The Tibetan practice of "mind training," or lojong, stretches back for hundreds of years and encompasses a variety of techniques for cultivating altruistic thoughts and coping with the inevitable challenges of everyday life. Mind Training: The Great Collection is an English adaptation of the first anthology of these techniques. Presenting 44 of the original texts ? including seminal works such as "Leveling out All Preconceptions" and "Eight Verses on Training the Mind" ? Mind Training combines eloquent translations and historical commentaries to demonstrate how anyone can learn to exude love, compassion, and perseverance.
Customer Reviews:
Eye-Opening! July 15, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Excellent book to open our eyes and mingle our minds with the authentic teaching of the masters.
A GREAT COLLECTION March 23, 2007 19 out of 21 found this review helpful
I thought the book would be on Tonglen or Lojong, and am an advanced student and read many texts on the subject, and was pleasantly surprised to find this is a great work covering many many original texts, and the translators are very good. Maybe not for a beginning student -- though I find that one should buy the book that they are drawn to. It isn't that the texts are over anyone's head, but there are so many and if you are tryng to learn to practice one then it may just be too much and end up sitting on a shelf.
Library of Tibetan Classics Project December 16, 2006 33 out of 33 found this review helpful
This book is an excellent example of the new wave of English translations of classical Tibetan Buddhist literature, spurred on by recent and unfortunately grim developments in Tibet. The Mind Training literature, first anthologized in the fifteenth century, is homely advice in the form of traditional Buddhist enlightenment stories of wealth and renunciation, and devotional verses. A central idea is the practice of total altruism: all of my assets unto all other beings, and all of the woes of all other beings unto myself. This mental exercise is both a recipe for peace and tolerance (and thus calmness of mind) and also a technique for cultivating mindfulness (awareness of the state of one's own consciousness), something that cannot be done from an ego-centered standpoint. It is an early volume in the Library of Tibetan Classics, a project of the Institute of Tibetan Classics. A real joy and "jewel," in the traditional Tibetan sense of jewels as symbols of wish-fulfillment.
Quite Simply, A Treasury of Tibetan Buddhist Thought February 28, 2006 91 out of 92 found this review helpful
If I could own only one book on Buddhism, this would be my choice. Translated by Thupten Jinpa, the principal English translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this work is a gift to those of us who speak English. The passages are clear and lucid. The elements of verse flow and the prose is elegant in its force and simplicity. This book could have been a nightmare to read, because the subject matter is not simple, and anyone who has read translations of Sanskrit, Pali or Tibetan knows that many texts come across twisted and convoluted in English. As such, it can be difficult to ascertain meaning. Such is not the case here. This book can be read at long sittings, or picked up and perused for 5 minutes to create grist for your meditative practice. Either way, it is an indispensible reference for serious students of Tibetan Buddhism, with extensive end notes and a comprehensive glossary.
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