201d means \u201creceiving.\u201d \u201cTonglen,\u201d or \u201csending and receiving,\u201d refers to the sending of comfort [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-meditate"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tonglen Meditation - Meditation Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Tibetan word \u201ctong\u201d means \u201csending\u201d and \u201clen\u201d means \u201creceiving.\u201d \u201cTonglen,\u201d or \u201csending and receiving,\u201d refers to the sending of comfort &amp; happiness to others, while receiving their pain &amp; suffering in return.\u00a0Yes, you read that right: we are giving away our own comfort and happiness, in exchange for other peoples\u2019 pain and suffering.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/tonglen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tonglen Meditation - Meditation Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Tibetan word \u201ctong\u201d means \u201csending\u201d and \u201clen\u201d means \u201creceiving.\u201d \u201cTonglen,\u201d or \u201csending and receiving,\u201d refers to the sending of comfort &amp; happiness to others, while receiving their pain &amp; suffering in return.\u00a0Yes, you read that right: we are giving away our own comfort and happiness, in exchange for other peoples\u2019 pain and suffering.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/tonglen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Meditation Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Meditation-Magazine-565383236930078\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-23T06:31:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-26T19:34:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screenshot-2022-12-23-000219.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"493\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"578\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Van Buren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Van Buren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/tonglen\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/tonglen\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Van Buren\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9313d13e4571d466410a6c813f2de0f3\"},\"headline\":\"Tonglen Meditation\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-23T06:31:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-26T19:34:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/tonglen\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":908,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/tonglen\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Screenshot-2022-12-23-000219.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"How To Meditate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/tonglen\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/tonglen\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.meditationmag.com\\\/blog\\\/tonglen\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tonglen Meditation - 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