Lojong Cards and Booklet

Lojong Cards and Booklet
This self-published deck and booklet are the intellectual property of Beverly King. Please do not copy or reproduce any photos or blog posts without permission.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Slogan Five

Rest in the nature of alaya, the essence.
From the Lojong for the Layperson booklet:
            Certain Buddhist traditions describe eight types of consciousness. The first five are connected to the senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch) and the sixth is mental awareness (reflexive perception). Egoistic awareness is formed by our memories and experiences and becomes the repository that shapes our identity. The last type is alaya, pure awareness untainted by life experiences, judgments or preconceptions. This unbiased expanse of the mind is a place of refuge, a place that can prepare the ground for compassionate action. When we rest in this openness, we notice what is there but don’t cling to it – we gently let it go.
Photo: Hawk feather in Mondo grass.

            I was reading a book last night before bed, and one of the story’s characters had gotten his fingers caught in a Chinese handcuffs toy. This cylinder of woven bamboo allows for a finger to be placed in each end. The action of pulling the fingers back out makes the shape lengthen and shrink in diameter. The harder a person struggles to get loose, the tighter the toy squeezes. The not-so-obvious solution for releasing trapped fingers is to relax. We may struggle in the same manner with our thoughts. To borrow a line from Otis Redding, we don’t often sit on the dock of the bay and watch our thoughts roll away. We’re way too busy struggling; we throw rocks at the boats we don’t want tied at our dock or swim out to the boats we want to secure. But if we take Redding’s advice and observe our thoughts and emotions without judgment, without pulling or pushing, we’ll find a peaceful place to rest.

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